v18n16 - COVID-19 Care Package

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April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

contents

JACKSONIAN

April 1- 14, 2020 Vol. 18 No. 16

ON THE COVER cover by Kristin Brenemen

4 Editor’s Note

7 Prisons During Pandemic Yusef Salaam of exonerated ‘Central Park 5’ discusses the effects COVID-19 promises to Mississippi jails, prisons, arrests, policing.

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ne of the many people who have been putting overtime into their “essential businesses” since the COVID-19 crisis began, Jonterius Lewis helps ensure people get the supplies they need through his position as a supervisor and cashier with Shoppers Value in Clinton.

Born and raised in Clinton, Lewis graduated from Clinton High School in 2018 and has been working at the grocery store for the last two years, climbing to his current supervisor position. Since the pandemic made its way to Mississippi, the 20-year-old has been clocking 45 to 50 hours per week.

A typical workday for Lewis begins with counting the money in the register and then checking to see if there are any information flyers that need to be put up for shoppers. As supervisor, he helps if someone has a problem or if a coworker makes an error while attending the register. He also assists customers on the phone who call to ask about supply availability.

“I have people calling me asking, ‘Do you have this? Put this up for me. I’m on my way if you have it.’ If that happens, I make sure that we have (the items) and go get them,” he says.

“I make sure everyone gets the same amount (of items) so that no one feels left out or upset.”

14 COVID-19: Solutions 20 BOJ Medical Ballot

Jonterius Lewis

In normal times, Lewis sings in two choirs at his church, Fearns Chapel Freewill Baptist Church in Flora. He listens to hip-hop and gospel music and is a fan of artists like Shirley Caesar and Michael Jackson. The oldest of nine children, Lewis also enjoys spending time with his siblings.

With his church, Lewis has engaged in community work projects, such as giving away free lunches and washing cars.

The church held its most recent lunch giveaway in February.

“I like giving back and making sure people get what they need. I just love giving back,” he says.

His passion for community service has molded Lewis’ ambitions. In the future, he says he would like to one day open up a community center for children and teenagers.

“One of my goals is to have a building for young people to come and have fun, play games, have people help them with work and to have a place they can come and just be themselves and be free,” he says.

Shoppers Value (822 E. Northside Drive) is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and stays open until 10 p.m.

Friday and Saturday.

–Nate Schumann

22 Spring Recipes Try your hand at making one of these nutritious recipes at home for your family.

26 Texissippi Sid Local music artist Sid Thompson of DoubleShotz adopts a new moniker.

28 Puzzle 28 Sorensen 29 astro 29 Classifieds 30 Spring DIY

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

courtesy Jonterius Lewis

12 Opinion

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azia’s note

by Azia Wiggins, Executive Assistant

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know we all have been constantly bombarded with COVID19 coverage, with 24-hour updates on every news station; our favorite cable stations advertising products and services we use everyday that now include proper social-distancing and handwashing techniques; all of the challenges and digital parties to keep us busy and connected; and the constant posting of monologues from social-media scientists.

We have all been made aware of those who are not taking this pandemic seriously and have continued on with everyday life as usual and even been a part of the shaming discussions of their actions and how selfish they are. This disease has crept in and taken over our lives, with many of us are terrified of what tomorrow brings.

Thousands have lost their jobs and have been forced to understand just how “essential” they are or aren’t to their em-

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

Those ideals can be just as toxic as laziness

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ployers; children are hungry since schools closed, canceling most of their only times to eat; and our loved ones are dying.

Our health-care system is severely lacking, leaving our heroes in the medical field stranded on the front line without the proper weaponry to protect themselves.

This novel coronavirus has exposed us all for the calloused, selfish, busybodies we are, naked in our unpreparedness and disregard for our fellow man.

That’s enough negativity to make many of us crawl into comfortable spaces of paralyzing fear, decreased productivity and, for many others, feed inner monsters of unattended mental illness. I am in no way trying to undermine this pandemic. I know that when this is over, many hidden pits will be exposed. I also have no interest in writing another “be grateful, take this time to be more productive and don’t waste time” piece, because I’m over that, too.

It seems to me that one of our biggest problems as humans is the constant pressure to be better; the whole “don’t compete with others, compete with your former self” bit. Don’t get me wrong, as an am-

bitious, determined young woman, that mantra has pushed me through some of the most pressing times in my life. I could relay that message to you all now and be your productivity cheerleader, but I don’t believe that’s my purpose here.

My main message: Be present in your feelings right now and take time to look within and unpack when you’re ready. It’s perfectly OK to slow down and not give into the perpetual pressure of always working to be better. Many of us don’t all of a sudden have a surplus of free time. Many are still working every day, with mothers and fathers simultaneously being teachers to their children. Many lives are already riddled with sickness and disease, and all their time goes to taking care of loved ones.

For me, I’m a single woman in my 30s with no children, staying alone who spends most of my time hustling side jobs after my full-time. One thing this pandemic has made clear to me has been all the things I didn’t have time to do before. But that first Saturday I got completely to myself— sleeping in until mid-afternoon, being able to leisurely enjoy my coffee while looking out the window and having the time to just let my mind wander down avenues I haven’t made time to really explore. It was needed. I needed time to wander, cuddle with my puppy, nap, eat, shower, catch up on some of my favorite shows and just enjoy not having to be or do anything.

Yes, I should use this time to be more productive. I should take this time to be more creative, get more organized, journal, read, sing out loud, start that new hobby, have those hard conversations with family and friends, be introspective, meditate, reconnect with my Creator, exercise, be more conscious of what I’m eating and drinking,

Azia Wiggins.

A Silver Lining to the COVID-19 Crisis

Skyline view from the Capital Towers of the sun peaking through incoming storm clouds. We miss our offices’ views, but working from home has its perks.

and find ways to concentrate my efforts to be a part of the solution for my community.

But I do not have the strength or interest to “keep up” at this point, two weeks into staying inside alone with myself, or to stomach the incessant “positivity.”

Those ideals can be just as toxic as laziness and procrastination, and I refuse to fall victim to the pressure. I see go-getter colleagues and co-workers taking this time to better themselves. I see families actually enjoying the presence of one another and really learning the personalities of their children and significant others, learning how to effectively communicate, taking walks and eating together more, listening more, learning how to truly connect to one another within our communities and around the world.

For many of us, this has been spiritually refreshing, and during this tragedy we are

contributors

Nate Schumann

Mariana Fernández

Kayode Crown

Deputy Editor Nate Schumann, a graduate from the University of Southern Mississippi, loves consuming stories and enjoys engaging in various areas of “nerdom,” especially comic books and related media. He coordinated the issue, contributed to the cover package and wrote other stories.

Carla Mariana Fernández de la Cruz is an interpreter and translator who lives in Mexico City. She studied at Instituto Superior de Interpretes y Traductores and has been active since 2014. She provided the Spanish translations for this issue.

Listings Editor Kayode Crown recently came to Mississippi from Nigeria where he earned a post-graduate diploma in Journalism and was a journalist for 10 years. He likes rock music and has fallen in love with the beautiful landscapes in Jackson. He contributed to the cover package.

able to clearly focus on what’s always been of the utmost importance: love, compassion, interconnectedness. It’s beautiful and inspiring. I’ve been frolicking in the fields of peace and humanity you all are displaying as this pandemic roars ahead of us. I am optimistic of how this tragedy will equip us collectively to be more involved in making this nation and this world a better place for all of us. This is the time to truly see what we’ve been getting wrong and how to unite to fortify a future for generations to come.

What I feel comfortable passing onto you is that we all need to take time to tread slowly. Take time to deal with the negative feelings and thoughts you have—cry, yell, sleep in a little bit later, confine yourself to a space that is yours and yours alone, and really expose you to you. It’s OK if you haven’t had the energy to fold those clothes, start that business, read those books or become “the best version” of yourself.

All your experiences of pain, love, selfishness, joblessness, health, sickness, surety, indecisiveness, loneliness and heartbreak, carnal indulgences and spiritual mountains—they all work together to forge who you’re becoming. Please unplug if you have to from social media and from the pressure of maintaining contact with others at all times.

You have my permission to live and breathe each moment as it comes, and it’s my prayer that we all come out on the other side of this more in tune with who we really are and more prepared to stand for whatever life throws at us.

Azia Wiggins is the executive assistant at the Jackson Free Press.

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news,

storytelling & re, ir tu

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“There are those who say, well, let’s just shelter in place for a period of time and the virus will go away, and nobody will get it.”

— Gov. Tate Reeves, March 29, 2020, on Facebook Live why he is rejecting others’ call for a statewide “Shelter in Place” order

@jxnfreepress

@jacksonfreepress

@jxnfreepress

ce eren rev

Local Jails, Prisons a Petri Dish for COVID-19?

Yusef Salaam of ‘Exonerated 5’ Calls for ‘Meaningful Change’ in Mississippi Dr. Yusef Salaam, who was wrongfully incarcerated in 1990 after being falsely accused with four other young men for the rape of a woman jogging in New York’s Central Park, implored elected Mississippi officials and law enforcement to do more to combat the spread of COVID-19 in America’s prisons and jails.

officer brought the disease into the facility.

Convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein even contracted the virus in Rikers.

Prisoner advocates describe the situation as a ticking time bomb in Mississippi, where 19,000 people are serving sentences behind state prison bars and 5,200 people languish for months or years in county jails, waiting for their day in court.

In addition to advocating for inmate release—particularly those at highest risk for suffering complications from the disease, including elderly and sick inmates— civil-rights organizations are urging law enforcement to implement preventative measures on the front end, like no longer arresting people for low-level offenses, to prevent the infection from entering jails.

“The thousands of Mississippians locked up in our local jails find themselves sharing common areas, bunk beds, toilets, sinks, and showers with dozens of different people each day,” said Cliff Johnson, director of the Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center at the University of Mississippi School of Law, in a March 18

statement he emailed to journalists:

“Mississippi sheriffs will be the first to tell you that they do not have the expertise or resources to deal with a pandemic like COVID-19. Our county jails have few, if any, full-time licensed medical providers, no proper isolation rooms, and woefully inadequate equipment and training specific to dealing with infectious diseases.”

“This is one of the worst nightmares that anyone could ever imagine,” Salaam said, describing the threat of COVID-19 infection in U.S. jails and prisons, including in Mississippi. “If someone (in) the prison in their unit gets sick, the likelihood that all people in that unit will get sick is there and is real. This is a tragedy.”

“I think the prison industrial complex is considered at this point probably a petri dish,” Salaam added during the interview.

Low-level Arrests Ongoing Locally

Because police officers are in regular and frequent contact with people in the communities they serve, they are at particular high risk for becoming infected and

spreading COVID-19 to others.

On March 17, the Philadelphia (Pa.) Police Department began delaying arrests for some non-violent offenses, including prostitution, bench warrants (sometimes called “failure to appear”), narcotics possession and car theft.

The Memphis Police Department is instructing officers to write citations for misdemeanors instead of arresting people.

The Jackson Police Department confirmed March 27 that one of its officers had tested positive for COVID-19. The week before, the JPD had told the Jackson Free Press that it would not make changes to its policing protocols, despite the acute publichealth risks that novel coronavirus poses to the criminal-justice system.

In a March 19 phone interview following a JPD press conference announcing two recent drug-trafficking arrests, JPD Officer Sam Brown said that the only change was that the department was supplying its officers and precincts with sanitary supplies in line with Centers for Disease Control more PETRI Dish, p 8

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

A Mississippi Time Bomb?

