V15n17 - Legislature 2017

vol. 15 no. 17

FREE

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 subscribe free for news and invitations at JFPDaily.com

SHERIFF MAC’S COLORFUL LIFE Ladd, pp 8 - 11

WHAT TO DO ON NEW YEAR’S EVE Helsel, p 22

THE ADVOCATE REUNITES Gill, p 26

Your Metro Events Calendar is at

JFPEVENTS.COM LEGISLATURE 2017

MAKING

ENDS MEET EDUCATION, INFRASTRUCTURE AND SHRINKING REVENUE ON THE MENU Dreher, pp 16 - 20

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December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

JACKSONIAN Anthony Robinson Imani Khayyam

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nthony Robinson, owner of Ant Rob Apparel, started his clothing business out of his Jackson home in 2002 out of a desire to help inspire people through positive messages, something he says he hadn’t seen enough of in local apparel stores. “I wanted to be able to motivate people with something I produced myself, and I figured clothing would be the best way to do it,” Robinson says.

Robinson, 38, moved to Jackson from Vicksburg with his mother, Sharon, when he was 8 years old. He attended Jim Hill High School and went on to Jackson State University but didn’t graduate. He applied for a job at the East River YMCA on Interstate 55 in 1999. While working the front desk, Robinson got the chance to observe the many styles of clothing locals wore, which inspired him to start working on his own clothing line in his spare time.

He launched Ant Rob Apparel in 2002.

Robinson’s clothing line, which he sells through his website, antrobapparel. com, Facebook page and through Gordon’s Urbanware, features phrases such as “TRAP,” which Robinson says stand for “Take Risks and Produce,” and “Jacktown, We All That We Got.”

“TRAP means to go outside the box, do what others might not think of doing and take a chance on life,” Robinson says.

contents

“The Jacktown message means that we need to be able to count on ourselves before we can count on anyone else.”

As part of his community-building message, Robinson has organized several charity events in Battlefield Park over the past seven years. One such event, Back to School Day at the Park, offers free haircuts for Jackson Public Schools students and others in need and back-to-school supplies for the students. Robinson also organized Helping Hand of Santa, a Christmas event which provides clothing and shoes for homeless people in Jackson.

For this year’s Helping Hand of Santa event, which was Dec. 14, Robinson and Mista Maine, host of local hip-hop radio station 97.7 WRBJ, camped out in Poindexter Park until 5 a.m. to collect donations of food, winter coats, socks and other essentials.

“I started Helping Hand of Santa because I wanted to help the people truly in need, people who either aren’t visible or who maybe don’t want people to know their situation,” Robinson says. “There are a lot of people like that around Jackson, who are silent and fall between the cracks.”

Robinson has five children: Jordan Huff, Anthony Guthrie, Ailani Guthrie, Dominic French and Aubaney Weathersby.

—Dustin Cardon

cover illustration

by Kristin Brenemen

6 ............................ Talks 12 ................... editorial 13 ...................... opinion 16 ............ Cover Story 22 ........... food & Drink 24 ......................... 8 Days 25 ........................ Events

7 Untangling the DA Files

The trial of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith is underway, and confusing.

22 Into the New Year

You have absolutely no excuse to stay home in Jackson on the last night of the year. Cheers!

25 ....................... sports 26 .......................... music 27 ........ music listings 28 ...................... Puzzles 29 ......................... astro 29 ............... Classifieds

26 The Advocate Reunites

“The heavier something was, the more it drew us to it; we were troubled teens that needed an outlet.” Hunter Walls, “The Advocate Reunited”

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

4 ............ Editor’s Note

Steven Smith; flickr/leion101; Imani Khayyam

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 | Vol. 15 No. 17

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editor’s note

by Donna Ladd, Editor-in-Chief

The Dark Side of the Hinds Justice System

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hat a year. In addition to the stunning presidential election of an openly racist and sexist man who quotes Russian dictator Putin on Twitter against people who dared vote against him, and the jarring loss of so many icons like Carrie Fisher, 2016 has seen a depressing pile of messes right here at our front door in Jackson.

From my office downtown, I literally look down on the Hinds County Courthouse, where Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith is on trial as I type for allegedly violating the law when trying to help accused drug dealer and fraudster Christopher Butler get out of prison. I can see the windows of Smith’s offices on the top floor of the courthouse—a small office where I spent hours talking to him a few years back when he had decided to pursue a murder case supposedly involving prominent local officials and police officers.

Those officials, Smith strongly believed then, were part of a conspiracy to cover up how the Nov. 14, 1995, murder of Jackson police officer R.J. Washington actually occurred, and who might be involved in the murder and then the coverup, including then-Mayor Frank Melton and a man named Sherrod Moore. Smith was passionate and convincing about the strength of his re-opening of the cold case then … until he suddenly wasn’t anymore.

I was in Judge Swan Yerger’s courtroom in 2009 when the judge dropped the new charges because Smith’s prosecutorial team, after indicting Moore twice, could only produce one witness who said Moore told him he killed Washington. Suddenly, the conspiracy had vanished into thin air.

I think of that time as we hear now about the district attorney, now in his third

term as the county’s lead prosecutor, weaving a conspiracy case involving the attorney general’s office, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and a number of black and white judges who are very different in temperament. You might call some of them liberal and others conservative and be spot-on.

The idea seems to be that, in various ways, all these folks did things to convict Christopher Butler wrongly for two completely different crimes—for illegal drugs in 2011 and, much more recently, for allegedly

Smoke, mirrors and innuendo. committing wire fraud and embezzlement at a mattress business where he worked.

What is not clear, at all, to me is (a) where is the real evidence of this loose conspiracy against Butler and why hasn’t it gone public way before now and (b) why in the world does this odd group of people on the left and the right want to work together both against Butler and now against Smith for trying to help him beat bum charges?

I’m not saying Butler or Smith are guilty of anything—that’s up to the courts to decide—but you can say that I’m not convinced that AG Jim Hood, Judge Jeff Weill, Judge Tomie Green and Judge Melvin Priester Sr., among others, all got together to do these two men wrong. I look forward to being proved wrong if that is, in fact, true. If so, bring the evidence.

But the smoke and innuendo around this case and about that mix of people

wanting to stick it to two black men, one prominent and one not, just doesn’t ring true to me, yet. And so far, I’m not sympathetic at all to the argument that Smith should choose the shadowy methods he is accused of using to try to get Butler, and perhaps another man he’s known for a long time, off charges. I sure don’t believe that a three-term district attorney has to resort to sneaking around to prove that a man is innocent in two separate cases and of different crimes. He could have made the evidence public and use the court of public opinion to show the malfeasance if it exists.

Most of you know that I don’t dig the drug war and mass incarceration, not to mention over-policing. But we all need to consider the big picture as we look to fix our broken criminal-justice system in Hinds County—which has a long history of corruption, bribery and treating different criminals differently, depending on who they know and their perceived power.

That history, left unchecked, culminated in the bribe that long-term (and rather Teflon) former district attorney Ed Peters offered Hinds County Circuit Judge Bobby DeLaughter in the Dickie Scruggs saga. DeLaughter went to prison, and Peters got immunity in that less-than-poetic way things often work out locally.

I saw the disparities in our system up close when I investigated Frank Melton for years, spending time with him, young men he claimed to be helping and those he wanted jailed. To say he pushed a double standard is an immense understatement.

Oh, and he often accused cops of conspiracies, too, especially against him.

Either an accused criminal was with Melton, or he wasn’t. If he was what many called a “Frank’s boy,” he got special treat-

ment, and the TV exec-turned-mayor would go to the ends of the earth to keep that young man out of jail and prison, often settling him into his own gun-filled home.

If you were a perceived enemy accused of the same types of crimes, though, like those associated with the so-called Wood Street Players, Melton would do everything in his power to convict you.

The sad part was that many of those young men weren’t very different; they had similar difficult backgrounds, and all made bad mistakes. They didn’t deserve to be treated so differently, and it sent exactly the wrong message for a prominent official to set such public double standards.

I fear the same thing with Smith now.

For whatever reason, he wants Butler out of jail and no charges outstanding against him.

He is accusing judges and law enforcement of framing him for reasons that are fuzzy at best. Not to mention, Smith’s actions could cause public fears that Peters was telling the truth about Smith as he was about to take office. In the Scruggs net, the FBI caught the former DA on tape indicating that the new DA in Hinds might be willing to fix cases, whether it was true or not, perception, public trust and transparency matter.

It will be a tough slog, but we need confidence and accountability in the Hinds criminal-justice system again. The public needs to know that the top prosecutor will ensure that the accused get fair jury trials— which Butler deserved a long time ago— and not operate in the shadows on behalf of certain people, thus eroding public trust.

If Smith has real evidence that proves a conspiracy against him, Butler or others, he needs to lay all evidence out clearly for the public to judge, or shut up about it. None of us has time for conspiracy mongering.

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

contributors

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Arielle Dreher

Tim Summers Jr.

Sierra Mannie

Amber Helsel

Tyler Edwards

Myron Cathey

Kristin Brenemen

Kimberly Griffin

News Reporter Arielle Dreher is working on finding some new hobbies and adopting an otter from the Jackson Zoo. Email her story ideas at arielle@jacksonfreepress. com. She wrote the legislative preview.

City Reporter Tim Summers Jr. enjoys loud live music, teaching his cat to fetch, long city council meetings and FOIA requests. Send him story ideas at tim@jacksonfreepress.com. He is covering the Robert Shuler Smith trial.

Education Reporting Fellow Sierra Mannie’s opinions of the Ancient Greeks can’t be trusted nearly as much as her opinions of Beyoncé. She wrote about Jackson Public Schools’ accreditation.

Demon Lady of Food and AssistantEditorAmberHelsel lovesart, food, cooking, fencing and more (she has too many hobbies and interests to keep up with). Email story ideas to amber@jackson freepress.com. She wrote the New Year’s events roundup.

Events Editor Tyler Edwards loves film, TV and all things pop culture. The Jackson native will gladly debate the social politics of comic books.

Send events to events@jacksonfreepress.com. He compiled the event listings.

Sales and Marketing Consultant Myron Cathey is from Senatobia. He is a graduate of Jackson State University and enjoys traveling, music, and spending time with family and friends.

Art Director Kristin Brenemen is an meganekko with a penchant for dystopianism. She’s gearing up for next convention season by starting to learn leather crafting. She designed much of the issue.

Advertising Director Kimberly Griffin is a fitness buff and foodie who loves chocolate and her mama. She’s also Michelle Obama’s super secret BFF, which explains the Secret Service detail.

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“The (Butler) case became the big thing in the office.

(Smith) and I spoke about it a great deal.”

Remembering “Mac” pp 8-10

—Former Assistant District Attorney Ivon Johnson testifying against his former boss, DA Robert Shuler Smith

Thursday, December 22

A supposedly bipartisan deal to repeal North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law collapses when Republican state legislators quit trying to repeal HB 2 and go home. … Donald Trump abruptly calls for the U.S. to “greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability” until the rest of the world “comes to its senses.”

Friday, December 23

The Mississippi Department of Education approved JPS’ second corrective action plan.

Saturday, December 24

Donald Trump says he will dissolve his Donald J. Trump Foundation charity before taking office to avoid conflicts of interest. ... Trump praised Russian dictator Putin for saying that Americans not pleased with Trump’s victory, which the CIA and FBI say Putin helped happen, are “humiliating” and they should “lose with dignity.

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

Sunday, December 25

A Tu-154 Russian military plane crashes into the Black Sea two minutes after taking off from the city of Sochi, killing all 92 people aboard.

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Monday, December 26

Donald Trump refers to the United Nations as “just a club for people to have a good time” days after the UN voted to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and Tweets that “things will be different after Jan. 20th.”

Tuesday, December 27

Tupelo attorney Jim Waide, representing Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith, takes the stand to testify for the state in the Smith case.

Get breaking news at jfpdaily.com.

Beyond Blame: JPS Works to Avoid State Takeover of Local Schools

by Sierra Mannie

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t the last Jackson Public Schools board meeting of the year, parents and community members crowded the board room in downtown Jackson, accidentally brushing knees together as they filled the seats.

More people, smushed together in bulky coats, stood against the walls.

State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carey Wright’s reprobation of the Board of Trustees made it seem even hotter.

“I have serious concerns that the district is not taking the immediate actions needed to resolve its issues related to school safety and instructional practices,” Wright said at the Dec. 20 meeting. “

After dismal results on an audit of JPS earlier this year, the State Accreditation Board put the district on probation and required it to draft a corrective action plan, or CAP, to bring it back into compliance with MDE’s standards. It also mandated a full audit of the district soon afterward.

Even though JPS quickly came back in compliance with many of the standards, events kept rattling the district from there.

The state released accountability ratings in October, revealing the district fell from “D”- to “F”-rated. The superintendent, Dr. Cedrick Gray, resigned. MDE rejected the district’s corrective action plan for not being detailed enough. MDE also complained at a Dec. 15 meeting that its presence at a

Imani Khayyam

Wednesday, December 21

Police arrest Andrew McClinton for burning down Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church, an African American church in Greenville, he belonged to, and spray-painting “Vote Trump” on the side of the building. … Joshua Brandon Vallum, a Mississippi man who previously admitted killing a transgender teen from Alabama because of her sexual identity, pleads guilty to a federal hate crime.

The Jackson Public Schools district must take better control of student education before the prison industry gets to control the young people, City of Jackson Ward 4 Councilman De’Keither Stamps says.

recent high school visit barely affected its “culture or climate,” indicated that JPS did not have a “sense of urgency” about the district’s issues. MDE reps witnessed teachers pull children’s arms and the lack of administrative presence, among other issues.

Although MDE accepted a second draft of the CAP at the meeting, it came with a warning of potential state takeover should JPS not comply with its corrective action plan—a warning Wright echoed to the tense audience of concerned stakehold-

Jackson

T

2017

Amber Helsel: I resolve to explore more of the city than I already have.

Resolutions

ers packed into the board room.

But the consequences for JPS might be even more dire. Not only do state takeovers yield middling results for long-term student achievement overall, but the district could lose employees, students, half its extracurricular activities and ultimately its independence.

Downside of Takeovers

JPS Board of Trustees President Beneta Burt told the Jackson Free Press

he new year is upon us, so many of us are probably thinking of our resolutions. But what about for the City of Jackson? Here is what some of the Jackson Free Press staffers said about what they hope to see or do in the city in 2017.

Kristin Brenemen: I resolve to start driving down freshly repaved roads.

Micah Smith: I resolve to give more support to local businesses that I like.

Tyler Edwards: I’d like to see more new local restaurants and bars.

Tim Summers Jr.: I’d like to see more civic involvement in government, especially with the mayoral race coming up.

Todd Stauffer: Jackson and Jacksonians should resolve to sue Siemens, support the arts, support local businesses, and invest in Jackson and create more jobs.

“No matter how hard we work, we cannot control every time somebody loses their temper, pulls a gun and shoots somebody that they have been knowing for 20 years. “

“We believe that you could fully fund education if you made it a priority.”

—Minority White Rep. David Baria to the Mississippi Legislature

—Jackson Police Chief Lee Vance on murders in the city

DA Smith: Going Too Far to Help Butler?

by Tim Summers Jr.

The State’s Case

The State proffered testimony from former Assistant District Attorney Ivon Johnson, who flipped on Smith after the FBI caught him accepting bribes to lower bonds.

Johnson secretly recorded three conversations he had with Smith over the last year that were largely about combating the charges that the attorney general’s office had leveled against Butler for wire fraud earlier in 2016.

Johnson repeatedly said that Smith formulated the plans himself, even going so far as to refuse Johnson’s offers of assistance with drafting court documents.

“The (Butler) case became the big thing in the office,” Johnson said on the stand on Dec. 20. “(Smith) and I spoke about it a great deal.”

that she was thankful the State had been so helpful to the district to help correct its issues. But, Burt said, it was unfortunate that MDE still saw a lack of urgency when the district had been “stressing the opposite.”

“It is now on us to make sure not only the perception changes, but that (reality) changes,” Burt told the Jackson Free Press.

“We cannot allow our school district to fall into receivership.

In Mississippi, the State government can take control of a school district if more than half its schools are failing; the district has been failing two years in a row; and if the State deems the safety and security of its students compromised. The State has taken over 17 districts since 1996, The Hechinger Report reported.

State takeovers yield inconsistent results for long-term student achievement overall. A 2004 Education Commission of the States report said state takeovers affect administrative practices and finances more

Former Hinds County Assistant District Attorney Ivon Johnson testified again and again last week that District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith took the lead on the Christopher Butler case.

The attorney general’s office, represented by a team of assistant attorneys general, including Robert Anderson, Larry Baker and Marvin Sanders, also called employees of the Hinds County Sheriff’s department to confirm Smith’s visits to Butler when he was in the Raymond jail in May.

Butler’s attorney at the time, Sanford Knott, testified on Dec. 22 that while he gave Smith permission to visit

than they do academic achievement.

Two districts, North Panola and the now-consolidated Oktibbeha district, taken over in the 1990s and then returned to local control, fell back into the State’s hands a decade later. In the Okolona Separate School District, two years of state takeover did not bring lasting change. The year after the State left Okolona in 2012, only 14 percent of third graders scored proficient or advanced on the reading test. That same year, only 73 percent of Okolona’s seniors graduated. A year later, a little more than half the seniors graduated high school.

“It’s really hard to find many examples of state takeovers that have led to dramatically different performance,” said Michael Petrilli, vice president of the Fordham Institute, in a 2014 Hechinger Report story.

Schools Now Over Prison Later

But JPS’ problems are not unique.

Poverty stands as a significant barrier to

Butler, even informing Butler that Smith would contact him, that it was “unusual” for a sitting district attorney to visit a defendant in the jail, especially outside the presence of a defense attorney.

The State appears to be pushing for these events, including Smith’s comments on the secret tapes, to indicate a concerted effort by the district attorney to leverage his position and influence to push for Butler’s release.

Lee McDivitt, the investigator who arrested Smith for the original affidavit of charges in June, said during testimony that texts from Assistant District Attorney Jamie McBride to Smith showed that the attorneys were acting outside their role of locking up criminals.

“All I know is that Mr. McBride was actively trying to come up with a defense for Christopher Butler,” McDivitt said on the stand. “It also appears that he was trying to indict attorneys general.”

McBride is expected to testify against Smith this week; the prosecution dropped his matching charges of conspiracy on the first day of trial, saying he was cooperating.

How Much ‘Discretion’?

The role of the district attorney is not simply to be an aggressive prosecutor of suspected criminals, former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz explained during

student achievement inside and outside the classroom in the state’s only urban district, which serves nearly 27,000 students, with 80 percent getting free or reduced lunch.

Cyclical poverty affects everything from how likely it is students will enter or leave kindergarten literate to whether or not they eat enough food when they’re home for the summers—just like other high-poverty, urban districts around the country.

Regardless of hardship, the stakes are high for the district. “It’s a house under repair, and we’re being inspected at the same time,” interim Superintendent Dr. Freddrick Murray said about the district’s struggles after the Dec. 15 meeting.

Jackson Ward 4 Councilman De’Keither Stamps said at the Dec. 20 board meeting that the district needed a “Joe Clark” in charge, referencing a nononsense principal that Morgan Freeman depicted in the 1989 film “Lean on Me.”

Stamps said the next 100 days for the

more SMITH, see page 8

district re critical to its success, and that deeper, systemic issues, like funding for schools and parents correcting student behavior before they entered the classroom, would have to be paramount going forward. “We cannot allow the schools to fall into the hands of the same people who run the prisons,” he told the Jackson Free Press.

Wright said at the meeting that MDE would continue offering support to the district, but that change would have to come from school leaders as well as the community. She also said it was neither MDE’s “desire or intent” to recommend takeover for Jackson Public Schools.

“It is our hope that JPS will use this process as an opportunity to address the areas of concern,” Wright said.

Sierra Mannie is an education reporting fellow with the Jackson Free Press and The Hechinger Report. Email sierra@jacksonfreepress.com.

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

Imani Khayyam

T

he jury in the trial of Hinds County District Attorney Robert Shuler Smith has a lot to untangle, as the prosecution continues to present pieces of its case that the district attorney conspired to hinder the prosecution of Christopher Butler in order to aid in efforts to free him. Butler is accused of drug trafficking and wire fraud in separate cases.

So far, Smith’s defense seems to be that the State was wrongfully prosecuting Butler in the drug arrests based on video evidence the jury has yet to see. The emerging question is how far a district attorney can or should go inside, or outside, the law to free the accused he believes is not guilty.

7

TALK | city

Malcolm McMillin, Renaissance Man

by Donna Ladd

T

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

Fighting with the Supervisors

McMillin went to work with the Jackson Police Department in 1971, where he coordinated the department’s first Crime Stoppers program. He was first elected in Hinds County in 1991, and with a diverse voter base, he sailed to re-election repeatedly. That is, until he met the negative campaign season of 2011, when former JPD commander Tyrone Lewis defeated him in the Democratic primary for the sheriff’s seat, a loss that McMillin took hard.

The man most called “Mac” wasn’t one to mince words—including with the men and women who allocated his department’s budget—and he was willing to try to use the media to get his message out.

In 2006, for instance, the JFP reported just one of the dust-ups between

8

him and the board. Supervisor Doug Anderson, now deceased, said McMillin was wasting money on raises for his staff and was using public fears of crime to get more money.

“McMillin will go and give raises that were not planned for or allocated for,” Anderson said then. “The sheriff has already given $21,000 in raises. Supervisors give him over one-third of the county budget.

That’s over $17 million. The sheriff will

within his budget, and he reserved the right, as the sheriff, to take care of his people. “I give raises by merit because the people who deserve them ought to get them, and those raises didn’t have anything to do with gas prices going up,” McMillin said.

When McMillin ran for re-election in 2011, he was blunt in an interview about what he thought of the supervisors’ priorities; he had been forced to do cuts David Rae Morris

he only person to serve as both Hinds County sheriff and Jackson police chief, Malcolm McMillin, died Friday, Dec. 23, at St. Dominic hospital after a long illness. He was 72.

Delores, his wife of 52 years, and children Chris, Andrew and Mollie survive him.

Locally, McMillin was known as a character and one well-liked across racial lines, and the Jackson Free Press staff gleefully one time did a “separated at birth” graphic of him and the Monopoly Man.

Born in Natchez, McMillin made his home in Hinds County for more than four decades, much of that time spent in law enforcement. He received his bachelor’s degrees in administration of justice and history from Mississippi College.

Then-Sheriff Malcolm McMillin “arrested” author Willie Morris at his 60th birthday party at Hal & Mal’s in downtown Jackson. Both loved pranks.

spend every dollar he gets and then ask for more. He knows that this gas issue is an issue that the public will support him on.”

The sheriff and former police-union president responded that all raises were

Smith from page 7 a Dec. 23 interview with the Jackson Free Press

“The prosecutor, in our form of government, the greatest tool that he has is discretion,” Diaz said. “He is charged with enforcing the laws. He can bring criminal charges against anyone.”

But Diaz says it is impossible to prosecute every crime, so this ability to pick and choose is essential to the role.

“Therefore, the prosecutor has a great deal of discretion in who he chooses to prosecute, and the great power lies in his discretion in bringing the prosecution,” Diaz said.

and employee furloughs even as the board was pushing plans for a new regional jail.

“The board of supervisors needs to be better stewards of their money than they have been in the past,” he told the JFP.

So, Diaz explained, Smith has the right to choose whether or not to pursue a case.

There are also no laws, to Diaz’s knowledge, that compel a district attorney to prosecute cases. The question, then, is if Smith broke the law forbidding a district attorney from aiding or assisting a criminal defendant while exercising his interpretation of the role of the prosecutor.

Diaz said the jury would determine the definition of that law in this case. He said Smith’s visits to Butler in jail are not an unusual happening.

“I think it’s very common. I’ve had prosecutors that meet with criminal defendants all the time,” Diaz said.

“As a matter of fact, I think that the majority of the time that people accused of crimes talk to police or prosecutors without an attorney present. That’s how they get most

McMillin was also direct when asked if the metro needed a regional jail. “No,” he said. “I don’t think we have a need for it. We might need an expansion of the jail we have now or look for alternative ways to deal with our situation with nonviolent criminals. Other ways of dealing with jail overcrowding might be the answer rather than building enough jail space for everybody who needs to be there.”

Pushing Alternatives

Although he fashioned himself a tough crime-fighter, McMillin also worried about many of the young people who got caught up at the system, including the problem of the public and elected officials’ propensity to demand that offenders go to jail rather than being offered alternatives to help redirect their lives. And he knew those options would save his department money if they stayed clean and out of jail.

“My husband, Frederick Rogers, an ex-offender of 25 years, is a free man because of Sheriff McMillin,” Pauline Rogers said. Her husband, she said, was locked up at age 14 for an armed robbery and served 15 years and 23 months in Parchman. “McMillin mentored him and help him change his life around. He is now doing the same thing for others getting out of prison.”

She and her husband later co-founded a Jackson-based nonprofit organization, the Rech Foundation, to help former prison inmates get on with their lives after serving time in prison, and to serve more MCMILLIN, see page 10

of the confessions they get.”

However, Diaz did say that most defense attorneys would not allow their clients to meet any prosecutor without their attorneys present, too.

“And if the criminal defendant is willing to talk to the prosecutor … that happens all the time. It’s usually to the detriment of the criminal defendant,” he said.

The jury is hearing more testimony throughout the week after Christmas at least.

Email city reporter Tim Summers Jr. a tim@jacksonfree press.com. Read more about the Hinds County DA saga at jfp.ms/DAFiles and follow @tims_ alive on Twitter for live trial updates.

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December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

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TALK |STATE

State Has One Year to Improve Foster Care

by Arielle Dreher

M

McMillin from page 8

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

“children whose parents are incarcerated, offering summer camps, angel tree, educational support, and other activities to help narrow the void left by absent parents,” its website states. McMillin was among the first to donate to the foundation, she said the day he died.

Jolivette Anderson-Douoning, who now lives in Indiana but used to be a force in the black arts movement in Jackson, agrees. She remembers the Second Chance Choir she helped organize as an intern for New Stage Theatre. “Sheriff McMillin worked with me to make sure the choir of men who were still in jail could perform as an opening act,” she said. “It was strange having guards and guns at the show, but it was for a greater good for those men and for the city overall. Rehabilitation. Everybody wins.”

Linda Mann said this about McMillin: “What a fine, sweet man. I’ll never forget the day he invited the women who worked for the USA IBC out to the county prison farm for lunch grown and cooked by the inmates. The inmates’ choir he founded also serenaded us. He was so proud of them, as he should have been.

Everything was perfect, and we were so 10 impressed at what the men had accom-

Mississippi, MDCPS will continue to make great strides toward making welfare reform a reality,” Chandler said in a press statement. “Protecting children and nurturing families remain the unwavering focus for everything we do.”

Imani Khayyam File Photo

ississippi’s newly formed Department of Child Protection Services will have a year to revamp the state’s foster-care system, due to the longrunning “Olivia Y” lawsuit over maltreatment of children in State care.

On Dec. 19, the State and A Better Childhood, the nonprofit organization that brought the lawsuit, reached an agreement in how the foster-care system needs to improve in coming years.

The department will get until the end of 2017 to become a “fully functional child welfare agency,” which includes implementing a new data-collection system to track kids in the State’s care. The third remedial order says the State of Mississippi must start ensuring that new caseworkers have the technology they need to do their work, keep caseload numbers down and work to certify the 496 potential foster homes backlogged in the state’s system.

All conditions of the new settlement agreement must be in place by January 2018, and Commissioner of Child Protection Services David Chandler admits a lot of hard work is left to do to make it happen on time.

“Because the agency has the leadership as well as the support of the Legislature, the governor, and the people of

David Chandler, the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services, praised the Legislature and the governor’s support for making reforms a reality after maltreatment of foster children in the State’s care came to light.

plished. Malcolm had a great big heart and a lot of talent.”

Artist Wyatt Waters has a similar story. “(The sheriff) called me and asked me if I would take a detention resident into a Millsaps class I was teaching at the time.

(The student) turned his life around and is now a positive art force in our area and a fine person,” Waters said, adding that he had first met beat-cop McMillin in the 1980s when the artist was painting on Farish Street. “Malcolm had that kind of influence. He was always generous and supportive.”

McMillin also believed in inmates giving back to the community. “Hinds County trustees helped build a number of Habitat houses with the Junior League of Jackson, thanks to Sheriff McMillin,” Kathleen Conner Strickland wrote to me.

Cleaning Up Melton’s Messes

The sheriff found himself in a particularly thorny situation when Frank Melton became mayor in 2006. Melton was a self-ordained crime-fighter who liked to illegally carry weapons and patrol neighborhoods like the Washington Addition, the Wood Street area and Subdivision 2 at night with his bodyguards in the Jackson Police Department’s Mobile Command Center (at least until he was mired in his own state and federal criminal trials—with crime up, rather than down.)

The new agreement lifted several reporting requirements under the 2012 settlement agreement, but Public Catalyst will continue to monitor the State’s compliance in 2017. Public Catalyst is a New Jersey-based child-welfare monitoring organization.

“We congratulate the State on its willingness to acknowledge how far it still has to go, and its recognition that receivership remains a real threat,” Marcia Robinson Lowry, the executive director of A Better Childhood, said in a press release. “This is a significant commitment to bringing caseloads down to professional standards, to making sure all children are in licensed homes, and to ensuring that all children are in homes or facilities that actually are able to care for them.”