Salaam, who was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to prison at age 15 along with four other innocent underage boys in New York City, has been working as a prison-reform advocate since his exoneration. During a phone interview from his Georgia home, he urged elected officials and law enforcement to do more to prevent the rapid spread of novel coronavirus.

COVID-19 has already infected police departments from San Francisco to Chicago and Memphis—killing one officer in Detroit—and continues to devastate the 9,000 people inside New York City’s Rikers Island jail after an infected corrections

Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

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ne of Dr. Yusef Salaam’s most vivid memories of being falsely incarcerated in 1990 for the rape of Trisha Meili, a jogger in New York’s Central Park, is when an elder in prison told him, “If you ever get sick, eat an onion.”

In prison is where Salaam learned about other homeopathic remedies for supporting a healthy immune system, such as eating cloves of garlic, as a way of staving off infectious diseases than can spread virally among the incarcerated.

Living under such unusual, highpressure circumstances and without access to adequate health care or nutrition, Salaam told the Jackson Free Press on March 20, has forced the nation’s prisoners to cultivate a kind of secret knowledge that others on the outside might not possess.

“One of the things that I think is a saving grace for the inmate population is that we’ve been able to do things that are very unconventional,” Salaam said.

For Salaam, exonerated in 2002, this quality represents a harbinger of resilience and hope for the country’s incarcerated population, who are left fending for themselves as COVID-19 threatens to infect overcrowded jails and prisons, while those in power are not doing enough to stop the spread of the virus among some of the most vulnerable populations.

by Seyma Bayram

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tions has arrested and sent three people to Hinds County jails on probation-violation charges.

The Jackson Free Press asked Salaam how to address some residents’ concerns

first place,” Salaam said. “It’s one thing to tell people to stop being poor or to pull themselves from the bootstraps, and we know people don’t even have boots.”

Mississippi, which currently and con-

On March 20, Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens said that his office was identifying and recommending conditional release for some pretrial detainees in the county jail. But it’s a balancing act, he said.

that crimes may go up if people are released from mail.

“I’m actually more concerned with the causes of those crimes, meaning what causes people to respond the way that they respond,” Salaam said.

‘Meaningful Change’

Salaam pointed to markers of systemic oppression, from the legacy of redlining to poverty, which can drive people to resort to illicit or risky actions to survive.

“It’s one thing to talk about criminal activity without the conversation … about how these criminal activities began in the

Photo by Kristiana Pinne on Unsplash

recommendations. These include masks, gloves, hand sanitizers and other disinfectants, which officers are trained in how to use, Brown explained then.

On March 27, however, and after the COVID-19 case, Brown confirmed JPD is now arresting people for misdemeanor charges and then releasing them.

“What they’ll do is they’ll probably, for your sake and the officer’s sake, they’ll handcuff you,” Brown said. “They’ll do a patdown search, they’ll read you your rights, give you your charge, give you a field release form which is similar to a ticket, give you a ticket for the charge, give you a field review form (with a court date on it), and then they will release the handcuffs and you go on about your way.”

From March 28 forward, the JPD will enforce Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba’s executive order banning gatherings of 10 or more people. Brown said violations will result in the arrest, misdemeanor charge and release of violators.

Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, who was elected last fall on a decarceral platform, told the JFP on March 20 that his office was working to identify and recommend certain pretrial detainees for release on either reduced bond, electronic monitoring, release on one’s own recognizance, among other conditions. He emphasized that the county must balance the constitutional rights of detainees with its responsibility of ensuring the public safety of residents and victims.

Recent jail-count data indicate a drop in the Hinds County jail population of unconvicted people waiting for trial. Whereas the inmate population has tended to hover between 470 to 500 in recent months, it saw a decline after March 12.

On March 31, the incarcerated population inside Hinds County was 409, the lowest it has been since Sept. 1, 2019, and a 16% decrease from the highest March jail count of 487.

Local police departments are still arresting and booking people for low-level or non-violent crimes, however, including simple drug possession charges and failures to appear for court dates.

On March 22, law enforcement arrested Christopher Brown, 29, for possession of a controlled substance and Dushun King, 41, for possession of a controlled substance and violating a traffic ordinance; both were released from jail on or before March 25. On March 24, the Clinton Police Department arrested and jailed Eric Dawson, 43, for a bad check. Since March 21, the Mississippi Department of Correc-

Seyma Bayram

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sistently ranks as or near to being the poorest state in the nation, also has the second highest incarceration rate. It recently surpassed Oklahoma’s incarceration rates after that state implemented reforms last year, including reclassifying simple drug-possession charges to misdemeanors, which resulted in a drop in the prison population.

“If we really want meaningful change, we have to really talk about the real issues and not some of the outskirts or outgrowths that have come about because of those issues,” Salaam said. He pointed to law enforcement’s treatment of the opioid epidemic, which has drawn more atten-

tion for affecting poor and middle-class whites, as a public-health issue rather than a criminal issue as another example of how implicit bias manifests itself in whom law enforcement prosecute and why.

High Risk for COVID-19

Mississippi State Public Defender André DeGruy emphasized that “nobody in the jail is going to have (COVID-19) unless someone brings it into them. Nobody in the prison is going to have it unless someone brings it into them. So if you cut down the number of people you’re bringing in, or the number of people going in, then you’re going to reduce the risk.”

DeGruy stressed the urgency of acting before COVID-19 spread.

“If we’re moving people who are getting sick out of jails into hospitals, that I think, for the whole state, is worse than before they get sick,” he said.

DeGruy lauded the Madison County jail for checking temperatures of people going into the jail. Neither Hinds County jails nor the JPD has been taking temperatures of their employees before they work, though the JPD has referred some officers who had come into contact with an infected officer to off-site medical centers for testing.

In a “frequently asked questions” page on the MDOC website, the agency states that it is taking temperatures of correctional staff, installing more hand sanitizers, allowing inmates to use the “sick call system” to report symptoms and access medical care, temporary family visit suspensions, and not accepting new inmates into MDOC facilities with “limited exceptions.”

It is unclear whether or not any MDOC guards have stopped working over COVID-19 concerns or whether any more PETRI DISH, p 10

Pantry Stock List Suggestions from the staff (and their Mommas)

Flour Vegetables Shortening Oil Yeast Shelf stable milk Beans Noodles Rice

Dehydrated onions Lentils Quinoa Nuts Spices Dried Herbs Salt Pepper Molasses

Sugar Oats Detergent Soap Dish soap Pet food Paper towels Toilet paper Lysol or 90% alcohol

TALK JXN

pandemic

COVID-19: Can Mississippi Imitate South Korea?

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s COVID-19 has spread across the globe, the primary fear of observers worldwide is the threat of collapse of the health-care system. More severe infections than a state’s intensive-care units have the capacity to treat will dramatically increase the risk of death. The most grave manifestations of the virus, without ventilators and professionals to operate them, would be a death sentence. This is the “curve” that necessitates dramatic actions as lockdowns and mass-gathering bans.

Mississippi mayors who sought broader restrictions on essential businesses than his executive orders allowed, interjecting politics in an interview with Mississippi Today.

“In some of the more liberal jurisdictions, they wanted to shut down every business, and there’s just some things we believe are essential,” Reeves said.

The Chinese model is thus unacceptable for the leadership of Mississippi, and it appears, the leadership of the United States. For a time, Trump seemed dedicat-

Mixed Messages and Confusion Just the week before Trump extended the national guidelines, the devolving situation triggered an executive order from Reeves that set a baseline of social-distancing habits for the state to follow, while also ordering that “any additional freedom of movement or social distancing limitations on Essential Business or Operation, restricts scope of services or hours of operation of any Essential Business or Operation, or which will or might in any way Nick Judin

For a state looking to interdict COVID-19 while keeping businesses running, the South Korean model is appealing, and both Gov. Tate Reeves (right) and State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs (center) believe it can work in Mississippi.

But in the estimation of Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves and President Donald Trump, America’s response to COVID19 can bring another catastrophe. They fear an overreaction to the virus: too many businesses closed for too long causing an economic downturn that threatens the livelihoods of Americans, and leads to evictions, foreclosures, hunger and poverty.

In their own words, this catastrophe is ideological as well as material. “Mississippi will never be China,” Reeves said in his address to the public on March 23, specifically in response to a question about emulating that country’s successful measures of intense quarantine. Two days later, Reeves elaborated in a Twitter post. “Because we pray and reject dictatorship models like China they say we are ‘untroubled,’” Reeves posted.

The governor pushed back against

ed to a swift end to America’s already limited lockdown, planning to throw the gates back open to mass gatherings by Easter, just midway through April and less than two weeks away.

“Wouldn’t it be great to have all the churches full?” Trump said during a virtual town hall on Fox News March 24. “You’ll have packed churches all over our country. … I think it’ll be a beautiful time.”

By March 29, those plans had evaporated. A much-sobered Trump extended the nation’s social-distancing guidelines to April 30, as his top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, braced the nation for “between 100,000 and 200,000” deaths resulting from COVID-19.

By the end of that week, the Mississippi State Department of Health was reporting 847 cases in 75 counties in the state with 16 deaths.

conflict with or impede the purpose of this Executive Order is suspended and unenforceable during this COVID-19 State of Emergency.”

The order went on to list “essential businesses,” which covered a massive swathe of the state’s private enterprises.

The impact of Reeves’ executive order was immediate. Mayors from across the state called the governor’s office to determine if their efforts to force curfews and shut down dining halls could persist through the executive order.

After negotiation, some like Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill, found that their efforts could co-exist with the governor’s new order because it allowed them to still regulate businesses and operations Reeves did not consider essential and, in effect, had left to locals to figure out anyway.

Others, like Moss Point Mayor Mario

King, said Reeves’ order undid his previous “shelter in place” decree, re-opening restaurants, retail outlets and churches alike.

Numerous private-sector employees reached out to the Jackson Free Press on background, speaking of sudden changes in company policy as a result of the executive order. Businesses that had previously established protocols for work-from-home started calling employees back on-site.

Department stores shuttered early in the crisis were devising plans to reopen with the belief that their businesses had the protection of executive fiat, employees told the JFP. In fact, department stores occupy a special place in Reeves’ order, along with shopping centers, offices and factories that are not listed as “essential” in his list further below.

Still, Reeves exempted them from 10or-fewer gatherings, creating a gray area that scared large retail employees believed would help force them back to work.

After the Jackson Free Press reported on that confusion that led to a hodgepodge of department stores being open or closed in his own town of Flowood the weekend of March 28, the governor downplayed the inconsistency, saying it was up to local authorities to both further regulate and enforce his social-distancing requirements on non-essential businesses, even as his order had exempted groups of them.

This newspaper also reported on the override clause in Reeves’ executive order that forbade locals from enforcing distancing and gathering rules on essential businesses, such as gun stores and churches. He soon attempted to scale back some of the enthusiasm for a return to normalcy in an amendment to his executive order that explicitly made his previous decree the baseline minimum during the crisis, though the amendment still prevented interference with the broadly defined “essential businesses” on the part of Mississippi’s mayors.

That is, local officials could only further regulate non-essential businesses (beyond those he said were exempt), but could not touch any essential businesses— reflecting his original order. He also kept repeating that companies should allow employees to work from home “if they can.”