The State must increase its number of social workers, foster homes and foster parents in the coming year. New foster homes must be licensed by June 30, 2017, and all children placed in those licensed homes thereafter.

Email state reporter at arielle@jackson freepress.com and follow her on Twitter for breaking capitol news at @arielle_amara.

The often-intoxicated mayor frustrated straight-shooters like Malcolm McMillin.

It didn’t help that Melton played favorites with young criminals he wanted to help and targeted those he didn’t.

In 2006, Sheriff McMillin had Melton arrested after then-District Attorney Faye Peterson brought the case to a Hinds County grand jury, which indicted the mayor and his two bodyguards for the destruction of the duplex at 1305 Ridgeway St., a story the Jackson Free Press broke and pursued.

But by late 2007, McMillin was called to solve the mess that the mayor had created in the local law-enforcement community, after Melton finally fired his hand-picked and beleaguered police chief and friend, Shirlene Anderson, who had seemed to rubberstamp whatever he wanted to do.

Under pressure, Melton asked McMillin to also serve as the city’s police

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chief, in addition to his role as sheriff. It was an unprecedented dual role, and one McMillin said he wasn’t particularly happy about, but he took on the second job and ran both departments from November 2007 until April 2009. At the time, Tyrone Lewis served as a JPD commander under McMillin.

When McMillin decided to step down as police chief in April 2007, he told the Jackson Free Press that he could not serve as Melton’s police chief because he would oppose the mayor in his re-election campaign. “I thought it would say a lot about me and my integrity and honesty in taking that salary without supporting the mayor,” McMillin said then.

At the time of his re-election primary, Melton was facing both federal and state trials over the destruction of the Ridgeway Street duplex.

Melton appointed Tyrone Lewis as police chief to fill McMillin’s spot. Lewis

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TALK | state served in that role until Melton died just as the polls closed, cementing McMillin’s loss in his re-election bid. In 2011, Lewis then defeated him for the sheriff’s seat after a raucous campaign.

Navigating a ‘Black Helicopter’

It didn’t help that a local blogger pushed a conspiracy around McMillin’s role in investigating the DUI car crash of Stuart and Karen Irby, who had killed a couple in another vehicle. McMillin, who was chief and sheriff at the time of the accident, received negative publicity around the unproved theory that he had gone easy on the Irbys after the accident because he had known Stuart Irby for a long time— innuendo he considered a witch hunt.

McMillin reached out to the Jackson Free Press then to push back on the accusations in an interview that caused the blogger to call this editor a “journalistic slut” for giving McMillin the chance to give his side.

“I made it a point not to be involved, not to be briefed” on the Irby case, McMillin said then in his downtown office.

McMillin did not deny having a “close personal relationship” with Stuart Irby, whom he called “a friend,” but emphasized that he had held elected office long enough to know that he should not go near the investigation. “I wanted to make sure there was not any implication of impropriety on my part in the handling of this case.”

The sheriff accused the blogger, who does not post under his real name, of being someone “who sees black helicopters, conspiracy theories or is just ignorant.”

McMillin admitted, though, that JPD investigators had made mistakes at the crime scene.

After McMillin left the sheriff’s office, Gov. Phil Bryant appointed him to the state parole board in 2012 where he stayed on for about a year.

McMillin largely dropped out of political view at that point. However, he did tell the Jackson Free Press last year that he was strongly backing challenger Victor Mason, who had worked with both the JPD and the Hinds County Sheriff’s Department, against Lewis in his first reelection bid. Mason defeated Lewis and is now sheriff.

Enjoying Life, Arts

Although he encountered controversies along the way, Malcolm McMillin participated fully in the local community and, particularly, loved the arts.

“I am so sorry to hear about his passing,” artist H.C. Porter said. “He was so supportive of the Millsaps Arts District in the early years. He often had lunch at our local art cafe and delighted us with his generous smile and genuine interest in our world! Peace to his family.”

Photographer David Rae Morris fondly remembers his father Willie Morris’ 60thbirthday party at Hal & Mal’s in downtown Jackson, where McMillin crashed the party and “arrested” the birthday boy, who was known himself as a practical jokester. “McMillin had him handcuffed and read a list of charges for which he was put on trial and convicted,” David Rae Morris wrote in an email.

Mary Ann Hood, the wife of the late newspaper columnist Orley Hood, said McMillin was the doorman/bouncer at the bar George Street Grocery back in the day. “My husband, Orley, wrote several columns about Mac and the things he did while sheriff, at New Stage, etc.,” she wrote. For one, he took Mattie—“or Mama as we called her,” Hood told me—with him when be became sheriff. “He loved her cooking!”

Local attorney Sam Begley said McMillin was a part of his life since 1981. He knew him first as a JPD patrolman and then as the president of the police union, “where to say he fought for his members is an understatement.” Like every cop with a family, he had to work part-time,” Begley told me. “I remember him handling the door upstairs at George Street on Thursday and Friday nights, back when George Street was hot with bands in the 1980s.”

Begley, who is also a political watcher and strategist, said McMillin, a long-time Democrat, should have run as an independent in 2011 on the November ballot instead of against Lewis in the Democratic primary. “He would have smoked Tyrone Lewis in November, and we would have had him for four more years,” he predicted.

Read a longer version of this obituary with more remembrances at jfp.ms/mcmillin.

Donna Ladd is editor-inchief of the JFP. Follow her at @donnerkay on Twitter.

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“Malcolm had a great big heart and a lot of talent.”

11

Seeds of Destiny

O

ne of the most influential mentors in my early years was Arla Little, the artistic director of the Black Repertory Dance Troupe in Berkeley, Calif.

“I want you to audition for my company,” she said after observing me in a dance class.

“But I’m not black,” I said (before mentally slapping my forehead in shame).

“I know,” Arla said, maintaining her dead-serious demeanor. “But you’ve got the right spirit. Come and try out.”

I auditioned and spent the next four years as a member of the Black Repertory Dance Troupe.

“The black experience is grounded in struggle and celebration,” Arla said at our first rehearsal, “and you don’t need to be black to understand what that feels like.”

Arla guided us to dig deep into the struggle and celebration of our own story, culture and lineage. Once we tapped into our blood memory, she taught us how to interpret those emotions through her dances on the Motherland, the enslaved period, the struggle for liberation, the power of the church and the contemporary black experience.

Under Arla’s leadership, I learned about how to hold and express compassion, empathy and respect for many cultures. These values became the foundation of my current work as a facilitator in Transcultural Leadership and The Five Elements. Without a doubt, I would not be who I am without Arla Little.

The power and depth of my experience in Black Rep came to life earlier this year when 50 young performers from the Destiny Arts Center staged their annual dance production, “Seed Language: A New Identity.”

The show combined dance, song, spoken word and multimedia to interpret the words of noted activists, artists and educators.

The performers produced works such as “Beloved Community, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome,” “He Can’t Breathe” and “Chains Off.” My soul filled with joy as I remembered dancing to works titled “For Malcolm and Martin,” “Everlasting Fire,” “Ise Oluwa” and “Freedom.” Although the titles, technology and times had changed between 1981 and 2016, the spirit and struggle articulated in the performances were strikingly similar.

The stalwart of Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company is Sarah Crowell, the artistic director and co-founder. Sarah, like Arla, has mentored thousands of young people, instilling them with values of confidence, community, tenacity, hope and justice. Many of us have grown to become teachers, doctors, entrepreneurs, lawyers, engineers and yes, professional dancers, committed to fostering young people and making our world more peaceful, inclusive and just.

As I watched these young performers, I could see the seeds of destiny blossoming in their souls and smiles. Sarah summarized the her intent to give the audience “[A] renewed sense of hope, joy and perhaps a new language. A language that seeds action. Action that sows change.”

For decades, Sarah Crowell and Arla (Little) Scott have been, and continue to be, master cultivators of activists and artivists for peace and justice.

May we all, young and old, accept their invitation and join the dance.

Kevin Fong, who lives in San Francisco, is a nationally recognized and respected facilitator, trainer and speaker in leadership and executive develop12 ment and organizational systems, philosophy and design.

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

“The black experience is grounded in struggle and celebration.”

Start Running Government Like a Business

W

hether from Donald Trump or the GOP supermajority in the Mississippi Legislature, we hear constantly that Republicans want to “run government like a business.” The problem is that many of them don’t appear to know how legitimate, forward-looking, smart businesses actually work.

Take the most recent “Olivia Y” settlement (see page 10). For years, the State has neglected its responsibilities to invest in and manage the children’s foster-care division properly and humanely.

That’s long been true with our juvenile-justice system and other services designed to help the people of Mississippi—the state’s human capital. Instead of investing in people and progress, they seek to “drain swamps” and drown governments in bathtubs.

Too many legislators ignore the need for smart investment and act like they’re only up there to destroy the government they run—with the side benefit of siphoning off sweet deals and corporate welfare from donations to their “campaign” funds.

GOP lawmakers also want to under-fund public education, continuing to ensure an inadequate work force in Mississippi. The result will be what you see in businesses that don’t reinvest profits—a vicious cycle of less growth and fewer jobs.

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves actually pushes the nonsensical idea that funding in poor school districts should be modeled around that in richer districts, where families with more resources put them to use buying uniforms, instructions, books, tutors and—

oh, yeah—food. Reeves’ logic? If communities that collect higher property taxes need less state money to educate kids, then communities that collect lower property taxes should also need less state money to educate kids. Good business? That’s not even good math. People with common sense know it will cost extra to put adequate resources into schools in the poorest neighborhoods, but that investment in quality education will reap dividends for decades.

Heck, we can’t even convince the Legislature to invest in infrastructure so we can improve road and bridge safety, and create more good jobs. How tough is it to decide to invest in problems everyone—rich or poor—can agree on? Nobody wants to fall through a bad bridge into a river. But too many “conservatives” in state government can’t figure out that high-quality infrastructure is an investment any smart business would make in its future.

Smart, forward-thinking business owners don’t starve their R&D departments or underfund basic needs of their human capital. They work to invest in the future and to get ahead of potential problems, not live from cut to cut. They make “business-like” decisions because they benefit all stakeholders, not a select few lobbyists and contractors.

The Legislature’s un-business-like agenda is getting even worse under a greedy supermajority.

They need to stop salivating over tax cuts and campaign donations and start making lasting investments in the state’s future, or we all will pay for their lack of planning and investment down the road.

Email letters and opinion to letters@jacksonfreepress.com, fax to 601-510-9019 or mail to 125 South Congress St., Suite 1324, Jackson, Mississippi 39201. Include daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, as well as factchecked.

Joe Atkins

EDITORIAL Assistant Editor Amber Helsel Reporters Arielle Dreher,Tim Summers Jr. Education Reporting Fellow Sierra Mannie JFP Daily Editor Dustin Cardon Music Editor Micah Smith Events Listings Editor Tyler Edwards Writers Richard Coupe, Bryan Flynn, Shelby Scott Harris, Mike McDonald, Greg Pigott, Julie Skipper Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Art Director Kristin Brenemen Advertising Designer Zilpha Young Staff Photographer Imani Khayyam ADVERTISING SALES Sales and Marketing Consultants Myron Cathey, Roberta Wilkerson Sales Assistant Mary Osborne BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS Distribution Manager Richard Laswell Distribution Raymond Carmeans, Clint Dear, Michael McDonald, Ruby Parks Assistant to the CEO Inga-Lill Sjostrom Operations Consultant David Joseph ONLINE Web Editor Dustin Cardon Web Designer Montroe Headd CONTACT US: Letters letters@jacksonfreepress.com Editorial editor@jacksonfreepress.com Queries submissions@jacksonfreepress.com Listings events@jacksonfreepress.com Advertising ads@jacksonfreepress.com Publisher todd@jacksonfreepress.com News tips news@jacksonfreepress.com Fashion style@jacksonfreepress.com Jackson Free Press 125 South Congress Street, Suite 1324 Jackson, Mississippi 39201 Editorial (601) 362-6121 Sales (601) 362-6121 Fax (601) 510-9019 Daily updates at jacksonfreepress.com

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The Jackson Free Press welcomes thoughtful opinions. The views expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of the publisher or management of Jackson Free Press Inc. Š Copyright 2016 Jackson Free Press Inc. All Rights Reserved

A Cold War Mentality

O

XFORD—Back in the summer of 1992, just months after the failed coup that led to the fall of communism and Boris Yeltsin’s rise to leadership in a new post-Soviet Russia, I traveled with my late wife, Marilyn, to Moscow and met Roman Fiodorov.

Fiodorov was our bespectacled, sharpwitted guide through the ancient churches and towers of the Kremlin. He liked to tell a good-if-sometimes-grim joke as he regaled us with tales of Ivan the Terrible and Rasputin. “Ah, you Americans,� he said at one point. “Two people get hurt in a car accident, and it’s front-page news. Here in Russia, hundreds get sent off to Siberia, and it’s not even in the newspaper.�

The Cold War between the U.S. and Russia was finally thawing.

Americans and Russians could share in a little selfdeprecating humor. The Icon-filled Orthodox churches in Moscow were filling with people able to show their faith and belief openly and without fear.

Today, as the cold, wintry drifts of December bring 2016 to a close and the new Trump Era in America looms, I wonder at the Cold War nostalgia that the 2016 presidential election seems to have unearthed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants President-elect Donald Trump to be his personal “lap dog,� says John Podesta, who chaired Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s failed campaign. He points to hacking of Democratic National Committee email as evidence.

Both Democrats and Republicans are calling for an investigation into the alleged Russian email hacking. The CIA has publicly concluded that Putin and Russia were the culprits, which the FBI now backs up.

Only one problem threatens to undermine this new Cold War mentality: Not the CIA or anyone else has yet produced any concrete evidence that Putin or the Russians indeed did the alleged hacking. Julian Assange, whose WikiLeaks published the emails, says the Russians were not his organization’s source. An Assange associate says no hacking even took place, that “an insider,� not a Russian, provided WikiLeaks with the information.

What baffles me about this controversy is that the leaked emails—regardless of their source—show Trump was partially right when he claimed the system was “rigged� during the campaign. He was

wrong in believing it was rigged against him. The system was actually rigged against Bernie Sanders and other challengers to the Clinton Machine in the Democratic Party.

Whoever gave WikiLeaks that information did the American public a service.

Voters needed to know that Democratic Party leaders were putting the lie to their party’s name by trying to make sure they, not the people, got to choose who the general-election candidate would be.

Putin is no angel, far from it, and a sadness continues to underlie Roman Fiodorov’s joke because there’s likely still truth to it.

When Trump takes office, he’ll bring with him people like his choice for secretary of state, Exxon Mobile Chief Executive Rex W. Tillerson, a businessman who has worked closely with Putin and the Russians for years. What that portends for the environment as well as for relations with China, NATO and Europe is uncertain and even unsettling, like many of Trump’s cabinet choices.