On Twitter, Reeves warned, “Large businesses that do not allow employees who more LIKE SOUTH KOREA? p 10

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by Nick Judin

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LIKE SOUTH KOREA? from page 9

could work from home to do so are risking some serious lawsuits down the road if major outbreaks can be traced back to them.”

At press conferences and live streams held throughout the week, Reeves repeatedly reminded Mississippians that the crisis was “likely to be towards the beginning than ... towards the end.”

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State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers (right) urged Mississippians to self-isolate if they have COVID-19 symptoms, including fever, body aches, dry cough or trouble breathing, even if they have yet to be tested.

February 5 - 18, 2020 • jfp.ms

“Jackson is a little bit different from the rest of the state, but nothing like South Korea, like Seoul,” Mawson said. Such a close-knit urban setting provides a more immediate challenge to preventing viral transmission.

In recent weeks, Mississippi has pursued some, but not all of South Korea’s tactics for flattening the curve of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Mass testing, some performed at drive-thru testing sites deployed to hardhit areas, is key to the strategy.

“What should you do to control an outbreak is … identify cases. And so we want to really do more expansive testing,” Dobbs said last week. As of March 31, the State declined to provide testing specifics, including numbers and timing of how many tests have been conducted in each of Mississippi’s 82 counties.

But South Korea’s COVID-19 containment strategy relies on other cornerstones that will never apply to Mississippi, for better or for worse.

South Korea’s response to the COVID-19 crisis was lightning fast, deploying thousands of tests while the confirmed case totals were still in the double digits. The U.S. and Mississippi have consistently lagged behind. In his March 29 live stream, Reeves estimated the total number of tests, public and private, completed thus far in Mississippi to be somewhere around 8,000, a number he

PETRI DISH, from page 8

guards or inmates have tested positive since MDOC made the FAQ sheet available to the JFP on March 18.

Dr. Salaam called on elected officials to exercise political courage and implement novel strategies to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 in America’s prisons and jails.

“We can’t just have business as usual. This is a very highly unusual time that we’re living in, which calls for very

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of which complicate MSDH’s attempt to borrow that nation’s strategy—and a few that may help it work here.

It is difficult to compare the two countries epidemiologically, Dr. Anthony Mawson, professor of epidemiology at Jackson State University, explains.

South Korea’s population is 51 million, and Mississippi’s is roughly 3 million.

And South Korea is a densely packed nation, with roughly one-third of the entire population living in or immediately around the capital city of Seoul.

Nick Judin

More Expansive Testing

Two days after Reeves issued his now-infamous executive order and the day after he issued an addendum that affirmed what was in it, he held a Thursday afternoon press conference with State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs.

There, Dobbs laid out the formal approach Mississippi was taking in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The model to emulate, Dobbs said, was South Korea.

South Korea is an unsurprising choice for attempted imitation in Mississippi.

Early in the virus’ spread, its proximity to China made it one of the original hotspots for the transmission of the virus.

Now the nation of 51 million has seemingly contained the novel coronavirus outbreak. After reporting a peak of 909 new cases as of Feb. 29, the country has now declined to a trickle of cases per day.

Most importantly, this massive arrest of the virus’ growth in South Korea came without the intensive lockdown measures used to successfully defuse the situation in China. For a state looking to interdict

COVID-19 while keeping businesses running, the South Korean model is appealing, and Mississippi’s public-health leadership argues that it can work here.

“You know, there will be resource constraints, but we have a great team and we’ve overcome those serially. So I have every confidence that as we find new bottlenecks, we’ll find new solutions,” Dr. Dobbs said on March 26.

Experts point to differences in the demographics, environment, and laws between Mississippi and South Korea, many

We don’t have to still be the worst of us ... highly unusual measures and very highly unusual practices as we move forward as a society,” Salaam said.

“And hopefully this informs us as we move forward also on what we need to have in place, just in case, so when the next outbreak happens, when the next virus happens,

how do we respond, and how prepared are we in the future for something like that,” he said.

‘We Can Become Better’

Yusef Salaam said that the events of the last two weeks have shown America a very small taste of what the nation’s 2.3 million incarcerated people, who live in fear and in confinement for months or years, have endured daily.

“They’re getting the opportunity to see on a very small scale what it is like to be in solitary confinement and how oppressive solitary confinement is, how unjust solitary confinement is. We are human beings who crave humanity … human touch,” Salaam said.

He added that he was particularly concerned about the impact that suspension of visits with family are having on incarcerated people who rely on crucial familial and community support to survive harsh prison and jail terms.

Lack of urgency on the part of the criminal-justice system to curb the spread of COVID-19 sends a harmful message to the millions of incarcerated men and women who can do nothing but shelter in place, as they already do, while the likelihood of contracting the disease increases.

“It feels like when we, as people who were in prison,

felt and knew that we were not seen as full human beings, full citizens. It feels like that all over again,” Salaam said. “I can’t turn away from that, I can’t turn a blind eye to that, because I was once part of that population.”

“We far too often and far too long have been living in a society where we’ve been locking people up and throwing away the key and forgetting about them. These are still human beings,” he added.

“We can become better as a result of this. We don’t have to still be the worst of us, we can become the best of us,” Salaam implored to leaders.

To Mississippi prisoners and their families, Salaam had this to say: “My biggest message is to not give up hope.

And I know that that sounds cliché, but I want people to not give up hope, I want people to understand that we are resilient, that we have come-back power. That we are able to rise above the occasion.”

To report COVID-19 concerns in the Mississippi criminal-justice system, reach out to the ACLU of Mississippi (601354-3408), the Southern Poverty Law Center (601-9488882), or the Mississippi Center for Justice (601-352-2269).

Email reporter Seyma Bayram at seyma@jacksonfreepress.com and follow her on Twitter at @SeymaBayram0.

PANDEMIC

Pruning the bush instead of burning the bush suggested was “two-thirds” of what South Korea had accomplished, on a per capita basis. But the timelines for that level of progression in testing do not match up.

By March 10, South Korea’s publichealth agencies had reported roughly 7,500 cases of COVID-19 in the country, as well as 210,000 completed tests. That puts Mississippi between one-third and one-fourth of South Korea’s case-to-test trajectory, per-capita numbers aside.

Mawson suggested that individuals should strongly consider self-isolation if they feel they may have COVID-19 even without a test. State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers echoed that sentiment at Reeves’ March 31 press event.

Of Clusters and Tracing Contact tracing is the other linchpin of the South Korean strategy. “The idea is to find out who the person who is infected has been in contact with,” Mawson said.

Through retracing an infected individual’s steps, a web of their close contacts can build out a heat map of where the virus may have travelled. Testing and isolating the viral contacts can snuff out the spread of COVID-19. And this appears to be the primary focus of Mississippi’s strategy.

Dobbs said in the Sunday Facebook address that seeking clusters, rather than locking the entire state down as many states are doing even as many Mississippians want a lockdown, is how the State of Mississippi will flatten the curve here.

“Quarantining the whole state is obviously not sustainable, we can’t do that.

But what we can do, if we can identify the individuals and then the cluster of their close contacts, understanding who’s really at risk—instead of looking at the whole population, we can say hey, you group of 10 folks, y’all are at high risk. We’re gonna have you guys go in quarantine for a cou-

ple weeks,” Dobbs explained to Reeves.

He compared the strategy to “pruning the bush, instead of burning the bush.”

The South Korean strategy, The New York Times reports, involved tracing phone and financial records, as well as trawling through surveillance footage from urban environments. While Dobbs rejected those elements of the strategy as “not appropriate” for Mississippi, he did suggest that individuals identified to have been in contact with infected Mississippians would carry “a legal obligation for quarantine, so that we don’t have subsequent spread beyond that level.”

There is no certainty that Mississippi can replicate the success of the South Korean model, even with the hope that climate and population density work in the state’s favor. And one key lesson from the outbreak in Korea remains. More than half of all infected Koreans can trace their virus back to gatherings of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in the city of Daegu, a secretive religious cult.

Trump may not get his wish for “packed churches” on Easter, but any large gatherings—religious, commercial, or otherwise—can wildly spiral out of control, leading to mass infections even in a country utterly prepared for the disease.

Read the JFP’s full coverage of COVID19 and Gov. Reeves’ order and strategies at jacksonfreepress.com/COVID19. Email tips to nick@jacksonfreepress.com.

MOST VIRAL STORIES AT JFP.MS: 1. “Governor Rejects State Lockdown For COVID-19: ‘Mississippi’s Never Going to Be China’” by Nick Judin 2. “Governor Orders Limited Gatherings, Declares Most Businesses ‘Essential,’ Supersedes Local Safety Efforts”

by Nick Judin 3. “Saturday, March 22: 60 New COVID-19 Cases in Mississippi, Spread Across Age Groups” by Nick Judin 4. “Two Mississippi Congressmen Skip Vote on COVID-19 Emergency Response Bill”

by Ashton Pittman 5. “Up 159% Up Since Friday, Mississippi COVID-19 Cases Continue to Rise, Spread”

by Donna Ladd

Reductive “Blackout” Poetry Exercise WHAT YOU’LL NEED: • pen or permanent marker • newspaper, old book, magazine pages, or letters * Tip: Be inspired! Print or photocopy a song, poem, or piece of writing that is meaningful to you.

Step 1: Circle compelling words or phrases to make new meaning. *Tip: Choose words focused on a single theme, such as nature!

Step 2: Color over the other words to create your own poem! *Educator Tip: Discuss the power of words and how the text was transformed.

Step 3: Personalize your piece even more.

Draw pictures inspired by the words circled in your poem, give your poem a title, or imagine your poem as a song!

Share your poems with us! Tag us @msmuseumart For more activities, visit http://bit.ly/edudigitalmma

380 South Lamar St. • Downtown Jackson • 601.960.1515 @MSMUSEUMART.ORG get connected:

February 5 - 18, 2020 • jfp.ms

TALK JXN

11

Duvalier Malone

A

s the U.S. reels from the effects of COVID-19, we are faced with a stark reality: We were desperately and woefully unprepared for a crisis. America has been exposed, as we struggle to maintain a semblance of normal life while our societal norms crumble around us. We were not ready for this. But could we have been?

We are still unable to get a handle on this crisis, because of one fact: Our country seems to have an inability to learn from the past. Whether it’s because of our current leadership or because we have grown complacent, we are in a crisis because we refuse to let our experiences guide us.

As the country faces coronavirus, we are also dealing with other challenges, such as an increasingly unstable stock market, an upcoming and probably chaotic election, racial tension, the struggle over the death penalty, and a silent U.S. Senate that seems to be unwilling to pass bills that will truly help the American people.

It’s time for us to ask ourselves: “Why is this happening? Have our hearts changed, and have we begun to heal from the wounds of our dark past?”

Even faced with the threat of a worldwide pandemic that threatens our mortality, we are as divided as ever. We are unable to agree on simple facts, and we remain torn on issues of morality. Even as an unseen enemy extinguishes all around us, our political leaders continue to engage in games-

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

This is the time to think outside the box.

12

manship, instead of passing legislation that will reassure the American people.

Where our lawmakers once led at the forefront of the movement for change, it’s obvious that many of them have now become content and silent. They are content to sit back and watch Americans panic, while they collectively fiddle. Where are they now when we need them the most?

Every political leader in America should be working to ensure that each state has the supplies and funding to provide testing and treatment for those who are ill from COVID-19, as well as to ease the

Photo by Matthew henry froM burst.

U.S. Must Heal All the Wounds that Got Us Here

Editor-in-Chief and CEO Donna Ladd Publisher & President Todd Stauffer Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin Creative Director Kristin Brenemen REPORTERS AND WRITERS City Reporter Seyma Bayram State Reporter Nick Judin Culture Reporter Aliyah Veal Contributing Reporter Ashton Pittman, State Intern Julian Mills Contributing Writers Dustin Cardon, Bryan Flynn, Alex Forbes, Jenna Gibson, Tunga Otis Torsheta Jackson, Mike McDonald, Anne B. Mckee, Mauricio J. Quijano EDITORS AND OPERATIONS Deputy Editor Nate Schumann JFPDaily.com Editor Dustin Cardon Executive Assistant Azia Wiggins Listings Editor Kayode Crown Consulting Editor JoAnne Prichard Morris

Columnist Duvalier Malone says the COVID-19 crisis is the perfect and necessary time to demand real and lasting change in the United States, and to avoid being so unprepared for such a crisis in the future.

stresses of life for Americans. We shouldn’t be faced with student loans, evictions and lack of funds for simple life necessities. This virus thrives on person-to-person contact, and so many are unable to earn a living.

Our work force is crippled.

Why are our politicians so afraid to come up with big and bold ideas that will help the average citizen of this country?

This is the time for change. This is the time to think outside of the box. America is currently at a literal standstill. This is where we can improve our system.

Our political leaders must pass legislation that is aimed at improving our lives: health care for all Americans, immigration reform, common-sense gun legislation and student-loan relief. Make certain that every child in this country has access to a quality education when they come back to school.

Give reparations to the descendants of American slaves. We built the “land of the free,” but are we really free when so many black people across this country are living in poverty, which ironically makes us more susceptible to contracting coronavirus?

Prison reform is needed now. Abolish the death penalty and provide care for those that are imprisoned.

It’s time to heal our country.

Many will say that we can’t do this right now, that it’s not the right time. I say that this is the perfect time. Our country is in need of an overhaul that starts from the top down. While we are facing this crisis, let’s reflect and truly do the work that is necessary to improve American lives.

Across the country, many are living in fear of the unknown. Our schools are closed, many businesses are closed, mass

events have been canceled, we are unable to travel, our primary elections are being postponed, and many feel as if our very democracy is at risk.

But even though fear is sweeping the American people, we refuse to be silent.

We may be unable to gather in crowds as a show of force, but with technology at our disposal, we can and will make ourselves heard. We are ready to lay out our demands to both political parties, and as long as we are facing the threat of COVID-19, we will come to the digital table with our potential leaders of tomorrow to exchange views.

In the middle of this crisis, we may not be sure of much, but we are sure of one thing: This cannot happen again. We can’t allow ourselves to be caught in a crisis that could have been avoided. It’s time for us to elect leaders that will keep the American people safe, and that will create an America where everyone can be successful.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, a social movement is brewing. We demand change, real change that will produce real progress. In the words of Malcolm X, “If you stick a knife in my back 9 inches and pull it out 6 inches, there’s no progress.

If you pull it all the way out, that’s not progress. Progress is healing the wound that the blow made. And they haven’t even pulled the knife out, much less heal the wound.

They won’t even admit the knife is there.”

America: It’s time to pull the knife out, and it’s time to heal the wound. It’s time to heal the American people.

Duvalier Malone is an author, motivational speaker, community activist and CEO. This column does not necessarily reflect the views of the JFP.

ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY Senior Designer Zilpha Young Contributing Photographers Seyma Bayram, Acacia Clark, Nick Judin, Imani Khayyam, Ashton Pittman, Brandon Smith ONLINE & DIGITAL SERVICES Digital Web Developer Ryan Jones Web Editor Dustin Cardon Social Media Assistant Robin Johnson Web Designer Montroe Headd Let’s Talk Jackson Editor Kourtney Moncure SALES AND MARKETING (601-362-6121 x11) Marketing Writer Andrea Dilworth Marketing Consultant Mary Kozielski Advertising Designer Zilpha Young Events Assistant Leslyn Smith DISTRIBUTION Distribution Coordinator Ken Steere Distribution Team Yvonne Champion, Ruby Parks, Eddie Williams TALK TO 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 Jackson Free Press 125 South Congress Street, Suite 1324 Jackson, Mississippi 39201 Editorial and Sales (601) 362-6121 Fax (601) 510-9019 Daily updates at jacksonfreepress.com The Jackson Free Press is the city’s award-winning, locally owned news magazine, reaching more than 35,000 readers per issue via more than 600 distribution locations in the Jackson metro area—and an average of over 35,000 visitors per week at www. jacksonfreepress.com. The Jackson Free Press is free for pick-up by readers; one copy per person, please.

First-class subscriptions are available to “gold level” and higher members of the JFP VIP Club (jfp.ms/ vip). The views expressed in this magazine and at jacksonfreepress.com are not necessarily those of the publisher or management of Jackson Free Press Inc. © Copyright 2020 Jackson Free Press Inc.

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.

Male AB Donors Urgently Needed!

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Non-Profits and Professionals: You Need a New Plan to Reach Clients and Constituents. it harder to reach your clients and constituents

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April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

With COVID-19 canceling events and making

13

What is Social Distancing?

by Nick Judin, translation by Carla Mariana Fernández

What is social distancing? ¿Qué es el distanciamiento social?

Social distancing is more than just a single action. It is a different way of living. Social distancing means making hard choices and sticking to them. It is a necessary change to the way we live.

El distanciamiento social es mucho más que una acción: Es una manera diferente de vivir. Implica tomar decisiones difíciles y ser congruente con ellas, es un cambio necesario de nuestro estilo de vida.

Stay at home Quédate en casa

Take every opportunity to remain isolated.

Avoid gatherings whenever possible. Stay away from confined areas with other people, large crowds, and unnecessary contact with others. You can enjoy the outdoors, take walks, bike around your neighborhood—but stay close to home, and stay physically distant from other people.

Aprovecha cada oportunidad para practicar el aislamiento. Evita las reuniones siempre que sea posible. Mantente alejado de áreas confinadas donde haya otras personas, conglomeraciones y un contacto innecesario con los demás.

Puedes disfrutar el aire libre, salir a caminar, y andar en bici en tu vecindario, pero quédate cerca de casa y mantén una distancia física con las otras personas.

Keep your distance Mantén tu distancia

Stay at least six feet away from anyone you are not living with. This is not always easy. Adjust the way you crowd around others in public. Leave lots of space for others to pass. In lines, space out to avoid clusters of people.

In the workplace, make sure everyone has space to work while remaining distant.

Mantente al menos a seis pies de distancia de cualquier persona con la que no vivas. Esto no es sencillo, implica hacer un ajuste en la manera en la que nos aproximamos a los demás en público. Deja un amplio espacio para que otras personas puedan pasar. Cuando estés en una fila, deja un espacio para evitar que la gente se amontone. En tu lugar de trabajo, asegúrate de que todos tengan un espacio que les permita trabajar y al mismo tiempo conservar esta distancia.

Practice hygiene Una buena higiene Keeping your hands washed and sanitized protects others as well as yourself. Always cough or sneeze into your elbow, and if you are displaying symptoms of COVID-19, isolate yourself for 14 days.

Lavar y sanitizar tus manos protege a los demás tanto como a ti mismo. Siempre que tosas o estornudes hazlo en la parte interna del brazo. Si tienes síntomas de Covid-19, debes permanecer en aislamiento durante 14 días.

What is ‘Shelter At Home’? ¿Qué es el resguardo domiciliario?

An order of “Shelter at Home” is distinct from the already existing “social distancing” standards in place for the entire nation. When an order to shelter at home is put in place, as it was for Lauderdale County on March 31, all non-essential businesses should close, all travel must be justified (food, medical care, emergencies, employment at an essential business). Importantly, “shelter at home” is legally enforceable. You can and will be stopped by the police if you are violating the restrictions of the order.

Una orden de “Resguardo domiciliario” es diferente a los estándares de “distanciamiento social” que ya se han implementado en todo el país. Cuando se ordena el resguardo domiciliario, como en Lauderdale County el 31 de marzo, todos los negocios de actividades no esenciales deben de estar cerrados, y todos los viajes tienen que estar justificados (alimentos, asistencia médica, emergencias, trabajo que implique participar en actividades esenciales). Es importante tener en cuenta que el resguardo domiciliario tiene un carácter obligatorio en términos legales. Quien sea sorprendido realizando actividades que infrinjan las restricciones de esta orden será detenido por la policia.

Tackling Food Insecurity in the Capital City

by Dustin Cardon, Azia Wiggins

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Free grab-and-go breakfast and lunch meals for students 18 years and under. *Adult meals are $2.50 for breakfast and $3.75 for lunch.

SOURCE: JACKSON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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his growing pandemic has affected the entire world, leaving joblessness, sickness, death and hopelessness in its wake. While we are collectively concerned over what COVID-19 means for the immediate future, locally and globally, Jacksonians with surrounding businesses and organizations are standing together, working hard and endeavoring to make sure no child or family in need goes hungry. Here is a list of places where families in need can get food and other resources for the foreseeable future.

Jackson Public Schools JPS partners with Mississippi Food Network and the Child Nutrition Team to provide free grab-and-go breakfast and lunch meals for children 18 and under until April 17th from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. No ID is required, and kids are not required to be JPS students. Adult meals are $2.50 for breakfast and $3.75 for lunch. Additionally,

hot meals will be provided two days a week through the JPS Office of Child Nutrition.

For more information concerning pick-up locations, refer to the map.

Eaton Aerospace recently donated $4,600, and the Systems Companies team with the Center for Entrepreneurship has donated $9,300, totaling $13,900 to provide hot meals for JPS families. These generous donations provided 3,000 hot dinners to JPS families and were distributed from 3 to 5 p.m. March 26 and 27 at Bates Elementary/Cardozo Middle, Chastain Middle and Galloway Elementary schools.

“We are truly grateful for the generous support of our partners to support our Jackson Public Schools families during this unprecedented situation. We ask for your continued support to allow us to continue these invaluable resources to reduce food

MORE COVID-19 FOOD SEE PAGE 16

CDC Recommended Guidelines to Stay Safe During COVID-19 Crisis

Take Steps to Protect Others

• There is currently no vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

• The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus.

• The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person (a) between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet) and (b) through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.

• Stay home if you are sick, except to get medical care. Learn what to do if you are sick.

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze or use the inside of your elbow.

• Throw used tissues in the trash.

• Immediately wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, clean your hands with a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

• If you are sick: You should wear a facemask when you are around other people (e.g., sharing a room or vehicle) and before you enter a health-care provider’s office. If you are not able to wear a facemask (for example, because it causes trouble breathing), then you should do your best to cover your coughs and sneezes, and people who are caring for you should wear a facemask if they enter your room. Learn what to do if you are sick.

• If you are NOT sick: You do not need to wear a facemask unless you are caring for someone who is sick (and they are not able to wear a facemask). Facemasks may be in short supply and they should be saved for caregivers.

• Clean AND disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks.

• If surfaces are dirty, clean them: Use detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.

Take Steps to Protect Yourself • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.

• If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Cover all surfaces of your hands and rub them together until they feel dry.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.

• Avoid close contact with people who are sick • Put distance between yourself and other people if COVID-19 is spreading in your community. This is especially important for people who are at higher risk of getting very sick.