Still, that doesn’t take the stink off the Democrats’ near self-destruction in the 2016 election, where its loss of the White House only compounded its loss of Congress, 900 legislative seats and two-thirds of governors’ offices over the past eight years.

The current leaked email controversy reeks of a “lap dog� mainstream media willing to promote an inside campaign to shift attention away from Democratic skullduggery to Russia and Putin.

And it’s also hypocrisy. Consider the United States’ long history of mixing itself into the elections of other sovereign nations—from Iran to South Vietnam to Chile to Nicaragua to Libya to Honduras to the Ukraine, where a democratically elected president was ousted with U.S. complicity in 2014 with no regard whatsoever to how neighboring Russia might feel about that situation.

“Systems are different, but people are the same,� Roman Fiodorov told us Americans back in 1992. “People just want a (normal) life.� He was right, and the fact that “systems� and politics often make that difficult is no joke.

Columnist Joe Atkins is a veteran journalist, columnist and professor of journalism at the University of Mississippi. His blog is laborsouth.blogspot.com. Email him at jbatkins@olemiss.edu.

“Systems are different, but people are the same.�

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2017

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

Making Ends Meet

Lawmakers Wrestle with Education, Infrastructure and Shrinking Revenue

by Arielle Dreher

“A

16

ntiquated. Confusing. Inefficient. Unreliable. Unpredictable. What do these words describe?”

House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, asked at the annual Hobnob event on Oct. 26, speaking to business and political lead-

ers from around the state. “They describe the Mississippi Adequate Education Program funding formula.”

The mood in the Mississippi Coliseum changed, and the casual, “How y’all doing?” mode of speeches shifted dramatically as Gunn started a stark and carefully crafted denouncement of the state’s publiceducation funding mechanism.

“This formula has failed to give our schools a predictable stream of revenue upon which they can budget; this formula has failed to ensure that money reaches the classroom,” Gunn said.

As the 2017 legislative session begins, Gunn’s priorities have not changed. The speaker told reporters in December that education funding was at the top of his

Imani Khayyam

Legislature

The 2017 Legislative session begins at the Mississippi State Capitol on Jan. 3.

legislative agenda for the 2017 session.

“We’re looking for ways to provide a more stable and reliable source for funding; that’s something we’ve heard from superintendents a lot,” Gunn said.

“So as you know, we’ve engaged that effort, and we’re trying to find a more reliable way to fund education.”

Education funding dominated headlines throughout 2016, as lawmakers worked to level-fund and not cut the amount of funding that went to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program in previous budget years, despite cutting most other agency budgets. Advocates and proponents wanted a statewide ballot Initiative 42 to force the Legislature to fully fund the formula, but it lost by only a couple percentage points in the 2015 election.

So they continued the rally cry well into the new year, asking lawmakers to fully fund MAEP. Statehouse leaders took a different approach, however, and on Oct. 11, they announced their intention to contract with an outside group and revamp MAEP in its entirety.

for special-needs vouchers. Lawmakers are proposing a “school recognition program” that rewards high-performing districts and improving school districts, according to their accountability ranking.

“The recognition program is to reward schools that are high-performing and/or improving,” Gunn said.

He had few specifics about the program to offer but said that it would mean roughly $100 per student in recognized school districts. The state’s accountability system is already a catalyst for sending some districts to join the Achievement School District (essentially a state consolidation) after more than two years in a row of receiving an “F” grade. That legislation doesn’t consider ratings prior to the 2015-2016 school year, however.

The Mississippi Department of Education released the most recent accountability rankings in October. Of the 19 failing school districts, the majority of those districts serve mainly African American student populations.

Not all lawmakers are in favor of re-engineering the formula, and while education subcommittee members met with EdBuild throughout the summer, other lawmakers began to voice concerns for changing a formula that hasn’t been fully funded in years.

At a Legislative Black Caucus hearing with some Baptist convention members in November, Rep. Jay Hughes, D-Oxford, an outspoken advocate for fully funding public schools on social media, told the group that it is disingenuous to declare MAEP a failure when it has rarely received full funding in its entire existence. Hughes reiterated what school administrators have told the Jackson Free Press for the past two years: MAEP money goes almost exclusively to teacher salaries, in both “F” and “A” districts.

Hughes’ analogy, like some other vocal Democrats, is that changing a formula before trying to fully fund it first is a bit like putting the cart before the horse.

“I don’t want to see us revise a formula and lower the amount needed just so legislators can claim that they fully funded the formula; that’s disingenuous to me, as well,” Hughes said in November.

Hughes pointed to the governor’s proposed budget plan, which proposes to add $16.4 million into MAEP funding, while cutting general education funding by $14.9 million and the state’s Chickasaw Interest, which helps fund the disparity between counties that do have 16th-section lands and those that do not, by 6.9 percent.

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

Imani Khayyam

Murky MAEP Plans considers Mississippi a “hybrid state,” indi- make recommendations. And we’re solely

Changing the state’s school-funding cating that the state budgets for and funds focused on that,” she told the Jackson Free formula might be at the forefront of several several special student groups, but most of Press in November. lawmakers’ agendas going into the 2017 that funding is done outside of the MAEP’s legislative session, but how that will be primary math equation with separate “add- Timing and Pushback done, exactly, is still murky at best.

The timing for incorporating Edon program costs.”

MAEP has not changed dramatically Those programs that the state funds as Build’s suggestions into the state’s funding since 2006, when lawmakers amended the a part of the MAEP budget but outside of formula might seem rushed, but lawmakers law to say they would recalculate the base “base student cost” calculations are: special, do not necessarily have to act this session. student cost, which is the dollar amount at- vocational and gifted education, transpor- The Legislature’s contract with EdBuild tached to each student in a public school in tation and the state’s alternative school. says the nonprofit will provide technical asMississippi, every four years. A little more EdBuild’s philosophy is about distrib- sistance to the House and Senate Education than a year ago, the same Republican lead- uting resources through a “purely student- Committee sub-finance group through ers campaigned together against Initiative based system,” the presentation says.

June 2017, meaning lawmakers could en42, and now they are advocating for an up- Mississippi has a higher base cost per gineer and tweak the new state formula dated formula altogether. student, even after adjusting for cost of liv- throughout the start of the new year and

The Legislature has only fully funded MAEP twice since its creation in 1997. State Auditor Stacey Pickering finds more at fault with the formula than small tweaks can fix, and in his March 16, 2016, letter to legislative and state leaders about the formula, he said the formula uses data that are not reliable and difficult for his office to verify. He also said MAEP does not address actual classroom educational needs.

“Educational funding should be tied to what school districts actually need to fund quality classroom settings—teachers and resources,” Pickering wrote in his March letter.

Pickering’s letter concludes with the year’s outlook costs. The base student cost for the 2016(Left to right) Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn announced their 2017 school year is $5,358 per intentions to keep state agency budgets slim when they released the Joint Legislative child. This cost is higher than Budget Committee’s proposed fiscal-year 2018 budget on Dec. 8. neighboring states Louisiana or Arkansas, according to data from New Jersey nonprofit EdBuild. ing, compared to some surrounding states. implement it later in the year or in the next

The Legislature contracted with Ed- MAEP has a weight in its formula to ad- legislative session.

Gunn told reporters that rewriting the Build this October to evaluate how the dress student poverty at 5 percent of free- state’s formula could be more student- lunch eligible students, but EdBuild’s mod- state’s education-funding formula is a prifocused and keep money in the classroom, el suggests incorporating additional weights ority, particularly to make sure it is much something Republican leaders have pushed for students who need English language more “student-based” than it currently is. since the 2015 election when the party be- courses, students with learning disabilities The Mississippi Association of School Superintendents supports the Legislature’s efcame a “supermajority” in the state, making or even by grade level. it near-impossible for Democrats to turn EdBuild representatives deferred inter- forts, Gunn said, largely due to the unpreback their legislation. view requests to legislative leaders, who did dictability of MAEP. “(MAEP’s) not predictable because of

EdBuild is charged with developing not make EdBuild’s CEO Rebecca Sibilia a school-finance simulator lawmakers can available for interviews for this story, saying the way we measure (school) attendance,” use to determine how they can enhance the she and her staff were focusing on finishing he said. “It’s trying to create a situation current funding formula. the simulator. In previous interviews with where there is predictability, and there’s

An October EdBuild presentation the Jackson Free Press, Sibilia said she un- consistencies (so) in August, they’ll know showed that much of the nonprofit’s fo- derstands the concerns of those who sub- they can get through May.” The Mississippi Association of School cus is re-engineering the state’s formula to mitted public comments and questions, but include weights for more student popu- she still felt that “weighted student funding,” Superintendents did not respond to meslations, like students who need special which provides extra money to students who sages left for this story. The Joint Legislative education, English-language learners, and might be gifted or impoverished or learning Budget Committee’s proposed fiscal-year students who come from families or com- English, would best serve the interests of the 2018 plan actually increases funding for education—but not funding for MAEP. In munities in economic distress. people of Mississippi.

MAEP is like a math equation with “We’re still moving forward to do past years, additional funds for education several variables that determine how much what they (the state) asked us to do, which have gone toward initiatives like reading money a school district receives. EdBuild is review MAEP, talk with stakeholders and coaches to address third-grade literacy or

more LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW, see page 18 17

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW from page 17

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

Imani Khayyam

bridges as a top priority for the upcoming session. He said it is hard to answer questions about addressing the state’s need to invest in its roads and bridges without a plan in place. Gunn said he has heard several ideas from different groups about what could be done.

“If we can get a plan, it would be our hope to (push it forward in 2017), but I can’t promise that anything is going to happen,” he told reporters in mid-December.

Researchers at the University of Southern Mississippi and Mississippi State University found in 2015 that the state’s infrastructure will continue to erode unless Infrastructure Woes the State takes preventive measures with

At some point, the State will need to the parts of the system that aren’t crumfind money for its roads and bridges that bling yet. The results were staggering: Misare in need of costly repair and preventive sissippi needs to invest $375 million more care—but when that will happen is a mat- annually to fix its roads and bridges. ter for legislators to debate and decide.

The Mississippi Economic Council,

In 2016, a last-minute skeleton of the state’s chamber of commerce, took the an infrastructure bill that brought forward lead on developing a potential roadmap for both various bonding authority and tax- lawmakers to use in order to come up with rate components of state law could have a plan to fund the state’s infrastructure. set a plan for fixing and funding the state’s With backing from some of Mississippi’s roads and bridges. wealthiest businessmen, the group launched its “Excelerate Mississippi” initiative last year.

MEC’s plan details how the state can come up with these funds: through a combination of user-based taxation, meaning taxing only those who use roads and bridges, mainly car owners, by increasing the gas tax that has been flat since 1987 and adding a sales tax to gas in the state.

Additionally, the plan details other fee increases such as for car tags or other changes to the state’s tax Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, says the Taxpayer code that could help generPay Raise Act, which he helped author, is fine as is and would only need a few minor tweaks if the ate the necessary revenue.

Legislature revisits it this session.

Scott Waller, the executive vice president of MEC, has worked on

Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, and the state’s infrastructure problems for sevSen. Willie Simmons, D-Cleveland, co- eral years, helping spread awareness of the authored Senate Bill 2921, and the bill study and its potential consequences on passed the Senate in mid-March despite public safety and economic development several failed amendments from both in the state.

Republicans and Democrats to mandate The study found that 4,000 bridges in additions like notices for taxpayers to the state need repairs today, and more than know that the state increased their taxes half those bridges are considered “posted” by a certain percentage. or unable to hold the weight they were

The infrastructure bill never got out of designed to hold initially. Waller said that committee in the House, however, and this while the infrastructure-funding problem 18 year, the speaker didn’t mention roads and is not unique to Mississippi, the state is al-

are almost identical to the findings from the 2013 study. Simmons said he supports passing a bill this session.

“Personally, I support Ronald Reagan’s approach, and I say that because President Reagan after his State of the Union said he wasn’t going to raise taxes and then the business community worked with him, and he changed his mind,” Simmons told the Jackson Free Press.

Mississippi’s gas-tax rate is flat and Imani Khayyam

House Minority Whip Rep. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, says his party members would be open to adding components like English-language learners and Advanced Placement courses as weighted measures, as EdBuild has suggested, but also echoes what Hughes said.

“They (Republican leaders are) focused on not cutting it (MAEP funding), but they’re still not funding it fully,” Baria told the Jackson Free Press. “We simply disagree with that approach; we believe that you could fully fund education if you made it a priority.”

ready starting to get behind.

“Other states did year-over-year funding increases, and over half the states in the country now have addressed this in some fashion,” Waller told the Jackson Free Press.

“It’s a safety issue, and if we don’t react and do what the other states are doing, we’re going to get left behind.”

Waller says the Excelerate plan addresses the state’s issues head-on. He said the State and the taxpayers cannot afford to

Sen. Willie Simmons, D-Cleveland, said he will introduce an infrastructure bill in the 2017 legislative session to give it a fair chance at passing.

wait. In essence, the longer the State waits to budge on the infrastructure issue, the more it will cost taxpayers in the long run.

“We believe we have resolved the issue. We’ve looked at this every possible way; it’s going to require new revenue—that’s all there is to it,” Waller said.

Some lawmakers are onboard with the MEC proposal, recognizing the urgency of fixing some of the state’s roads and bridges. In Hinds County alone, 60 bridges are classified as “deficient.” A simple bridge repair, say a small bridge over a creek, can cost more than $1 million to fix.

Larger, more intricate bridge repairs will cost much more.

House Transportation Committee Chairman Charles Busby, R-Pascagoula, agrees that the Legislature needs to take action, but he is not all for the MEC plan. He said he is looking at the gas tax and userbased taxes and plans to introduce a bill next session.

“I’m looking at it (those taxes)—not raising it—but changing the way we do it so that over time we can generate more revenue, and also (provide) a method that would allow the people to have a choice on part of it,” he told the Jackson Free Press.

Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Sen. Willie Simmons says it is time to act. He served on Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves’ 2013 committee to look at the state’s roads and bridges. Simmons said the results of the USM and MSU study

has been since the 1987 highway program came to life, so while inflation drove costs up on every other service and price associated with transportation, from cars to the parts that make them function, the gas-tax rate in the state stayed static.

Simmons said a bill to fund the state’s roads and bridges would drop early this session, as opposed to last time. He said the federal government has essentially the same formula for funding federal roads and bridges, and with President-elect Donald Trump’s discussion of infrastructure, Simmons worries that the federal government might end up raising taxes or changing gas rates before the State can.

“He (Trump) has not talked about money, but if they add a tax onto fuel, it makes it more challenging to do something (in Mississippi),” Simmons said.

“It’s better to do it first because if he does bring (legislation) forward, it will address some of the issues for the nation, but it won’t be the savior for Mississippi.

We would get additional dollars, but it wouldn’t take care of the 4,000 bridges in our state and the additional lanes of deficient highways.”