See More: jacksonfreepress.com/ caronavirus

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he Mississippi Department of Employee Security has modified its existing unemployment compensation rules, allowing Mississippi workers who are not able to work due to COVID-19 to be eligible to file for unemployment benefits if they meet one of the following conditions: • Have been quarantined by a medical professional or a government agency • Have been laid off or sent home without pay for an extended period by their employers due to COVID-19 concerns • Have been diagnosed with COVID-19 • Who are caring for an immediate family member who is diagnosed with COVID-19

If you meet any of the above conditions, you may want to file a claim for unemployment benefits. Here is a quick guide on how to do just that.

Online Directions: 1. Go to mdes.ms.gov and move your cursor over the Unemployment Claims dropdown menu. Click Register Now, which will take you to the Applicant Services page.

Filing for unemployment benefits can be done 2. Click the Create New completely online at mdes.ms.gov or through User button and follow the your local WIN Job Center. instructions to create an account.

3. Once you are registered, return to the Unemployment Claims dropdown menu and select File a Claim Online, which will take you to a new page.

4. This new page will have a dropdown menu labeled Unemployment Claim (it will look different from the previous dropdown menu with a similar name). Move your cursor over that menu and select File Unemployment Claim.

5. This new page will provide detailed information on filing a claim. Near the bottom right, you will see a Next button. Click it.

6. Enter the requested information for each new page, clicking Next along the way until you have finished filing your claim. From here, simply wait for it to be processed. Check the email affiliated with your account later to determine whether you have been approved.

Alternatives: 1. Those wishing to file a claim may also do so by calling 888-844-3577. If you have issues when attempting this number, try one of the other listed options.

2. File through a local WIN Job Center. Centers’ lobbies are currently closed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, but each local center has an email and a phone number affiliated with it so that representatives can help citizens file their claims. If you would like help finding a list of WIN Job Centers in Mississippi, mdes.ms.gov has a thorough list. Someone from the center can email you a blank copy of the physical document needed for filing a claim. From there, you may either fill out the document and email it back to the center, or you can drop off a physical copy at the center. The claim will be processed from there.

Note: Once you have successfully filed for unemployment benefits, remember to file your weekly certification to continue to receive benefits.

Do you know of any other resources that could help members of the community as we work our way through the COVID-19 crisis? Send tips to news@jacksonfreepress.com. We appreciate your help as we band together in this rough time.

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

Know How It Spreads

By Nate Schumann

KRISTIN BRENEMEN

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ith COVID-19 continuing to run rampant in our state and in our country, the Centers for Disease Control has issued recommendations for preventative measures people can take to keep themselves and others as safe and as healthy as possible. The following text comes directly from the CDC’s website. To learn more about federally recommended health procedures at this time, visit cdc.gov.

Filing for Unemployment Benefits

15

COVID-19 Food

See More: jacksonfreepress.com/caronavirus

from page 14

insecurity among our families,” said Thea Faulkner, JPS Director of Partners in Education in a press release from March 25.

On Monday, March 30, Jackson Foodies established a GoFundMe account to collect donations for JPS’ meal distribution plan.

EversCare Food Pantry (350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave., 601-982-8467) The University of Mississippi Medical Center EversCare Ambulatory Clinic is housed at the Jackson Medical Mall and is part of the Myrlie Evers-Williams Institute for the Elimination of Health Disparities.

The UMMC health system serves residents

across the state and also serves as the safetynet hospital for Mississippi’s poor, disadvantaged, under- and uninsured patient populations.

For this reason, patients in every region of the state, including the Mississippi Delta, are eligible for services, physician care, specialized treatments and services offered through EversCare Food Pantry.

Stewpot Community Services (1100 W. Capitol St., 601-353-2759) Stewpot’s food pantry is a mini-grocery store that provides a four-day supply of food to carefully screened applicants. Volunteers from local congregations staff the pantry

from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Monday through Friday. The pantry is stocked through donations from individuals and businesses as well as through Stewpot’s partnership with the Mississippi Food Network.

Over 100,000 cans of food are donated each year. Occasionally items such as sugar, canned fruit, cereal and peanut butter—which are in constant demand—must occasionally be purchased by Stewpot.

The following items are required to receive food: rent receipt or lease agreement, current utility bill in your name, social security card, photo ID, proof of income, and birth certificates for any children living in the household.

jfp social Distancing Bingo

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

mark your CarD if you haVe …

16

Been following the news for CoViD19 upDates

eaten all of your/ your kiDs’ quarantine snaCks

giVen yourself a hairCut

gone for more than a Day without a shower

Been taking three showers a Day

felt enrageD at a politiCian’s stanCe on the Crisis

hiDDen yourself away from other householD memBers

Been on a Zoom ConferenCe Call

maDe your own hanD sanitiZer

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CleaneD plaCes in your home you haVen’t touCheD in years

inDulgeD in a Digital ConCert or online party

stayeD the hell insiDe

sColDeD a family memBer aBout staying insiDe

DiagnoseD yourself with the ’rona Before rememBering it’s allergy season

gone on a relaxing walk

haD an important eVent you really wanteD to attenD Be CanCelleD

Dry/CraCkeD/ ashy skin from Constant hanDwashing

run out of napkins, paper towels or toilet paper

partiCipateD in a tiktok Challenge

workeD from home in your pjs

Binge-watCheD an entire series (or seVeral)

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seen way too many CoronaVirus memes

forgotten toDay’s Date

Elvie’s (809 Manship St., 601-863-8828) Elvie’s has partnered with Sow Reap Feed, a local organization that focuses on urban farming, to fight hunger and food insecurity. It is collecting donations of food or money with the goal of delivering 1,000 bagged lunches to kids in Jackson who may go hungry without access to a free school meals amid COVID-19 closures. Donations can be dropped off at the restaurant.

In addition to these measures, Elvie’s is supporting their team through gift-card sales, available for purchase in person or over the phone, and DIY mixers for two of their most popular cocktails, the Sunday Stroll and Pepper Jelly Julep, for $10. For information, call 601-863-8828 or visit elviesrestaurant.com.

The Fresh Market (1000 Highland Colony Pkwy., Suite 1001, Ridgeland, 601856-2866) The Fresh Market, a national mission partner of Feeding America, is holding a fundraising drive at all of its stores to raise $250,000 by the end of April. The Fresh Market will match these donations up to $250,000 to reach a $5 million meal goal.

Guests can choose to donate to Feeding America in increments of $1, $5 or any other amount at checkout through the end of April. Guests can also donate online at feedingamerica.org/thefreshmarket-covid.

Every dollar raised helps provide at least 10 meals, and 90% of the funds raised stay in The Fresh Market’s local communities, a release from The Fresh Market says.

All of The Fresh Market’s 159 stores also make food donations multiple times per week to Feeding America’s partner food banks and its agencies to fight hunger in their communities.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Mississippi (1450 W. Capitol St., 601948-7211) Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Mississippi will provide evening meals and snacks for vulnerable youth ages 5 to 18.

The organization has also converted its after-school food programs and Club sites into “Grab-N-Go” community foodservice hubs providing drive-through food pickup. Boys & Girls Clubs will also provide weekly educational activities with each child’s food bag.

MORE COVID-19 FOOD SEE pagE 18

COVID-19 Testing Centers Name

Address

Phone Number

Hours

Cost

James Anderson Health Facility

3502 W. Northside Drive

601-362-5321

Monday 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Tuesday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 pm.

Varies per patient on a sliding scale

Jackson-Hinds BrownSimmons Clinic

129 White Oak Street, Utica

601-885-6021, 601-885-6022

Monday to Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Varies per patient on a sliding scale

The University of Mississippi Medical Center Drive-Through Specimen Collection

Mississippi State Fairgrounds, 1207 Mississippi St.

601-496-7200

Sunday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

No cost; use free app, C Spire Health UMMC Virtual COVID-19 Triage, created

by UMMC and C Spire

Ethel James Ivory Homeless Clinic

327 S. Gallatin St.

601-355-0707

Monday-Friday 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.

Varies per patient on a sliding scale

Jackson-Hinds South Clinic

145 Raymond Road

601-362-5321

Monday-Wednesday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Thursday-Friday 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Varies per patient on a sliding scale

Vicksburg-Warren Family Healthcare

1203 Mission Park Drive, Vicksburg

601-634-8850

Sunday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Varies per patient on a sliding scale

Jackson-Hinds Edwards Clinic

100 S. Magnolia St., Edwards

601-852-5567

Monday, Wednesday and Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Varies per patient on a sliding scale

Bennie G. Thompson Clinic

514 A-B Woodrow Wilson Ave.

601-362-5321

Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Varies per patient on a sliding scale

Jackson-Hinds Central Mississippi Medical Center

1860 Chadwick Drive, Suite 300

601-376-1000

Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.

Varies per patient on a sliding scale

Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center located inside the Jackson Medical Mall

350 W. Woodrow Wilson Ave.

601-709-5130

Monday 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Tuesday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Varies per patient on a sliding scale

Copiah Comprehensive Health Center

550 Caldwell Drive, Hazlehurst

601-894-1448

Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Varies per patient on a sliding scale

The MSDH Public Health Laboratory is testing samples submitted by Mississippi physicians

530 E. Woodrow Wilson Ave.

601-576-7582

Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Price varies based on sending physician

Jackson Labcorp Location

4816 Lakeland Drive

601-932-1333 769-572-3482

Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (lunch break noon-1 p.m.)

Could not disclose information on the phone to the press

Quest Diagnostics

1050 River Oaks Drive, Suite 120, Flowood

601-932-2226

Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-4 p.m.

$67

Sam’s Choice Healthcare Mobile Testing

6512 Dogwood View Parkway

769-216-3330 601-594‑0032

Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

TBD; waiting for testing supplies to come in

St. Dominic’s Family Medicine - Gluckstadt

286 Calhoun Station Parkway, Madison

601-200-4321

Monday-Friday

No cost

The University of Mississippi Medical Center

2500 N. State St.

601-984-1000

Open 24/7

No cost

Tougaloo’s Owens Health and Wellness Center

500 W. County Line Road, Tougaloo

601-977-6160

Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

TBD (based on insurance coverage)

Central Mississippi Health Services

1134 Winter St.; 5429 Robinson Road

601-948-5572; 601-914-0163

Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Saturday 8 a.m.-noon

TBD (based on insurance coverage)

G.A. Carmichael Family Health Center

1668 W. Peace St., Canton

601-859-5213

Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

TBD

Family Health Care Clinic

4365 Highway 80 E., Pearl; 1551 W. Government St., Brandon

601-825-7280; 601-825-3163

Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

$25 co-pay; or bring proof of income for a sliding scale

MEA Primary Care Plus Clinic

All locations

601-898-7540

Varies

TBD

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

by Kayode Crown

17

COVID-19 Food

See More: jacksonfreepress.com/caronavirus

from page 16

Deliver Me Senior Support Services (1405 S. Gallatin St., 601-354-4646)

Deliver Me Senior Support Services is a nonprofit charitable agency that gives supportive assistance to low-income elderly in the City of Jackson. It also delivers groceries, used clothing, furniture, linens, dishes, household appliances and other items.

To be eligible a person must be 65 years of age or older, live alone or with a spouse (all people in the household must also qualify), have a low, fixed income and live in the city limits of Jackson.

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

The following organizations also have food pantry services available

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• South Jackson Seventh-Day Adventist Church (5125A Robinson Road, 601-373-7600) • Parkview Church of Christ (5200 Clinton Blvd., 601-922-9800) • New Zion Gospel Church (2395 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, 601944-0775) • Greater Mt. Calvary Baptist Church (1400 Robinson St., 601352-8585) • College Hill Baptist Church (1600 Florence Ave., 601-355-2670) • Emmanuel Baptist Church (1109 Cooper Road, 601-371-8855) • Epiphany Lutheran Church (1230 Isaiah Montgomery St., 601353-0504) • Central United Methodist Church (500 N. Farish St., 601-355-7854) • Christians United Missionary Baptist Church (5394 Methodist Home Road, 601-981-8646) • Anderson United Methodist Church (6205 Hanging Moss Road, 601-982-3997) • Southside Assembly of God (665 Raymond Road, 601-373-4811) • First Hyde Park MB Church (2750 Coleman Ave., 601-3625552)

Jackson Revival Center Church Food Outreach Center (1616 Robinson St., 601-948-3618)

The ministry offers prayer, counsel and boxes of groceries to people in need.

Appointments must be made by calling the JRC Food Outreach Center. The Food Outreach Center is open between 9:30 a.m. and noon on Mondays. For more information, contact Cynthia McLaurin at 601948-1874.

Planting Seeds Outreach Ministries (Planting Seeds Church, 5360 Executive Place, 601-366-7480)

With support from the Mississippi Food Bank, USDA and private donations, the ministry distributes nutritional foods and supplies to senior citizens and low-income families.

Word of Truth Kingdom Church (4491 W. Northside Drive, 601-923-3325)

The church’s food pantry is open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

boy Maloney’s Home Store, which is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays.

Hands and Feet Food Pantry (Crossroads of Life Church, 6775 S. Siwell Road, 601373-6230)

The pantry is open the third Saturday of each month from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

St. Columb’s Episcopal Church IONA House Food Pantry (550 Sunnybrook Road, Ridgeland, 601-853-0205) courtesy Elvies

Good Samaritan Center (114 Millsaps Ave., 601-355-6276)

The Good Samaritan Center is offering “Buy Now, Shop Later” gift cards for those who choose to make a donation (donate2goodsam.org) to support the food pantry. Donors should note that they would like a N.U.T.S. gift certificate in the memo

line when making an online donation.

Good Sam will mail gift certificates to those unable to pick them up at the Center.

Soul City Church (226 Whitfield St.)

Lunches are served each weekday from noon to 1 p.m. Pastor Scott Fortenberry says that so far, all lunches have been provided by donations from various donors and they are collaborating with YMCA to continue providing lunches for those in need until school starts back.

Gateway Rescue Mission (328 S Gallatin St., 601-353-5864)

Gateway Rescue Mission serves three meals per day. Lunch is available for the general population. Breakfast and dinner are served for those staying overnight in Gateway facilities. The organization serves lunch to anyone who is hungry seven days a week at noon.

Turning Point Mission Center (1814 Shady Lane Drive, 601-372-1080)

Turning Point Mission Center is an affiliate of Lighthouse Outreach Ministries, which began in 1993 as a nursing home ministry to serve senior citizens in Jackson.

The organization serves 100 families and 400 individuals per month.

Alta Woods United Methodist Church (109 Alta Woods Blvd., 601-372-6016)

The food pantry is open on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. and is closed for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. Those wanting to use the pantry’s services must provide photo ID and proof of residence, such as a piece of mail or a bill listing their physical address.

Vowell’s (Cash Saver) (2101 Raymond Road; 5777 Terry Road, Byram)

The stores are providing free breakfast snacks from 7 a.m to 8 a.m. and sack lunches from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. for students.

A child must be present and there is a limit of one meal per child.

Elvie’s has partnered with Sow Reap Feed to assemble and deliver 1,000 bagged lunches to children across the Jackson area.

Salvation Army of Jackson (110 Presto Lane, 601-982-4881) The Salvation Army of Jackson is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to noon and then from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Living Independence-Everyone (1304 Vine St., 601-969-4009)

The food pantry is located inside Cow-

IONA House is open on Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon.

Do you know of any other resources that could help members of the community as we work our way through the COVID-19 crisis? Send tips to news@jacksonfreepress.com. We appreciate your help as we band together in this rough time.

JXN MS Mobile Meals Dispatch

by Aza Wiggins

T

focus on making sure families have everything needed to quarantine effectively, without having to come out multiple times for necessities. “I want people to be ‘active,’

what you are doing FOR others.” Koller stands behind the quote from the New York Times during this pandemic: “This history reminds us that quarantines may be Jackson Community COVID Response

he Jackson COVID-19 Community Food and Aid Coalition is a collaboration of local groups that formed a food dispatch and delivery service to support the most vulnerable residents in Jackson, including elders and children, by supplying weekly food supplies during this quarantine period. This team also prioritizes local college campuses and communities to make sure students and others in need have access to these resources.

Rosaline McCoy, the Capitol Unit Director of Boys & Girls Club Central said these services will continue to provide for local communities until the food runs out.

“To put a date on it would be unfair. As long as we keep getting support and resources, we will keep the wheels rolling,” she says.

Tyson Jackson, local activist and organizer for People’s Advocacy Institute/Strong Arms of JXN strongly encourages members of the community and local businesses to continue to donate and says he is thankful to all of those that continue to give generously to support those in need.

Dr. Felicitas Koller, a transplant surgeon at UMMC and one of the organizers, says this coalition is also working on putting together COVID Care Packages, which contain basic hygiene items such as hand sanitizer, soap, paper towels, tissue, disinfectant and medical information from UMMC. “The reason why we are doing this is because we are concerned that people are not able to ‘STAY HOME’ if they are under-resourced,” Koller expressed in an email. She believes that all efforts should

The Jackson COVID-19 Community Food and Aid Coalition is assembling care packages containing hygiene items to help deter the virus. Those who would to participate may drop off kits or supplies for kits at one of the listed locations.

if even on a virtual level, in helping others.

Part of saying we are all in it together is not just what you are asking others to do, but

tools of medical authority, but their success and failure depends on human psychology informed by material needs.”

Citizens are invited to assist the coalition in whatever way they may be able.

To donate money, email your name and phone number to jxnfoodfund@gmail.com with the subject “Donation.” Someone will contact you with sterile drop-off or pick-up locations. You can donate through Venmo at @ummcfoodfund or through PayPal at paypal.me/ummcandjacksonfoodfu. Make a tax-deductible online at giftumc.edu.

Those wishing to volunteer may email name and number to jxnfoodfund@gmail. com with the subject “Volunteer.” Someone will contact you to get more information and set up a volunteer shift. Needed positions include food buyers and packagers, food delivery (must have a car) and dispatch callers that can work from home.

The coalition is a collaboration of People’s Advocacy Institute, City of Jackson, Jackson Meals Matter, MS Poor People’s Campaign, MS Prison Reform Coalition, Strong Arms of JXN, UMMC Surgery Department, Medical Student COVID Response Team, Association of Women Surgeons, Are You Hungry/Bilal’s Easy Kale, Capital Boys and Girls Club, Partnership for a Healthy MS, Cultivation Hall, Hal & Mal’s, Bad Boyz Tree Service, Operation Good, Working Together Jackson, Moms Demand Action, Sow-Reap-Feed, Ariella’s, UMMC students, professors and students from Jackson State and Tougaloo, the Jackson PTA council and other generous donors and volunteers.

For updates and more information, visit facebook.com/JacksonCOVIDResponse.

Online Streaming Events ith recent regulations limiting the amount of persons that can be in a single public space in the wake of COVID-19, most local events have been cancelled or postponed. However, some organizations and individuals have started hosting online events to help give people some fun and social reprieve even whilst taking refuge at home.

In the next two weeks, Jacksonians and others can tune in for a couple music options that can be streamed to their computers or cell phones.

On April 3, harmonica maestro Scott Albert Johnson will stream a live performance from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. through Facebook Live. Known for incorporating rock, jazz, blues, funk and country into his music, the long-time Jackson resident uses a harmonica technique known as “overblow” to create his signature sound. The

concert is free, but listeners are welcome to donate to the artist through PayPal or Venmo at scott@scottalbertjohnson.com or through Donorbox at donorbox.org/ sajconcerts. Find him on Facebook for the show at facebook.com/scottalbertjohnsonmusic.

Meanwhile, in place of its usual weekly Blue Monday event usually held at Hal & Mal’s, the Central Mississippi Blues Society has begun hosting Watch Parties on its Facebook page. Every Monday night at 8:30 p.m., members post videos of past performances of the Blue Monday Band for viewers to enjoy. Video-length varies, with some footage being edited while other footage remains raw. Find the organization on Facebook to watch the shows and enjoy some blues tunes.

Have an online event coming up? Submit it to events@ jacksonfreepress.com.

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

Susan Margaret Barrett

Jacksonian music artist Scott Albert Johnson holds live concerts through his Facebook page.

W

by Nate Schumann

19

T O L L A B POP-UP

MEDICAL BALLOT VOT E F O R T H E B E S T:

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

Best Doctor, Best Cosmetic Surgeon, Best Nurse Practitioner/Physician’s Assistant, Best Chiropractor, Best Urgent Care Clinic, Best Specialty Clinic, Best Physical Therapy, Best Dentist, Best Pediatric Dentist, Best Cosmetic Dentist, Best Orthodontist, Best Women’s Health Clinic, Best Optometrist/Ophthalmologist

20

VOTE ONLINE UNTIL 4/12/20

BESTOFJACKSON.COM

We’d love your support for Best Doctor in the annual Best of Jackson reader poll.

•VideoVisits •E-visits •Telephone Visits with a Baptist Physician Call your Baptist Medical Group physician or Fast Pass at 855-SEE-U-TODAY.

baptistmedicalclinic.org

Thank you!

Thank you for nominating us again.

We are so grateful for your support.

Please consider voting for us.

Dr. LaMonica Davis Taylor Best Dentist Best Pediatric Dentist

5442 WATKINS DRIVE JACKSON, MS 39206

6S m0i l es1O.n B6r oa6d 5way.D4e nt9a l9. c o6m

www.bestofjackson.com

We are now offering telehealth.

Schedule your televisit appointment today!

601-398-2335 2135 Henry Hill Dr, Jackson | (601) 398-2335 @justinturnermd turnercarems@gmail.com | www.turnercarems.com Turner Care

Thank You for your nominations!

PLEASE VOTE Dr. Tonyatta Hairston

BEST OPTOMETRIST 2020

Curbside eyewear pickup now available!

By appointment only.

Urgent eye care appointments available!

CALL or TEXT us!

601-987-3937

www.987EYES.com

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

For your healthcare needs during social distancing, we now offer three telehealth options:

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food&drink

red lentil Soup

Cook and prep time: approximately 45 minutes Serves 4 to 6, depending on appetite

Red Lentil Soup

Ingredients:

by Seyma Bayram

T

his delicious red lentil soup, called mercimek çorbası in Turkish, is popular throughout the Middle East. It is a nutritious and easy-tomake staple that you’ll find at someone’s home or at a lokanta—a small, no-frills restaurant offer-

ing affordable, home-style meals to working-class men and women in Turkey. Best of all, this dish requires ingredients that keep well in a pantry.

Serve it with a chunk of hearty bread if you have some lying around.