The MEC funded a March 2016 Mason-Dixon poll that shows that 61 percent of Mississippians surveyed strongly or somewhat supported a plan to increase taxes and fees in order to fund overall of more LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW, see page 20

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19

ago that still affect the budget today.

Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, loudly called the Taxpayer Pay Raise Act from page 18 the worst bill of the 2016 session. He has teamed up with other Senate Democrats, Mississippi’s bad roads and bridges. back on out-of-state travel helped law- including Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, a

Dispute over just how bad the state’s makers find savings, as well. vocal opponent of the Pay Raise Act last roads and bridges are muddied parts of “We had literally multiple days in session, to push to repeal the bill in the debate last session, but the real kicker the capitol talking about travel, and what upcoming session. Blount says that in two for improving the state’s infrastructure this budget does is it basically returns decades, the tax cut will divert close to lies in how to go about doing it. Almost travel in its entirety back to FY2012 $6.6 billion away from the state’s coffers— every proposal requires the Legislature levels,” Reeves told reporters on Dec. 8. enough money to pay for the state’s roads to increase taxes, a notion that most Re- “Travel has increased by almost 20 per- and bridges, he says. publicans intend to avoid like the plague, cent in the last five years, so while many The Senate Democrats’ plan would especially after passing the Taxpayer Pay state agencies are complaining about also not raise taxes on Mississippians, Raise Act in the 2016 session. certain programs being shut down, they Blount said, unlike MEC’s proposed are traveling more today than they ever funding program for fixing infrastructure.

“What happened was the legislative leadership passed the largest tax cut in state history, and after it passed, decided to study the tax structure,” Blount told the Jackson Free Press. “That’s readyfire-aim policy making. You should do the study first and then pass the bill.”

Sen. Fillingane, one of the main architects of the Taxpayer Pay Raise Act, says he does not foresee any big changes to the state’s tax code Some Senate Democrats, including (left to right) Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, and Sen. Hob coming in the 2017 Bryan, D-Amory, plan to attempt a repeal of the Taxpayer Pay Raise Act in order to fund session.

He said there infrastructure repairs across the state. might be some small things to clean up Tightening the Belt have—and that’s not a priority for the in the bill, but the major overhaul work

If there is one thing certain about legislative leadership.” passed in the bill last year. the 2017 legislative session, it is that the The proposed fiscal-year 2018 plan “I think the Taxpayer Pay Raise Act majority of state agencies can expect their does not eliminate agencies’ out-of-state was a balanced approach; it aided and budgets to be slimmed and strained in travel altogether but reduces it by around helped our corporate citizens, (but) we the upcoming fiscal-year 2018.

20 percent. had the elimination of the individual in It is too early to say to what extent, The budget working groups were a come tax of the 3-percent bracket, which but even after several legislative budget part of the legislative leadership’s broader helps everybody because you must pay groups scrutinized agency expenses this goal to work on efficiencies within bud- that before other brackets,” Fillingane told summer, eliminating vacant positions in geting—something the state government the Jackson Free Press. state agencies and cutting lots of out-of- will need once the Taxpayer Pay Raise Fillingane was part of the tax-policy state travel, the Joint Legislative Budget Act starts diverting funds away from the panel of lawmakers that met over the sumCommittee plan tightens the state’s bud- general fund in 2018. mer to study Mississippi’s tax code. Lawget by more than $195 million in the The massive tax cut, pushed through makers on the panel heard presentations, next fiscal year. both chambers late in the session in which the conservative-leaning Tax Foun Lt. Gov. Reeves told reporters in 2016, will divert $416 million annually dation primarily led. Lawmakers on the tax early December that the budget work- from Mississippi’s general fund once it is policy committee looked at what the State ing groups helped reveal potential cost fully implemented in a decade. The cut does and does not tax, what works, and savings within state agency budgets. The phases out the state’s franchise tax, and possible ways to tweak the tax code and Joint Legislative Budget Committee pro- it eliminates the two lowest income-tax potentially the Taxpayer Pay Raise Act. posal for fiscal-year 2018 eliminates near- brackets and self-employment taxes for Nicole Kaeding, an economist from ly 2,000 currently vacant state agency individuals in the state. the Tax Foundation, which favors tax positions in addition to reinstating the Democrats raised Cain over the breaks for businesses, applauded parts of moratorium on agencies looking to pur- bill last session, pointing to slow revenue the Taxpayer Pay Raise Act, particularly 20 chase new vehicles. Reeves said cutting growth and tax cuts from several sessions the phasing out of the state’s franchise

LEGISLATIVE PREVIEW

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

Imani Khayyam

tax included in the bill, which she encouraged lawmakers to implement faster than the decade-long phase-in written into the bill.

Simultaneously, however, Kaeding also offered suggestions for the State to broaden the tax base in order to generate more revenue, which is a problem that most lawmakers acknowledge but have differing opinions about in regards to its source. Kaeding provided lawmakers with an overview of recommendations for taxpolicy reform in Mississippi, based on the Tax Foundation’s policies.

She suggested that Mississippi lawmakers should not raise or change the tax rate but instead broaden the tax base through measures such as applying sales tax to more items, possibly including legal, accounting, fitness, barber or veterinary services throughout the state. She also mentioned adding a sales tax to gasoline in the state, which would be separate from the gasoline tax.

“I think the base is actually where you need to focus on in terms of making it less broad on business transactions and more broad on (service) transactions,” Kaeding told the tax panel in an October meeting.

Fillingane said he believes using legislation like the Taxpayer Pay Raise Act will generate more income with increased economic activity.

“I personally am not convinced that (broadening the base by increasing taxes) is the smart approach because the Taxpayer Pay Raise Act was about reducing the taxpayer burden,” he said. “What we would be doing with that suggestion would be going in reverse, in taxing more Mississippians for more things. I don’t buy into that.”

Lawmakers will have to address budget strains in one form or another, however, due to revenue growth not meeting projections for 2016. Of course, things could change by session time, but both the governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee’s fiscal-year 2018 budget plans are thin.

The JLBC’s recommendation cuts $87 million from the already reduced fiscal-year 2017 budget, which was “adjusted” to deal with a mistake, and then Gov. Phil Bryant cut most state agency budgets twice.

Making ends meet might take more work than usual this coming year—not to mention overhauling the state’s educationfunding formula and trying to find a way to keep bridges from falling in.

Email state reporter Arielle Dreher at arielle@jacksonfreepress.com and follow her at @arielle_amara on Twitter for breaking State news. The 2017 Mississippi Legislative session begins Jan. 3. Comment at jfp.ms.

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LIFE&STYLE | food&drink

Bring in the New Year, Jackson Style

by Amber Helsel

After-Mas Music Festival On Thursday, Dec. 29, Deep South Pops and Blazewalker Pictures will host the AfterMas Music Festival in the Highland Village courtyard (4500 Interstate 55 N.). The event will have performances from Empty Atlas, Standard Issues, Scott + Crawford, Philip Scott and Misfit Monkeys, and locally made arts and crafts. After-Mas is from 5 p.m. to midnight and will also have a canned-food drive. For more information, find the event on Facebook.

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Pre-New Year’s Eve Party and Gap Band Tribute On Friday, Dec. 30, Center Stage of Mississippi (1625 E. County Line Road, Suite 330) will host a pre-New Year’s Eve Party and tribute to the Gap Band. Mike Starintheghetto Robinson will perform Gap Band songs throughout the night. The doors open at 7:30 p.m., and the band starts at 8:30 p.m. The event is bringyour-own-beer. For more information, find Center Stage on Facebook.

Noon Year’s Eve On Dec. 31, the Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Museum Blvd., 601-981-5469) will host Noon Year’s Eve from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

During the event, children can build their own confetti cannon, make a party hat, dance and watch the museum’s rocket full of wishes launch during the countdown at noon. The event is included with regular admission to the museum, which will be open until 5 p.m. that day. Admission is $10, and members and children under 1 year old get in free. For more information, visit mschildrensmuseum.org.

Krystal Ball and Catfish Drop This year marks the 19th annual Krystal Ball and the eighth annual catfish drop at Hal & Mal’s (200 S. Commerce St.). The event features a performance from DJ Rozz, karaoke and more. The ball will also have party favors, hors d’oeuvres, Champagne at midnight and more. The event is 21 and up. For more information, call 601948-0888 or visit halandmals.com.

22

Soulabration New Year’s Eve Party On Dec. 31, the Soulabration New Year’s Eve Party will be at the Mississippi Coliseum (1207 Mississippi St.). The event will have live music. General admission is $32, and table seating is $52. For more information, call 601-353-0603.

Big Sleepy’s Farewell and New Year’s Eve Show For its last show ever, Big Sleepy’s (208 W. Capitol St., 601-863-9516) will have feature performances from El Obo, Bobby Chiz, Fides, Holy Vision and Bad Magic. The doors open at 9 p.m., and the event starts at 10 p.m. The cover is $5, and guests can pay $10 for all they can drink. For more information, find Big Sleepy’s on Facebook.

Crazy Cat Eat Up (1491 Canton Mart Road, Suite 12, 601-957-1441) For New Year’s Eve, Crazy Cat will have a four-course menu that has dishes such as grilled quail with corn pudding, feta cheese, green chilis and a chipotle-molasses glaze; a wild-mushroom cheesecake with cornbread crust and a smoked garlic cream; Gulf shrimp and grits with okra, country ham, tomatoes, pickled shallots and lobster broth; Angus filet mignon with smashed potatoes, bleu-cheese butter and a veal demi-glace; honey-brined chicken with duck-fat potatoes, roasted carrots and an apple-sorghum glaze; and a dessert sampler with bread pudding. The seatings are at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and the dinner is $55 per person. For more information or to make reservations, call 601-957-1441 or find the restaurant on Facebook.

The Strawberry Café (107 Depot Drive, Madison, 601-856-3822) On New Year’s Eve, The Strawberry Café will host a special dinner. The menu has dishes such as a smoked tuna dip with crudités and crostini; a strawberry and chocolate salad; and sautéed blackfish with lump crab, roasted tomatoes, slivered almonds, a lemon-butter cream and rice pilaf. The dinner, which has four courses, is $95 per couple. A wine pairing is available at $16.50 for an individual and $33

are flourless chocolate cake or bread-pudding crème brûlée. The dinner is $145 per person with wine pairings or $85 per person without the wine. For more information, visit seafoodrevolution.com.

ISH Grill & Bar (5105 Interstate 55 N.) ISH will host a New Year’s Eve party at 7 p.m. DJ Phingaprint and The High Frequency Band will perform. The event will also have a balloon drop and a Champagne toast at midnight. Find ISH on Facebook for details.

Amerigo Italian Restaurant (155 Market St., Flowood, 601-992-1550; 6592 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland, 601-977-0593; amerigo.net) This New Year holiday, the Ridgeland and Flowood locations of Amerigo will have a New Year’s Weekend celebration from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1. On New Year’s Eve, the Ridgeland location will have a dinner special of pecan-crusted redfish with oven-roasted chili potatoes, green beans and a Champagne-shallot butter.

Flowood will have a prix fixe menu available in addition to the regular one. At press time, the menu had not been announced. Ridgeland will be open from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and Flowood will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

On New Year’s Day, both locations will serve a brunch beginning at 10:30 a.m. For more information, find the Flowood and Ridgeland locations of Amerigo on Facebook.

1908 Provisions (734 Fairview St., 601948-3429 ext. 305, fairviewinn.com) For its New Years Eve menu, 1908 will have dishes such as grilled crab cakes with curry and fennel slaw and a chipotle yogurt; oysters on the half shell with a citrus-horseradish slaw; a roasted cauliflower bisque with a toasted walnut pesto and smoked paprika oil; braised lamb shanks with polenta and sweet-and-sour peppers; and a rocky-road croissant bread pudding with mint Anglaise. The dinner is $59 and includes party favors. Seatings are at 5, 5:15, 5:30 and 5:45 p.m. For more information, call 601-948-3429 or visit yelp.com/r/1908provisions.

Martin’s Restaurant & Bar (214 S. State St., 601-354-9712) On Saturday, Dec. 31, Martin’s will have a New Year’s Eve party with the Cedric Burnside Project and Trenton Ayers. The doors open at 9 p.m., and the show begins at 10 p.m. The event is 21 and up only and will have a Champagne toast at midnight. Admission is $12. For more information, visit martinslounge.net.

Pop’s Saloon (2636 S. Gallatin St., 601-961-4747) Pop’s will have a New Year’s Eve party on Saturday, Dec. 31. The event will have free food and party supplies, and Burnham Road will perform. The event is from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Advance tickets are $15, and the party is $20 at the door. For more information, find Pop’s Saloon on Facebook.

Seafood R’evolution (1000 Highland Colony Pkwy., Suite 9015, 601-853-3474) Seafood R’evolution will have a New Year’s Eve prix fixe menu, which will feature a four-course menu with a choice of two appetizers, two salads, four entrees and two desserts. The appetizers are roasted butternut squash and apple bisque, or wood-roasted oysters; the salads are the R’evolution house salad or a spinach-and-bacon salad; the entrees are wood-grilled redfish, coffee-rubbed pork tenderloin, filet mignon or lobster Thermidor R’evolution; the desserts

McB’s Bar & Grill (815 Lake Harbour Drive, Ridgeland, 601-956-8362) On New Year’s Eve, McB’s will have a New Year’s Eve party with a midnight Champagne toast, party favors and a performance from Phil and Trace. The event is free and is from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. For more information, find McB’s on Facebook.

Shucker’s Oyster Bar (116 Conestoga Road, Ridgeland, 601-853-0105) On New Year’s Eve, Shucker’s will host a New Year’s Eve party. The event will feature performances from Faze Four and Chad Perry.

The event is $15 per person and includes party favors and a Champagne toast at midnight.

Shucker’s will have a shuttle available to take people home. On New Year’s Day, the restaurant will have a lunch with cabbage, black-eyed peas, ham, cornbread, dessert and tea for $9.72. beginning at 6 p.m. For more information, find Shucker’s on Facebook or visit shuckersontherez.com.

Pelican Cove Grill (3999 Harborwalk Drive, Suite A, Ridgeland, 601-605-1865) On New Year’s Eve, Pelican Cove will open at 11 a.m. It will have a special dinner at f li c kr / 7 p.m. The menu will have a choice of a ribeye steak or redfish, and two sides and a salad, and Pelican Cove will have a Champagne toast at midnight. The dinner is $27.95 per person. Ronnie Brown will perform from 8 p.m. to midnight.

See and add more at jfp.ms/newyear2016.

01 n1 gi le

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

2017 New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball On New Year’s Eve, One Block East (642 Tombigbee St.) is hosting a 2017 New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball. The event will feature music from DJ Krush and will have party favors and Venetian masks, $3 cocktails and $2 domestic beers all night, and a free Champagne toast at midnight. The ball is from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. For more information, find One Block East on Facebook.

per couple. The restaurant will also serve its regular menu, and the courses on the New Year’s Eve menu are available individually.