Seyma Bayram

1 ¼ cup red lentils, rinsed and drained 2 tbsp white rice 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 large potato, chopped into small cubes 1 carrot, chopped into small cubes 4 tbsp tomato paste 2 tsp salt (or to taste) 1/2 tsp black pepper 1 tsp ground cumin

7 cups water 2 tbsp olive oil 1 lemon

Garnish (optional): Fresh or dried mint 1 tbsp butter 1 tsp ground red pepper (Turkish, Korean or Aleppo pepper flakes work best, but you can substitute ground chili or cayenne pepper)

Directions: 1. In a large pot over medium heat, sautée the onions and carrots in olive oil for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Add the potatoes, lentils, rice, tomato paste, water and the juice of half a lemon and boil for about 30 minutes on medium-low heat with the lid partially on. Stir occasionally to make sure the lentils don’t get stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the salt, black pepper, and cumin.

3. Purée the soup in a food processor (optional).

4. Quarter the remaining half of the lemon and serve on the side.

5. To make the garnish, melt the butter over medium-high heat in a small pan and add the red pepper. Stir frequently until the butter bubbles for 10 seconds or so (be careful not to burn it!). Pour a tiny bit of the butter mixture on each bowl of soup, and sprinkle some mint on top.

by Mckee Harris Wadlington

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

N 22

ot too long back, a dear friend would take me out to eat at this food joint over on Pico Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles. Its clientele was diverse, with Los Angeles Police Department and Sheriff’s Office members sitting across from ranked members of the gang communities—the parking lot a tapestry of tricked caminos, Bel-Airs, and the occasional Sinaloa Edition Ford interlaced between unmarked cruisers, swat vans and blacked-out Crown Vics.

What was it that unified all these people through their bellies? The restaurant’s rotisserie chicken. I have since used this dish to inspire an adaptation I call my Angeles Perdidos Baked Chicken.

Angeles Perdidos Baked Chicken Photo by Jennifer Burk on Unsplash

Angeles Perdidos Baked Chicken

Equipment:

Ingredients:

• Mixing bowl • Whisk • Can opener • Cutting board • Cleaver (sharp) • Oven • Baking tray(s)

• 1 whole chicken • 1 cup orange juice • 1 cup pineapple juice • 4 tbsp jalapeños (minced) • 1/2 tbsp garlic (pureed) • 1/2 tbsp mace • 1/2 tbsp salt • 1 tsp cayenne pepper • 1 tsp crushed red pepper • 1 oz Southwest base sauce

Directions: 1. Prepare the “yard bird” (chicken). Cut it in half, first removing the spine and then parting the keel bone with the cleaver.

I recommend keeping the chicken bones to make stock with later. If you aren’t making stock immediately for any reason, freeze the chicken bones until needed.

2. Pour the orange and pineapple juice into the mixing bowl. Then add the jalapeños, garlic, mace (a spice that comes from nutmeg), salt, cayenne, crushed red pepper and a “southwest sauce,” which you buy bottled or look up a recipe to make your own.

3. Place the chicken and that marinade into a sealable container, or a baking dish with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 24 hours.

4. Preheat the oven to 250°F and bake for 2.5 hours.

5. Remove and let rest until it has cooled enough to serve. Enjoy.

Note: Multiply the ingredients appropriately to serve more people.

2018 Domaine Bousquet Reserve Chardonnay Aromas and flavors of cold butter, baked apples, salted pears, and hints of nectarines are delivered on waves of ripe peach and lemon flavors with refreshing salinity. The flavor profile is one that fans of Pinot Grigio are bound to love. At under $15, this remarkable value (91 Points Suckling) imitates white Burgundies costing 4 times more.

COVID-19: Our hours are unchanged. We are sanitizing and have social distancing plans in place.

921 East Fortification Street (601) 983-5287 www.katswine.com/tasting-team @KatsWine

Availability and time subject to change

Behind the Restaurant

Pick Up!

MEDITERRANEAN GRILL 730 Lakeland Dr. Jackson, MS | 601-366-6033 | Sun-Thurs: 11am - 10pm, Fri-Sat: 11am - 11pm We Deliver For Catering Orders Fondren / Belhaven / UMC area

Best of Jackson 2018 Best Place For Hummus-Winner Best Vegetarian-Winner Best Meal Under $10-Finalist Best Place For Healthy Food-Finalist

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

We are open for curbside pickup AND our grocery store is fully stocked with canned goods, rice, beans, cheese and much more.

23

The JFP staff and management would like to thank everyone who has become a JFP VIP in 2020, and in particular those who have responded during the COVID-19 crisis.

Thank you for your support.

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

ANNUAL VIPS

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Dear JFP Readers: If you haven’t already, please consider becoming a JFP VIP today.

As Jackson’s go-to media for advertising events, fundraisers, concerts and entertainment, the Jackson Free Press’ revenue is negatively affected in the same way that those venues, artists and non-profits are affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

restaurants and music venues to help them weather the cash flow challenges that this crisis presents.

While you’re doing that, please also consider becoming a JFP VIP. With our advertisers facing these revenue challenges, we face them too.

Thanks for being a JFP reader and, if you’re willing, a JFP VIP! We wish you and your family safety and health.

jfp.ms/vip

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

We encourage you to donate to charities that are important to you, especially those that feed the homeless, help the unemployed Your support will keep us reporting and those with a focus on children from the front lines and bringing and healthcare through this crisis. you the news you need and expect from the Jackson Free Press, while And we encourage you to buy helping us pay our employees and gift certificates to your favorite freelancers.

25

music

Texissippi Sid, DoubleShotz by richard coupe courtesy Doubleshotz

Aladdin Mediterranean Grill -BLFMBOE %S +BDLTPO .4 t MEDITERRANEAN GRILL

We offer curbside pick up. Our grocery, right behind the restaurant, is stocked with all your pantry staples.

We even have marinaded meats ready for pickup.

The Pig & Pint / 4UBUF 4U +BDLTPO .4 t Sometimes only MS barbecue will do! You can place your takeout order at pigandpint.com or by calling 601-326-6070. Ask about our family packs.

DoubleShotz from left: David Harwell, Tim Cotton and Sid Thompson. The band’s leader, Thompson also goes by Texissippi Sid when performing solo.

Hickory Pit $BOUPO .BSU 3E +BDLTPO .4 t

A

Order your favorite smoked meats and sides for lunch or dinner. Drive-thru and take out available. Delivery available on Waitr.

Green Ghost Tacos / 4UBUF 4U +BDLTPO .4 t Green Ghost is open for curbside pick up or take out. Try our taco dinner for four which includes 12 tacos. Order online at www.greenghosttacos.com

Geraldine and Esma’s Kitchen Brought to you by Crazy Cats $BOUPO .BSU 3E +BDLTPO .4 t

Offering prepared items to take home and reheat.

Select from an array of entrees and sides. Check our Facebook page for the daily menu or give us a call.

Visit deliverjxn.com to learn more about these and other great local restaurants providing delivery and curbside service, buy gift April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

cards and take advantage of special offers!

26

PAID ADVERTISING SECTION Restaurants: If you’d like to list in this section please call us at 601-362-6121 x24 or write mary@jacksonfreepress.com.

veteran to the Jackson music scene, Sid Thompson has been strumming a guitar since the early 1960s.

Born in Baytown, Texas, Thompson received his first guitar from his father at age 10, and by the time he reached 12, he was playing in a Beatles cover band called The Baytown Beatles, for which he adopted the role of John Lennon. When he moved to McComb, Miss., in 1965 while in high school, he wasted no time forming a new band that crossed the Louisiana state line every Saturday night to perform “in a honky-tonk over there,� he says.

After graduating from North Pike High School, Thompson enrolled in Copiah-Lincoln Community College and earned an associate’s degree in business.

Even while working a number of different jobs around McComb, he still regularly participated in the local music scene.

After a personal tragedy, however, he soured on music for a time and returned to college, attending the University of Southern Mississippi, where he received a bachelor’s degree in geology.

Thompson then worked in the Texas oil-field industry for a while, earning two master’s degrees from the University of Texas at Arlington. He then moved to the Jackson area in 1997 to pursue a career in environmental consulting.

Music, however, always remained Thompson’s first love. “(Music) is so much fun. (In) geology, you get out and explore and collect rocks and fossils and stuff. That work can be tedious. Music is my release.

It’s what I’ve done all my life,� he says.

In the Jackson area, Thompson leads a rock and blues party and cover band called DoubleShotz, known for performing two consecutive songs from each art-

ist in the set. His bandmates have changed over the years, but DoubleShotz presently consists of Thompson on guitar, Tim Cotton on drums and David Harwell on bass guitar. All three contribute their vocals to the group. DoubleShotz has regularly performed at various local venues, special events, weddings and private parties.

Over the past six months, Thompson has had to develop a solo show, which has been met with a fair amount of success. “People are calling me who I’ve never tried to contact before,� he says. While he loves the camaraderie and spontaneity that comes with playing in a band, reality can sometimes impede that path.

The solo work has led Thompson to adopt a new stage name, Texissippi Sid. The moniker stems from Thompson having had lived in both Texas and Mississippi for about three decades apiece, which means DoubleShotz often plays both Texas music and southern rock in their sets.

Thompson particularly enjoys when listeners recognize the attention to detail his band puts into emulating the original versions of the songs they play. “People come up to me and say, ‘Man, that was just like the record.’ That is what DoubleShotz is all about—playing songs you love the way you remember them,� he says.

Thompson and his wife, Lisa, have two children, John and Lauren, who both now live and work in Tennessee. Now that he has retired, Thompson contemplates moving to Tennessee in the future to be closer to his children and to try his hand at the music scene out there, playing both covers and originals .

For more information on Sid Thompson and DoubleShotz and future gigs, find the artist on Facebook.

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43 “Evita” role 44 Much of their cultivation is in the dark 50 Abbr. on a French envelope 51 True crime author Rule 52 Article in Berlin?

53 Boot part 54 Future aspirations 58 Noun category 60 Meat seasoning mixtures 61 “Boo’d Up” singer Mai 62 “Riptide” singer Joy 63 Cookie with a 2019 “The Most Stuf” variety (around 4x) 64 “Carpe ___!”

65 See-through 66 Exhausted 67 “Your excellency”

BY MATT JONES

38 Petroleum product and long-time pageant secret used on teeth (ew) 39 Prime seating choice 40 Sandal strip 42 Karaoke selection 43 Harvard color 45 Park employee 46 Big name in baby food 47 And others, in footnotes 48 Painter’s purchase 49 TV Street celebrating a 50th anniversary 55 More than enough, for some 56 Currency symbol that looks like a C

crossed with an equals sign 57 Some humongous ref. books 58 Electronics dept. displays 59 “You think that’s the right answer??” ©2019 Jonesin’ Crosswords (jonesincrosswords@gmail.com)

Last Week’s Answers

For answers to this puzzle, call: 1-900226-2800, 99 cents per minute. Must be 18+. Or to bill to your credit card, call: 1-800 655-6548. Reference puzzle #929.

Editor’s Note: Psycho Sudoku by Matt Jones has been discontinued.

Down

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8 Pictographical Zapf typeface characters 9 Selena’s music genre 10 Carolina Panthers safety Reid 11 Tommy’s cousin on “Rugrats” 12 Smoke, informally 13 “Over here” 21 Renaissance ___ 22 Sign of oxidation 27 Opposing opinion 28 Serf 30 Boggy area 31 Fizzle out 32 Cartoon skunk PepÈ 36 “Mad Men” star Jon 37 Reunion attendee

“Mighty Good Connections” --two letters in a row.