For more information, visit strawberrycafe madison.com.

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THURSDAY 12/29

SATURDAY 12/31

The College Equestrian Prospect Camp is at Providence Hill Farm.

The Farewell/New Year’s Show is at Big Sleepy’s.

TUESDAY 1/3 Story Time with Uncle Story is at the

Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum.

BEST BETS DEC. 28, 2016 - jan. 4, 2017

The Bejeweled Snowflake Tea begins at 11 a.m. at High Biscuits (7048 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland). The holiday event features a pop-up menu with jewel- and snowflake-themed desserts. Open seating but reservations recommended. For all ages. Prices vary; call 769-300-4948; highbiscuitstea.com.

Amanda Gresham Photography

WEDNESDAY 12/28

Grammy-nominated blues artist Cedric Burnside performs for the New Year’s Eve Blowout at Martin’s Restaurant & Bar on Saturday, Dec. 31.

THURSDAY 12/29

courtesy High Frequency

After-Mas Music Festival is from 5 p.m. to midnight at Highland Village (4465 Interstate 55 N. Frontage Road) in the courtyard. Blazewalker Pictures and Deep South Pops are the hosts. Performers include Empty Atlas, Standard Issues, Scott & Crawford and Philip Scott. The Misfit Monkeys Comedy Troupe also performs. Free admission; find it on Facebook.

7:30 p.m. at Big Sleepy’s (208 W. Capitol St.). The Jackson metal band performs for one night only for the first time in six years. They Will Fall, Vera and VØID also perform. Doors open at 7 p.m. For all ages. $10 in advance, $12 at the door; call 601-863-9516; find it on Facebook.

SATURDAY 12/31

NYE 2017 is at 7 p.m. at ISH Grill & Bar (5105 Interstate 55 N.). The High Frequency Band and DJ Phingaprint performs. Includes a balloon drop and Champagne

by TYLER EDWARDS toast at midnight. Free admission, $100 VIP booth; call 769257-5204; email ishgrillandbar@ jacksonfreepress.com gmail.com; ishgrillandbar.com. …

Fax: 601-510-9019 NYE Soulabration is at 8 p.m. at Daily updates at the Mississippi Coliseum (1207 jfpevents.com Mississippi St.). Performers include Pokey, Tucka, Ms. Jody, Calvin Richardson, Jwonn, Yayo and Adrian Bagher. $32 admission, $60 table; call 601-353-0603; ticketmaster.com. … The New Year’s Eve Blowout with Cedric Burnside is at 10 p.m. at Martin’s Restaurant & Bar (214 S. State St.). The award-winning blues artist performs. Includes free Champagne at midnight. Admission TBA; call 601-3549712; martinslound.net.

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

events@

Jackson R&B act The High Frequency Band performs for NYE 2017 at ISH Grill & Bar on Saturday, Dec. 31.

FRIDAY 12/30

The Winter 2016 Wine Tasting is at 3 p.m. at Livingston Cellars (1150 Old Cedars Lane, Flora). The New Year’s Eve-themed tasting features sparkling wines from around the world. RSVP. Free; call 601-879-3671; 24 find it on Facebook. … The Advocate Reunion Show is at

SUNDAY 1/1

Booze & Blues is at 6 p.m. at M-Bar Sports Grill (6340 Ridgewood Court Drive). Blues artists Tre Williams

and David Mack are the performers. Doors open at 3 p.m.

For ages 21 and up. Special Happy Hour from 3 to 6 p.m.

Table reservations available. $12 in advance, $20 at the door; call 601-473-5485; eventbrite.com.

MONDAY 1/2

The “All About Apples” cooking class is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Farmer’s Table Cooking School at Livingston (1030 Market St., Flora). Participants learn how to make dishes featuring apples, such as crostini with sharp cheddar and apple chutney, apple and fennel salad, seared pork tenderloin with cider reduction, and black iron skillet apple pie. $69; call 601-506-6821; email bengle@farmerstableinlivingston.com; farmerstableinlivingston.com.

TUESDAY 1/3

The NewCare MD Grand Opening is at 9 a.m. at NewCare MD (129 Fountains Blvd., Madison). Guests meet with the staff and Dr. John Vanderloo, learn about direct primary care, check out the clinic and more. Free admission; call 601-238-3921; email info@newcaremd.com; newcaremd.com.

WEDNESDAY 1/4

The Silverado Band performs at 7:30 p.m. at Shucker’s Oyster Bar (116 Conestoga Road, Ridgeland). The Jackson-based country and classic rock quartet performs.

Free admission, food prices vary; call 601-853-0105; shuckersontherez.com.

FOOD & DRINK

New Year’s Eve Celebration Dec. 31, 6 p.m., at Hilton Jackson (1001 County Line Road).

Includes overnight room accommodations, dinner at Drago’s, music from The Crackerjacks, a Champagne toast, New Year’s Day Brunch in Wellingtons and a late checkout. $299 per couple; call 601-957-2800; find it on Facebook.

Bejeweled Snowflake Tea Dec. 28, 11 a.m., at High Biscuits (7048 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland). Includes a pop-up menu with jewel- and snowflake-themed desserts. Prices vary; call 769300-4948; highbiscuitstea.com.

19th Annual Krystal Ball Dec. 31, 7 p.m., at Hal and Mal’s (200 Commerce St.). Includes karaoke, party favors, light hors d’oeuvres,

SLATE

Winter 2016 Wine Tasting Dec. 30, 3 p.m., at Livingston Cellars (1150 Old Cedars Lane, Flora). The New Year’s Eve-themed tasting features sparkling wines from around the world. RSVP. Free; call 601-879-3671; find it on Facebook.

the best in sports over the next seven days

by Bryan Flynn

The road to the Super Bowl is going to travel through Dallas.

This week, the Cowboys clinched a first-round bye and homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Thursday, Dec. 29

College basketball (7-9 p.m., ESPN2): The UM Rebels men’s team faces a tough test as it hosts Kentucky. …

College basketball (7-9 p.m., SECN+): The MSU men host UMKC in nonconference action.

Friday, Dec. 30

College football (7-11 p.m., ESPN): Two college-football blue bloods battle in the Orange Bowl as Michigan and Florida State collide.

Saturday, Dec. 31

College football (2-10 p.m., ESPN): Tune in for back-to-back playoff semifinal games, with Alabama taking on Washington in the Peach Bowl and Ohio State battling Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.

Sunday, Jan 1

NFL (noon-6:30 p.m., FOX): The final week of the NFL regular season ends with Dallas at Philadelphia and New Orleans at Atlanta in doubleheader action.

Monday, Jan. 2

College football (4-7:30 p.m., ESPN): The Rose Bowl features traditional powers Penn State and USC in the annual showdown between the Big Ten and Pac-12.

Tuesday, Jan 3

College basketball (6-8 p.m., ESPNU): The UM Rebels’ men hit the road in SEC play to face Florida. … College basketball (7:30-9:30 p.m., SECN): The MSU men host Alabama in conference play.

Wednesday, Jan 4

NBA (7-9:30 p.m., ESPN): Former teammates LeBron James and Dwyane Wade clash as James’ Cleveland Cavaliers meet Wade’s Chicago Bulls.

The New Orleans Saints have been eliminated from the NFL playoffs for the third straight year. This is the fourth time in five seasons the Saints have missed post-season play.

Follow Bryan Flynn at jfpsports.com, @jfpsports.

Events at Big Sleepy’s (208 W. Capitol St.) • The Advocate Reunion Show Dec. 30, 7:30 p.m. The Jackson metal band performs for the first time in six years. They Will Fall, Vera and VØID also perform. $10 in advance, $12 at the door; call 863-9516; find it on Facebook.

• Big Sleepy’s Farewell/New Year’s Show Dec. 31, 9 p.m. El Obo, Bobby Chiz, Fides, Holy Vision and Bad Magic perform. $5, $10 allyou-can-drink; find it on Facebook.

NYE Soulabration Dec. 31, 8 p.m., at Mississippi Coliseum (1207 Mississippi St.). Performers include Pokey, Tucka, Ms. Jody, Calvin Richardson, Jwonn, Yayo and Adrian Bagher. $32 admission, $60 table; call 601-353-0603; ticketmaster.com.

SK New Year’s Eve Blowout Dec. 31, 8 p.m., at The State Room (952 N. State St.). Southern Komfort Brass Band performs. Includes food, a Champagne toast and a cash bar. Semi-formal attire. Individual: $30 in advance, $35 at the door; couple: $50 in advance, $60 at the door; $150 table for four; martinslounge.net.

NYE Blowout Party Dec. 31, 8 p.m., at Pop’s Saloon (2636 Gallatin St.). Burnham Road performs. Includes free food and party supplies. $15 in advance, $20 at the door; call 601-961-4747; email info@popssaloon.com; popsaloon.com.

New Year’s Eve with Risko Danza Dec. 31, 9 p.m., at Fenian’s Pub (901 E. Fortification St.).

The Jackson native rock band performs. Free for persons 21 and up. Free; call 601-948-0055; find it on Facebook.

New Year’s Eve Blowout with Cedric Burnside Dec. 31, 10 p.m., at Martin’s Restaurant & Bar (214 S. State St.). The award-winning blues artist performs. Includes free Champagne at midnight.

Admission TBA; martinslound.net.

New Year’s Eve Party Dec. 31, 10 p.m., at Next Level Entertainment (3645 Highway 80 W.).

Birdland Shun is the host. DJ Aziatikk performs.

Includes a $2,000 balloon drop and a $250 prize giveaway every hour. Admission TBA; call 601421-2022; find it on Facebook.

Booze & Blues Jan. 1, 6 p.m., at M-Bar Sports Grill (6340 Ridgewood Court Drive). Blues artists Tre Williams and David Mack perform.

Doors open at 3 p.m. For ages 21 and up. $12 in advance, $20 at the door; call 601-473-5485; eventbrite.com.

CREATIVE CLASSES Champagne at midnight, free Krystals for the ride home. DJ Rozz performs. Admission TBA; call 601-948-0888; halandmals.com.

KIDS Noon Year’s Eve Dec. 31, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., at Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Museum Blvd.). Kids build confetti cannons, create party hats and dance into the New Year during the countdown at noon. Included with admission; call 601-981-5469; mschildrensmuseum.com.

Story Time with Uncle Story Jan. 3, 10 a.m., at Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum (1150 Lakeland Drive). The puppet-based story time includes a reading of “The Quilt Story.”

For ages 2 to 5. Included with admission ($5 for adults, $4 ages 3-18, free under age 3); call 601432-4500; msagmuseum.org.

SPORTS & WELLNESS College Equestrian Prospect Camp Dec. 28, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Dec. 29, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., at Providence Hill Farm (2600 Carsley Road). Participants work to develop skills needed for collegiate equestrian competitions. Includes lunch. $295; email bshufelt@mc.edu; find it on Facebook.

CONCERTS & FESTIVALS After-Mas Music Festival Dec. 29, 5 p.m.midnight, at Highland Village (4465 Interstate 55 N. Frontage Road). In the courtyard. Blazewalker Pictures and Deep South Pops are the hosts. Performers include Empty Atlas, Standard Issues, Scott & Crawford and Philip Scott. The Misfit Monkeys Comedy Troupe also performs.

Free admission; find it on Facebook.

All About Apples Jan. 2, 6-8 p.m., at Farmer’s Table Cooking School at Livingston (1030 Market St., Flora) Participants learn to make dishes featuring apples, such as crostini with sharp cheddar and apple chutney, apple and fennel salad, seared pork tenderloin with cider reduction and black iron skillet apple pie. $69; call 601-506-6821; farmerstableinlivingston.com.

Resolve to Write in 2017! Jan. 7, Jan. 21, Feb. 4, Feb. 25, March 4, noon-2:30 p.m. Donna Ladd’s non-fiction writing series is back. $350 includes freelance workshop; New Year’s deal is $275 til midnight Dec. 31. Write class@writingtochange.com; see writintochange.com.

Check jfpevents.com for updates and more listings, or to add your own events online. You can also email event details to events@jacksonfreepress.com to be added to the calendar. The deadline is noon the Wednesday prior to the week of publication.

THURSDAY

12/29

OYSTERS ON THE HALF SHELL 5-9 P.M.

FRIDAY

12/30

SOUTHERN KOMFORT BRASS BAND 10 P.M. // 18+

SATURDAY

12/31

MARTIN’S ANNUAL NEW YEAR’S EVE BLOWOUT

W/

CEDRIC BURNSIDE PROJECT

MONDAY

10 P.M.

1/2

OPEN MIC NIGHT

$5 APPETIZERS (DINE IN ONLY)

TUESDAY

1/3

SHRIMP BOIL 5 - 10 PM $1 PBR & HIGHLIFE $2 MARGARITAS 10pm - 12am

UPCOMING SHOWS 1/5 - Jaguardini w/ Ships in the Night 1/7 - Lightnin Malcolm w/ Shake It Like a Caveman 1/11 - Jackson Indie Music Week - Martin’s Lineup 1/20 - A Live One (Exploring The Music of Phish) 1/22 - American Aquarium 1/28 - New Madrid 2/7 - The Funky Knuckles (Snarky Puppy’s Label) 2/9 - Lucero w/ special guest Esmé Patterson 2/10 - Andrew Duhon 10 p.m.

2/17 - Wild Adriatic 4/6 - Papadosio (Pattern Integrities Spring Tour)

See Our New Menu

WWW.MARTINSLOUNGE.NET

214 S. STATE ST. DOWNTOWN JACKSON

601.354.9712

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

COMMUNITY

25

DIVERSIONS | music

The Advocate, Reunited

by Katie Gill

NEW YEARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

with

Risko Danza

% &ORTIl CATION 3T s www.fenianspub.com

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 â&#x20AC;˘ jfp.ms

-ON &RI AM AM s 3AT PM AM 3UN PM AM

26

Steven Smith

3AT $EC s 9pm-2am

I

f hearing that The Advocate is back to- difficulties, he says he has nothing but good gether brings a tinge of nostalgia, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re memories of his time in The Advocate. probably a reformed Jackson metal head. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As horrible as that sounds, I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t The Advocate formed in 2009 and trade it for the world,â&#x20AC;? he says. became a prominent voice in the local After a year and a half of touring, the heavy-music scene, touring the country members of The Advocate decided to go and releasing a self-titled EP before break- their separate ways, playing their last show ing up in 2010. For the first time in six in December 2010. years, the band will reunite for a show at â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was heartbreaking,â&#x20AC;? Walls says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It Big Sleepyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on Dec. 30. was something that nobody wanted to do,

Vocalist Daniel McWhorter, bassist but we saw bigger and better opportunities Hunter Walls, drummer Sanders Reid, and for us.â&#x20AC;? guitarists Chase Gaddis and Devan Dickerson, as well as guitarist Blake Hardman, who will not be at the reunion, became friends through local shows. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The heavier something was, the more it drew us to it; we were troubled teens that needed an outlet,â&#x20AC;? Walls says with a laugh.

The musicians also came together with the goal of sharing their faith through metal. (Left to right) Chase Gaddis, Hunter Walls, Even coming up in a time Daniel McWhorter, Devan Dickerson and when heavier Christian bands Sanders Reid reunite as Jackson metal band The Advocate on Friday, Dec. 30, at Big Sleepyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. were growing in popularity, they encountered a bit of resistance to the idea of faith-based metal, Though the band broke up, the especially in the South, but they werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t members never left music. Walls plays in concerned with that.

Nashville rock band Kid Holiday and is the

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a wrong way to merchandise manager for Christian artists worship,â&#x20AC;? Walls says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You can do it how- TobyMac and Chris Tomlin; McWhorter ever you want to, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how we did it is in Gideon, which is now on Equal Vithe best.â&#x20AC;? sion Records; Dickerson plays with Jackson

After finishing high school, they de- hard-rock act Desolate; and Reid plays with cided to tour full time, bringing The Advo- local indie-rock band Empty Atlas. cate on two national tours: the first head- Walls and McWhorter floated the lining with support from Gideon and As idea of a reunion show after reconnecting Hell Retreats, and the second supporting in 2015 at Florida music festival Southeast Before There Was Rosalyn. By 2010, The Beast, where Gideon and Wallsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; previous Advocate was one of the biggest new attrac- band, Better Off, were performing. tions at the popular Cornerstone Festival in Walls says: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were sitting in the Bushnell, Ill. While they enjoyed touring, it van, catching up, and we were just like, was undoubtedly hard, Walls says. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Dude, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s do it.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We just saved up our money and did Once they brought it up to their old the best we could,â&#x20AC;? he says. band mates, the preparations started. De Touring meant sticking to a tight spite how many years have passed since the budgetâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;often, they ate off $2 to $3 per group last played together, Walls says heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and Walls describes their van as â&#x20AC;&#x153;a not worried. death trap,â&#x20AC;? which caught on fire around â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m mostly excited about everything,â&#x20AC;?

Memphis, Tenn., during one leg of a tour. he says. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For the most part, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reliving the

â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was humiliating and really funny glory days of your humble beginnings.â&#x20AC;? at the same time,â&#x20AC;? he says.

The Advocate performs at 7:30 p.m.,

When they werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t touring, they Friday, Dec. 30, at Big Sleepyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (208 W. Capilived in a cramped apartment in Ridge- tol St.). They Will Fall, Vera and VĂ&#x2DC;ID also land, which Walls says helped establish the perform. Admission is $10 in advance or $12 bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sense of community. Even with the at the door. Visit bigsleepys.com.

Music listings are due noon Monday to be included in print and online listings: music@jacksonfreepress.com.

DEC. 28 - WEDNESDAY Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Fitzgerald’s - Doug Hurd & Chris Link 7:30 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Jeff Maddox 6:30 p.m. free Shucker’s - Acoustic Crossroads 7:30 p.m. free

Pelican Cove - Travelin’ Jane 6 p.m.

Shucker’s - Sofa Kings 5:30 p.m. free; Faze 4 8 p.m. $5; Jason Turner 10 p.m. free Soulshine, Ridgeland - Barry Leach 7 p.m.

WonderLust - DJ Taboo 8 p.m.2 a.m.

DEC. 29 - THURSDAY

DEC. 31 - SATURDAY Ameristar Bottleneck Blues Bar, Vicksburg - New Orleans Jukebox 8 p.m. $20 Big Sleepy’s - Farewell/New Year’s Party feat. El Obo, Fides, Bob Chiz, Holy Vision & Bad Magic 10 p.m. $5 all ages Castlewoods Country Club - New Year’s Eve Party feat. DJ Marky Mark 7 p.m. $55 County Seat, Flora - New Year’s Eve Party feat. Stace & Cassie w/ Jason Turner Band 9 p.m.

F. Jones Corner - Big Money Mel & Small Change Wayne 10 p.m. $1; Diedra & the Ruff Pro Band midnight $10

JAN. 1 - SUNDAY

SARAH ELIZABETH DUTTON

Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Fitzgerald’s - Hunter Gibson 7:30 p.m.

Georgia Blue, Flowood - Brian Jones Georgia Blue, Madison - Jason Turner Highland Village - After-Mas Music Festival feat. Empty Atlas, Standard Issues, Scott & Crawford, Philip Scott & more 5 p.m.-midnight free Iron Horse Grill - Sherman Lee Dillon 6 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Sofa Kings 6:30 p.m. free Pelican Cove - Larry Brewer 6 p.m.

Shucker’s - Lovin Ledbetter 7:30 p.m. free Soulshine, Flowood - Jonathan Alexander 7 p.m.

Sylvia’s - Thursday Night Live feat.

The Blues Man & Sunshine McGhee 9 p.m. free

DEC. 30 - FRIDAY Ameristar Bottleneck Blues Bar, Vicksburg - Hunter & the Gators 8 p.m. free Big Sleepy’s - The Advocate Reunion Show w/ They Will Fall, Vera & VØID 7:30 p.m. $10 advance $12 door all ages Bonnie Blair’s - Sid Thompson 7-11 p.m.

Burgers & Blues - Larry Brewer & Doug Hurd 6 p.m.

Center Stage of MS - Pre-New Year’s Eve Party feat. Gap Band Tribute 8:30 p.m.

Cerami’s - Linda Blackwell & James Bailey 6:30-9 p.m. free Char - Ronnie Brown 6 p.m.

F. Jones Corner - The Blues Man 10 p.m. $1; Diedra & the Ruff Pro Band midnight $10 Georgia Blue, Flowood - Shaun Patterson Georgia Blue, Madison - Acoustic Crossroads Iron Horse Grill - Steve Powell Trio 9 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Fade2Blue 7 p.m. free M Bar - Flirt Fridays feat. DJ 901 free Martin’s - Southern Komfort Brass Band 10 p.m.

McB’s - New Year’s Eve Party feat.

Phil & Trace 8 p.m. free MS Coliseum - NYE Soulabration feat. Pokey, Tucka, Calvin Richardson, Ms. Jody, Jwonn, Yayo & Adrian Bagher 8 p.m. $32 admission $60 table Next Level - New Year’s Eve Party feat. Aziatikk Blakk 10 p.m.

Northpark Mall - Silent Disco feat.

DJ 51-50 11 p.m. free Pelican Cove - New Year’s Eve Party feat. Ronnie Brown 8 p.m. free Pop’s Saloon - NYE Blowout Party feat. Burnham Road 8 p.m.

Reed Pierce’s, Byram - New Year’s Eve Party feat. Jon & Angela 9 p.m. free Shucker’s - Faze 4 8 p.m. $5; Chad Perry 10 p.m. free The State Room - New Year’s Eve Blowout feat. Southern Komfort Brass Band 8 p.m.-1 a.m. $30 advance $35 door WonderLust - Drag Performance & Dance Party feat. DJ Taboo 8 p.m.-3 a.m. free before 10 p.m.

Fides Fenian’s - New Year’s Eve feat.

Risko Danza 9 p.m. free Fitzgerald’s - The McGees 8:30 p.m.

Georgia Blue, Flowood - Aaron Coker Georgia Blue, Madison - Ron Etheridge Hal & Mal’s - Krystal Ball feat. DJ Rozz 7 p.m.

Hilton Jackson - New Year’s Eve Celebration feat. The Crackerjacks 6 p.m. $299 per couple The Hideaway - NYE Bash feat.

Pop Fiction, Candybone & Chad Wesley Band 9 p.m. $15 Iron Horse Grill - Paperclip Scientists 9 p.m.

ISH Grill & Bar - NYE 2017 feat.

High Frequency Band & DJ Phingaprint 7 p.m. free admission $100 VIP Kathryn’s - Kern Pratt 7 p.m. free Martin’s - New Year’s Eve Blowout feat. Cedric Burnside & Trenton Ayers 10 p.m.

Ameristar Bottleneck Blues Bar, Vicksburg - Mike Rob & the 601 Band 8 p.m. free M-Bar - Booze & Blues feat. Tre Williams & David Mack 6 p.m. $12 advance $20 door Pelican Cove - Rockin’ the Keys 4 p.m.

Shucker’s - Acoustic Crossroads 3:30 p.m. free

JAN. 2 - MONDAY Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Hal & Mal’s - Central MS Blues Society (rest) 7 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Barry Leach 6:30 p.m. free

JAN. 3 - TUESDAY Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Fenian’s - Open Mic Fitzgerald’s - Larry Brewer & Doug Hurd 7:30 p.m.

Last Call Sports Grill - Top-Shelf Tuesdays feat. DJ Spoon 9 p.m.

Margarita’s - John Mora 6 p.m.

COMING UP

_________________________

WEDNESDAY 12/28

NEW BOURBON STREET JAZZ BAND Restaurant - Free! _________________________

SOUTHERN AVENUE

from memphis, this band stirs up a soulful, funky, rock n’ roll stew built on a foundation of the blues

THURSDAY 12/29

Restaurant Open as Usual _________________________

FRIDAY 12/30

Restaurant Open as Usual _________________________

SATURDAY 12/31

19TH ANNUAL

KRYSTAL BALL And 8th Annual Catfish Drop.

Live Entertainment.

D.J. Rozz. Karaoke.

Party favors, light hors d’oeuvres, free champaign at midnight and free Krystals for the ride home.

Must be 21 to enter, each ticket is for two guests.

Call 601-948-0888 or write Brandi White Lee for more information. _________________________

MONDAY 1/2

CENTRAL MS BLUES SOCIETY PRESENTS:

BLUE MONDAY Restaurant - 7 - 10pm

JAN. 4 - WEDNESDAY

$3 Members $5 Non-Members _________________________

Char - Tommie Vaughn 6 p.m.

Fitzgerald’s - Hunter Gibson & Chris Link 7:30 p.m.

Kathryn’s - Larry Brewer & Doug Hurd 6:30 p.m. free Pelican Cove - Open Mic Night w/ Stace & Cassie 6 p.m.

Shucker’s - Silverado 7:30 p.m.

TUESDAY 1/3

PUB QUIZ

w/ Jimmy Quinn

Restaurant - 7:30pm - $2 to Play _________________________ OFFICIAL

HOUSE VODKA 12/29 - Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Zydeco, Birmingham 12/30 - The Commodores - Horseshoe Tunica Hotel & Casino, Robinsville 12/30 - Afroman - Republic NOLA 12/31 - Galactic w/ Boyfriend - Tipitina’s, New Orleans 12/31 - Quintron & Miss Pussycat - The Hi-Tone Cafe, Memphis 12/31 - Latimore - Rum Boogie Cafe, Memphis

Friday, January 6

Visit HalandMals.com for a full menu and concert schedule

601.948.0888 200 S. Commerce St. Downtown Jackson, MS

Saturday, January 21

COUNTRY SHOWDOWN the largest & longest running country music talent search in the nation

Saturday, January 28

ERIC LINDELL

combination of sweet, blue-eyed soul with foot stomping R&B, swamp pop, funk & blues

Wednesday, February 1

DYLAN LEBLANC

regarding his new album: “it’s a near flawless record, cohesive and self-assured.” - no depression

Tuesday, February 7

FRED EAGLESMITH Traveling Steam Show canadian, alternative singer/songwriter

Tuesday, February 14

BIG SANDY

& His Fly-Rite Boys one of the world’s most respective practitioners of american roots music Sunday, July 31 New Thursday, February 23 ! w o Sh

LOVEBOMB GO-GO genre-smashing, horn-driven, intergalactic glam performance band

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December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

MUSIC | live

27

Last Weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Answers

BY MATT JONES

watching 55 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Frasierâ&#x20AC;? actress Gilpin 56 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nastyâ&#x20AC;? Nastase of tennis 57 The one squinting at the clues right now 58 Candy packaged in pairs 60 Barbecue menu item, or whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on with the theme answers 63 Almond ___ (candy in a canister) 64 Gets the pot started 65 Commedia dellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;___ 66 Woolly mamas 67 Ceases to be 68 Pigsty

39 Most spent 40 Tugged hard 41 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Alley-___!â&#x20AC;?

44 Driveway stuff 45 ___ cog (blunder) 47 Donkey with a pinned-on tail 48 Bull pen sounds 50 Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s represented by a red, white, and blue flag 51 Rhythmic melodies 52 Oprahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Epic Rap Battles of His-

toryâ&#x20AC;? foe 54 Hazzard County heroes 58 â&#x20AC;&#x153;American Idiotâ&#x20AC;? drummer Cool 59 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m speechless!â&#x20AC;?

61 College, Down Under 62 Grier of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Jackie Brownâ&#x20AC;? Š2016 Jonesinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Crosswords (editor@ jonesincrosswords.com) For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900-226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800 655-6548. Reference puzzle #804

Down

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a Barbecueâ&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;smoking the competition.

Across

1 Ebsen costar on â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Beverly Hillbilliesâ&#x20AC;?

5 Amts. in recipes 9 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Got Talentâ&#x20AC;? judge Heidi 13 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Devil Insideâ&#x20AC;? rock band 14 Long-eared hoppers 16 Nostalgic soft drink brand 17 Open some champagne 19 Clumsy lummoxes 20 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ambient 4: On Landâ&#x20AC;? musician Brian 21 Tombstone lawman 22 â&#x20AC;&#x153;SportsCenterâ&#x20AC;? source 24 Bad beginning?

25 Freebie with many takeout orders 29 Islamic pilgrimage site 31 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Allergic to Waterâ&#x20AC;? singer DiFranco 32 By way of 33 Fabric named for a Mideast capital 36 Religious branch 37 Where ships dock in the Big Apple 41 Some Louvre hangings 42 Worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest cosmetics company 43 Condition for TVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Monk 44 Body scanner grp.

46 Lake Titicaca setting 49 One whose work involves moving letters around 53 It may be reached while binge-

1 Two-legged beast 2 False name 3 â&#x20AC;&#x153;60 Minutesâ&#x20AC;? piece, often 4 U will come after these 5 A mission to remember?

6 Lowest spinal bones 7 Credit, slangily 8 Delivery from a rev.

9 Book publisher Alfred A. ___ 10 Bend forward 11 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weird Alâ&#x20AC;? Yankovic movie of 1989 12 Understanding start?

15 Ball of yarn, e.g.

18 Jazz devotee 23 â&#x20AC;&#x153;MythBustersâ&#x20AC;? subj.

26 Selfish sort 27 Mortyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mate in animated adventures 28 â&#x20AC;&#x153;2 Broke Girlsâ&#x20AC;? actress Dennings 30 Some writeable discs 34 Company with a duck mascot 35 ___-Cat (cold-weather vehicle) 36 Auctioneerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s call 37 One-trillionth, in metric names 38 Brand with â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Man Your Man Could Smell Likeâ&#x20AC;? ads

BY MATT JONES Last Weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Answers

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Song Sudokuâ&#x20AC;?

Solve this as you would a regular sudoku, except using the nine given letters instead of numbers. When youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re done, each row, column, and 3x3 box will contain each of the nine given letters exactly one time. In addition, one row or column will reveal, either backward or forward, the name of a famous song. psychosudoku@gmail. com

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 â&#x20AC;˘ jfp.ms

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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

As I was ruminating on your astrological omens for 2017, I came across a wildly relevant passage written by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman. It conveys a message I encourage you to memorize and repeat at least once a day for the next 365 days. Here it is: “Nothing can hold you back—not your childhood, not the history of a lifetime, not even the very last moment before now. In a moment you can abandon your past. And once abandoned, you can redefine it. If the past was a ring of futility, let it become a wheel of yearning that drives you forward. If the past was a brick wall, let it become a dam to unleash your power.”

Naturalist John Muir regarded nature as his church. For weeks at a time, he lived outdoors, communing with the wilderness. Of course, he noticed that not many others shared his passion. “Most people are on the world, not in it,” he wrote, “having no conscious sympathy or relationship to anything about them—undiffused, separate and rigidly alone like marbles of polished stone, touching but separate.” Is there anything about you that even partially fits that description, Aquarius? If so, I’m pleased to inform you that 2017 will be an excellent year to address the problem. You will have immense potential to become more intimate and tender with all of the component parts of the Great Mystery. What’s the opposite of loneliness?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

Seven Chilean poets were frustrated by their fellow citizens’ apathy toward the art of poetry. They sarcastically dramatized their chagrin by doing a performance for baboons. Authorities at the Santiago Zoo arranged for the poets’ safety, enclosing them in a protective cage within the baboons’ habitat. The audience seemed to be entertained, at times listening in rapt silence and at other times shrieking raucously. I’m sure you can empathize with the poets’ drastic action, Pisces. How many times have you felt you don’t get the appreciation you deserve? But I bet that will change in 2017. You won’t have to resort to performing for baboons.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):

Donatello was a renowned Italian sculptor. His favorite piece was “Lo Zuccone,” a marble statue of the Biblical prophet Habakkuk. As Donatello carved his work-inprogress, he addressed it. “Speak, damn you! Talk to me,” he was heard to say on more than a few occasions. Did the stone respond? Judging from the beauty of the final product, I’d have to say yes. One art critic testified that “Lo Zuccone” is a “sublimely harrowing” tour de force, a triumph of “forceful expression,” and “one of the most important marble sculptures of the 15th century.” I suspect you will have Donatello-like powers of conversation in 2017, Aries.

If anyone can communicate creatively with stones—and rivers and trees and animals and spirits and complicated humans, for that matter—it’ll be you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

According to Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, “A certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect.” Let’s amend that thought so it’s exactly suitable for your use in 2017. Here’s the new, Taurus-specific version: “A messy, practical, beautiful type of perfection can be realized through a patient, faithful, dogged accumulation of the imperfect.” To live up to the promise of this motto, make damn good use of every partial success.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

Gemini gymnast Marisa Dick has created a signature move that has never been used by any other gymnast. To start her routine, she leaps up off a springboard and lands on the balance beam doing a full split. The technical term for this bold maneuver is “a change-leg leap to free-cross split sit,” although its informal name is “The Dick Move.” The International Federation of Gymnastics has certified it in its Code of Points, so it’s official. During the coming months, I expect that you will also produce one-of-a-kind innovations in your own sphere.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

I hope you will be as well-grounded in 2017 as you have ever been—maybe even since your past life as a farmer. I trust you will go a long way toward mastering the arts of

being earthy, practical and stable. To do this right, however, you should also work on a seemingly paradoxical task: cultivating a vigorous and daring imagination—as perhaps you did in one of your other past lives as an artist. In other words, your ability to succeed in the material world will thrive as you nurture your relationship with fantasy realms—and vice versa. If you want to be the boss of reality, dream big and wild—and vice versa.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

Even if you don’t think of yourself as an artist, you are always working on a major art project: yourself. You may underestimate the creativity you call on as you shape the raw material of your experience into an epic story. Luckily, I’m here to impress upon you the power and the glory of this heroic effort. Is there anything more important? Not for you Leos. And I trust that in 2017, you will take your craftsmanship to the highest level ever. Keep this advice from author Nathan W. Morris in mind: “Edit your life frequently and ruthlessly. It’s your masterpiece, after all.”

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

French painter Henri Matisse (1869-1954) turned out to be one of the supremely influential artists of the 20th century. But he was still struggling to make a living well into his 30s. The public’s apathy toward his work demoralized him. At one point, he visited his dealer to reclaim one of his unsold paintings. It was time to give up on it, he felt, to take it off the market. But when he arrived at the gallery, his dealer informed him that it had finally been bought—and not by just any art collector, either. Its new owner was Pablo Picasso, an artist whom Matisse revered. I think it’s quite possible you will have comparable experiences in 2017, Virgo. Therefore, don’t give up on yourself!

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Help Wanted Digital Media Intern Jackson Free Press seeks a parttime digital media intern for content creation, SEO tasks, website editing and e-mail newsletter creation and support. This paid, hourly position is flexible and can be designed around classwork or other work for the right candidate. Write todd at jacksonfreepress dot com with your resume and your availability.

Part-Time Distribution Manager The Jackson Free Press seeks a part-time distribution manager to take ownership of the day-to-day distribution operations of the Jackson Free Press. Your role will be to work with the Lead Driver and contract drivers to ensure that the Jackson Free Press, BOOM Jackson and other contract publications are distributed on-time and efficiently. You’ll also interact with the public, business managers, and others to ensure that distribution locations are satisfied with our service and in order to secure new distribution locations and allocate resources effectively. Must be a good communicator and good presenter as the JFP’s main liaison to local distribution partners. Roughly 30 hours per week, about 2/3 is spent driving and distributing and 1/3 on route management and public interaction. Please send your resume and a cover letter or e-mail to todd@ jacksonfreepress.com.

Sales Account Executive Seeking Sales Account Executives for Jackson area to sell digital billboard Ads. Work from home office. Insurance.

Competitive Pay. Sales experience required. Email resumes careers@ busbycompanies.com 601-428-4014

TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD:

Post an ad, call 601-362-6121, ext. 11 or fax to 601-510-9019.

Deadline: Mondays at Noon.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

“The self in exile remains the self, as a bell unstruck for years is still a bell,” writes poet Jane Hirshfield. I suspect that these words are important for you to hear as you prepare for 2017. My sense is that in the past few months, your true self has been making its way back to the heart of life after a time of wandering on the outskirts. Any day now, a long-silent bell will start ringing to herald your full return.

Welcome home!

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

In accordance with your astrological omens for 2017, I’ve taken a poem that Shel Silverstein wrote for kids and made it into your horoscope. It’ll serve as a light-hearted emblem of a challenging but fun task you should attend to in the coming months. Here it is: “I’ve never washed my shadow out in all the time I’ve had it. It was absolutely filthy I supposed, so I peeled it off the wall where it was leaning and stuck it in the washtub with the clothes. I put in soap and bleach and stuff. I let it soak for hours. I wrung it out and hung it out to dry. And whoever would have thunk that it would have gone and shrunk, for now it’s so much littler than I.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

Walk your wisdom walk in 2017, Sagittarius. Excite us with your wisdom songs and gaze out at our broken reality with your wisdom eyes. Play your wisdom tricks and crack your wisdom jokes and erupt with your wisdom cures. The world needs you to be a radiant swarm of lovable, unpredictable wisdom! Your future needs you to conjure up a steady stream of wisdom dreams and wisdom exploits! And please note: You don’t have to wait until the wisdom is perfect.

You shouldn’t worry about whether it’s supremely practical. Your job is to trust your wisdom gut, to unleash your wisdom cry, to revel in your wisdom magic.

Homework: If you’d like to enjoy my books, music, and videos without spending any money, go here: http://bit.ly/LiberatedGifts.

The Mississippi Youth Media Project is looking for collaborators, donations and volunteers to teach us.

Visit youthmediaproject.com to learn how you can help train young people to do great media and learn job skills.

Read student work from summer 2016 at jxnpulse.com.

Media: Run YMP stories!

Write: info@youthmediaproject.com The Kellogg Fellowship Leaders Alliance (KFLA) is the fiscal agent of MYMP. Visit kfla.org/MYMP for info.

Thank You to our Sponsors:

December 28, 2016 - January 3, 2017 • jfp.ms

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

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Fondren Cellars

633 Duling Ave, Jackson, (769)216-2323 Quality wines and spirits in a relaxed environment. Voted Best Wine and Liquor store by Jackson Free Press readers.

Nandy’s Candy

Maywood Mart, 1220 E Northside Dr #380, Jackson, (601)362-9553 Small batch confections do more than satisfy a sweet tooth, they foster fond traditions and strong relationships. Plus, enjoy sno-balls, gifts for any occasion and more!

McDade’s Wine

Maywood Mart, 1220 E Northside Dr #320, Jackson, (601)366-5676 McDade’s Wine and Spirits offers Northeast Jackson’s largest showroom of fine wine and spirits. Visit to learn about the latest offerings and get professional tips from the friendly staff!

Playtime Entertainment

1009 Hampstead Blvd, Clinton, (601)926-1511 Clinton’s newest high energy video gaming and sports grille destination.

-------------------- TOURISM/ARTS ----------------------Mississippi Museum of Art

380 South Lamar St. Jackson, (601) 960-1515 MMA strives to be a fountainhead attracting people from all walks to discuss the issues and glories of the past and present, while continuing to inspire progress in the future.

Ardenland

2906 North State St. Suite 207, Jackson, (601) 292-7121 Jackson’s premiere music promoter with concerts around the Metro including at Duling Hall in Fondren. www.ardenland.net

Natural Science Museum

2148 Riverside Dr, Jackson, (601) 576-6000 Stop by the museum and enjoy their 300-acre natural landscape, an open-air amphitheater, along with 2.5 miles of nature trails. Inside, meet over 200 living species in the 100,000 gallon aquarium network.

Mississippi Children's Museum

2145 Museum Boulevard, Jackson, (601) 981-5469 The Mississippi Children’s Museum provides unparalleled experiences that ignite a thirst for discovery, knowledge and learning in all children through hands-on and engaging exhibits and programs focusing on literacy, the arts, science, health and nutrition.

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MEET AT NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUM PARKING LOT Special Event: Museum of Natural Science - Turkey Tuesday ŽŜĆ&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ć?Ć&#x161; ĨŽĆ&#x152; Ç Ĺ&#x161;Ĺ˝ ÄŽĹśÄ&#x161;Ć? Ä&#x201A;ĹśÄ&#x161; Ĺ?Ä&#x161;Ä&#x17E;ĹśĆ&#x;ÄŽÄ&#x17E;Ć? Ć&#x161;Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E; žŽĆ?Ć&#x161; ĹŻÄ&#x17E;Ä&#x201A;Ç&#x20AC;Ä&#x17E;Ć? ŽŜ Ć&#x161;Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E; Ć&#x161;Ć&#x152;Ä&#x201A;Ĺ?ĹŻ Ĺ?Ĺś Ä&#x201A;Ĺś Ĺ&#x161;ŽƾĆ&#x152;Í&#x2DC; dĹ&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ć&#x152;Ä&#x17E; Ç Ĺ?ĹŻĹŻ Ä?Ä&#x17E; Ć&#x2030;Ć&#x152;Ĺ?Ç&#x152;Ä&#x17E;Ć?Í&#x160;

Wednesday, December 21 â&#x20AC;˘ 5pm MEET AT NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUM PARKING LOT >Ä&#x17E;&ĹŻÄ&#x17E;ĆľĆ&#x152;Í&#x203A;Ć? ůƾč ^Ć&#x161;Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x161;Ä&#x17E; WÄ&#x201A;Ć&#x152;ĹŹ Î&#x2DC; DĆľĆ?Ä&#x17E;ƾž dĆ&#x152;Ä&#x201A;Ĺ?ĹŻ >Ä&#x17E;Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x152;Ĺś Ä&#x201A;Ä?ŽƾĆ&#x161; Ć?ŽůĆ?Ć&#x;Ä?Ä&#x17E; Ć&#x161;Ć&#x152;Ä&#x201A;Ä&#x161;Ĺ?Ć&#x;ŽŜĆ? Ä&#x201A;ĹśÄ&#x161; Ä?Ä&#x17E;ĹŻÄ&#x17E;Ä?Ć&#x152;Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x161;Ä&#x17E; Ć&#x161;Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E; Ć?Ĺ&#x161;Ĺ˝Ć&#x152;Ć&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ć?Ć&#x161; Ä&#x161;Ä&#x201A;Ç&#x2021; ŽĨ Ć&#x161;Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E; Ç&#x2021;Ä&#x17E;Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x152;

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Z K h ' , d d K z K h zÍ&#x2014;

Saturday, October 8 â&#x20AC;˘ 2:30pm MEET AT NATURAL SCIENCE MUSEUM PARKING LOT ŜŊŽÇ&#x2021; Ä&#x201A;Ĺś Ä&#x201A;Ĺ&#x152;Ä&#x17E;Ć&#x152;ŜŽŽŜ ŽŜ Ć&#x161;Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E; Ć&#x152;Ĺ?Ç&#x20AC;Ä&#x17E;Ć&#x152; Ä&#x201A;ĹśÄ&#x161; ĹŻÄ&#x17E;Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x152;Ĺś ĨĆ&#x152;Žž Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ć&#x152;Ć&#x2030;Ä&#x17E;Ć&#x161;ŽůŽĹ?Ĺ?Ć?Ć&#x161;Í&#x2022; dŽž DÄ&#x201A;ŜŜ Ĺ&#x161;Ĺ˝Ç Ć&#x161;Ĺ˝ Ć&#x161;Ä&#x17E;ĹŻĹŻ Ć&#x161;Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E; Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ä&#x201A;ĹŻĆ&#x161;Ĺ&#x161; ŽĨ ŽƾĆ&#x152; Ç Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x161;Ä&#x17E;Ć&#x152;Ç Ä&#x201A;Ç&#x2021;Ć? Ć&#x161;Ĺ&#x161;Ć&#x152;ŽƾĹ?Ĺ&#x161; ůŽŽŏĹ?ĹśĹ? Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x161; Ć&#x161;Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E; žƾĆ?Ć?Ä&#x17E;ĹŻĆ? Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x161; Ć&#x161;Ĺ&#x161;Ä&#x17E; Ć?Ä&#x201A;ĹśÄ&#x161; Ä?Ä&#x201A;Ć&#x152;Ć?Í&#x2DC;

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