Across

1 Morty’s mom, on “Rick and Morty” 5 Short timetable?

9 Drop knowledge 14 Beige shade derived from “raw” 15 2004 Queen Latifah/Jimmy Fallon movie 16 He wears the horizontal stripes 17 Airline with only kosher in-flight meals 18 Former Israeli politician Abba 19 Word in a 1997 Will Smith title 20 Loss of prestige, perhaps 23 180, slangily

24 “I guess that’s ___” 25 Hair knot 26 Indy 500 unit 29 Fill-up option 33 Throwing ability 34 Fred who sneezed for Edison’s first film 35 Prefix for morph or plasm 36 Le ___ (French port city) 39 Their workers go to blazes, for short 40 He won “The Masked Singer” (sorry for the spoiler) 41 “Pity, that... “ 42 ___ Ranganathaswamy Temple (Hindu pilgrimage destination)

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ARIES (March 21-April 19):

“If all the world’s a stage, where the hell is the teleprompter,” asks aphorist Sami Feiring. In my astrological opinion, you Aries are the least likely of all the signs to identify with that perspective.

While everyone else might wish they could be better prepared for the nonstop improvisational tests of everyday life, most of you tend to prefer what I call the “naked spontaneity” approach.

If you were indeed given the chance to use a teleprompter, you’d probably ignore it. Everything I just said is especially and intensely true for you right now.

When Nobel Prize-winning Norwegian author Knut Hamsun was 25 years old, a doctor told him that the tuberculosis he had contracted would kill him within three months. But in fact, Hamsun lived 67 more years, till the age of 92. I suspect there’s an equally erroneous prophecy or unwarranted expectation impacting your life right now. A certain process or phenomenon that seems to be nearing an end may in fact reinvent or resurrect itself, going on to last for quite some time. I suggest you clear away any misapprehensions you or others might have about it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):

I invite you to remember what you were thinking and feeling around your birthday in 2019. Were there specific goals you hoped to accomplish between then and your birthday in 2020? Were there bad old habits you aimed to dissolve and good new habits you proposed to instigate? Was there a lingering wound you aspired to heal or a debilitating memory you longed to conquer? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to take inventory of your progress in projects like those. And if you find that you have achieved less than you had hoped, I trust you will dedicate yourself to playing catchup in the weeks between now and your birthday. You may be amazed at how much ground you can cover.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):

I can’t swim. Why? There was a good reason when I was a kid: I’m allergic to chlorine, and my mom wouldn’t let me take swimming lessons at the local chlorine-treated pool. Since then, the failure to learn is inexcusable, and I’m embarrassed about it. Is there an equivalent phenomenon in your life, my fellow Cancerian? The coming weeks might be an excellent time to meditate on how to correct the problem.

Now excuse me while I head out to my solo self-administered swim lesson at Bass Lake, buoyed by the instructions I got from a Youtube video.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):

Is William Shakespeare the greatest author who ever lived?

French philosopher Voltaire didn’t think so, calling him “an amiable barbarian.” Russian superstar author Leo Tolstoy claimed The Bard had “a complete absence of aesthetic feeling.” England’s first Poet Laureate John Dryden called Shakespeare’s language “scarcely intelligible.” T. E. Lawrence, a.k.a Lawrence of Arabia, declared The Bard had a second-rate mind. Lord Byron said, “Shakespeare’s name stands too absurdly high and will go down.” His contemporary, the poet and playwright Ben Johnson, asserted that he “never had six lines together without a fault.” I offer these cheeky views to encourage you Leos to enjoy your own idol-toppling and authority-questioning activities in the coming weeks. You have license to be an irrepressible iconoclast.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):

Virgo-born Jack Ma is China’s richest person and one of the world’s most powerful businessmen. He co-founded Alibaba, the Chinese version of Amazon.com. He likes his employees to work hard, but also thinks they should cultivate a healthy balance between work and life. In his opinion, they should have sex six times a week, or 312 times a year. Some observers have suggested that’s too much—especially if you labor 12 hours a day, six days a week, as Jack Ma prefers—but it may not be excessive for you Virgos. The coming months could be a very erotic time. But please practice safe sex in every way imaginable.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):

How hard are you willing to work on your most important relationships? How might your life change for the better if you gave them your most potent resourcefulness and pa-

nache? The next eight weeks will be a favorable time for you to attend to these matters, Libra. During this fertile time, you will have unprecedented power to reinvigorate togetherness with imaginative innovations. I propose you undertake the following task: Treat your intimate alliances as creative art projects that warrant your supreme ingenuity.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):

“I make mistakes,” confessed author Jean Kerr. “I’ll be the second to admit it.” She was making a joke, contrasting her tepid sense of responsibility with the humbler and more common version of the idiom, which is “I make mistakes; I’ll be the first to admit it.” In the coming weeks, I’ll be fine if you merely match her mild level of apology—just as long as you do indeed acknowledge some culpability in what has gone amiss or awry or off-kilter. One way or another, you need to be involved in atonement and correction—for your own sake.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):

If you have been thinking of adopting a child or getting pregnant with a new child, the coming weeks will be a favorable time to enter a new phase of rumination about that possibility. If you’ve been dreaming off and on about a big project that could activate your dormant creative powers and captivate your imagination for a long time to come, now would be a perfect moment to get more practical about it.

If you have fantasized about finding a new role that would allow you to express even more of your beauty and intelligence, you have arrived at a fertile phase to move to the next stage of that fantasy.

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CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):

I suggest you make room in your life for a time of sacred rejuvenation. Here are activities you might try: Recall your favorite events of the past. Reconnect with your roots. Research your genetic heritage. Send prayers to your ancestors, and ask them to converse with you in your dreams. Have fun feeling what it must have been like when you were in your mother’s womb. Get a phone consultation with a past life regression therapist who can help you recover scenes from your previous incarnations. Feel reverence and gratitude for traditions that are still meaningful to you. Reaffirm your core values—the principles that serve as your lodestar. And here’s the number one task I recommend: Find a place of refuge in your imagination and memories; use your power of visualization to create an inner sanctuary.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):

Are we just being poetic and fanciful when we say that wonder is a survival skill? Not according to the editors who assembled the collection of essays gathered in a book called Wonder and Other Survival Skills. They propose that a capacity to feel awe and reverence can help us to be vital and vigorous; that an appreciation for marvelous things makes us smart and resilient; that it’s in our selfish interests to develop a humble longing for sublime beauty and an attraction to sacred experiences. The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to dive deep into these healing pleasures, dear Aquarius.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):

For decades, the city of Sacramento, California suffered from severe floods when the Sacramento and American Rivers overflowed their banks. Residents authorized a series of measures to prevent these disasters, culminating in the construction of a 59,000-acre floodplain that solved the problem. According to my analysis, the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to plan an equally systematic transformation. It could address a big ongoing problem like Sacramento’s floods, or it could be a strategy for reorganizing and recreating your life so as to gloriously serve your longterm dreams.

Homework: It’s a good time to think about Shadow Blessings: https://tinyurl.com/ShadowBlessings

NON-PROFITS: Have you switched to online events, virtual summits or online-only fundraising drives? Please let us know.

Email events@jacksonfreepress.com with the details of anything you’re doing online so we can help get the word out. Thanks!

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TAURUS (April 20-May 20):

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DO-IT-YOURSELF

Easter Family Fun: Character Cornhole

by Nate Schumann

W

ALLISON SHAW

e may largely be stuck at home due to COVID-19 quarantines, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little festive fun! Easter is just around the corner on Sunday, April 12, and I am sure many of you have children who have been home from school for too long and are getting antsy for something to do. Well, with a little creativity, you can turn some basic items into something fun for the family to do for a weekend afternoon. This DIY, which I am calling “Character Cornhole,” is a simple arts and crafts project that then becomes a game to keep the little ones entertained.

-----M A T E R I A L S ----• Poster board (or other cardboard materials you either have around the house or could buy cheaply from a general store) • Plastic eggs

• Scissors (or a boxcutter handled by an adult) • Markers, colored pencils, crayons, paint and/or whatever other color-imbuing utensils you may have at your disposal • Basket (optional)

PUBLIC NOTICE

April 1- 14, 2020 • jfp.ms

South Central Community Action Agency is submitting an application to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development for the purpose of obtaining funds to implement a Housing Preservation Grant program for the counties of Hinds, Madison, Simpson and Rankin.

30

The Housing Preservation Program is designed to assist in the contribution of health and safety, alleviating over-crowding and well-being of residents that contribute to the structural integrity or long-term preservation of a housing unit. Funds will be used to rehabilitate owner-occupied standard single family houses.

The primary goal is to improve housing conditions by correcting housing deficiencies. This includes the removal of health and safety hazards, complying with housing codes and standards and alleviating overcrowded conditions.

A “Statement of Activities” is available at South Central Community Action Agency, 110 Fourth Street, D’Lo, MS 39062, for review by any and all citizens. The SOA can be reviewed at any time between 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday. South Central Community Action Agency is an Equal Employment Opportunity organization.

----------D I R E C T I O N S ----------

1

Take your poster board (or cardboard) and use the markers or other coloring utensils to draw and color a character of your choosing. Coloring and painting together can be a nice family-bonding activity.

When designing your character, trace your sketch first and keep in mind that you will need to cut out large spaces for the game aspect of this activity later. Pro tip: Breaking down and cutting up a box can yield some improvised poster boards (as shown).

2

Cut out the holes you planned for in Step 1 that you will use when collecting points in the game. So that the holes make sense, you may want to consider places such as the character’s mouth or stomach or something of that nature.

3

Mark the holes with a point value system of your choosing. Perhaps 10 points for an easy hole and 15 or 20 for harder holes?

4

Prop the board against a wall—or if you’re feeling especially innovative, you can create or improvise a stand of some sort. If you buy or make your own poster boards with flaps, your artwork may be able to stand on its own. Plus, you can fold the board up and store for later. Place the basket (optional) behind your character for the eggs to land in for easy pickup.

5

Gather the kids around and play the game. Now, this game does not work like traditional cornhole. You can’t knock anyone’s egg off the board (unless you’re being creative, in which case, extra points for you). To play the game, give each participant a set amount of eggs to toss through the holes from a set distance. Take turns tossing your plastic eggs through the holes and tally each player’s scores. Play any amount of rounds (I think five rounds worked just fine when I gave this a testrun), and enjoy your holiday.

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Patty Peck

Used Car Super Center Call 601-957-3400 to reach one of our used car specialists and mention these deals featured in the Jackson Free Press.

We strive to offer a large selection of quality used cars, SUVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Sedans, Coupes, Minivans and Trucks for our Jackson area shoppers. We work very hard to ensure our customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s satisfaction, as well as making the car buying process as smooth and enjoyable as possible.

t 146 point inspection on all Premium & Premium CertifyPlus Used Cars t Lifetime Powertrain Warranty on every Premium Used car, truck, SUV or minivan t Love it or Leave it Money Back Guarantee

Used 2017 INFINITI QX70 Base

Used 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LTZ

Used 2019 Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring

Sale Price: $22,781

Sale Price: $31,205

Sale Price: $25,371

Used 2017 GMC Yukon XL Denali

Used 2009 Toyota Prius Touring

Sale Price: $34,153

Sale Price: $5,944

STOCK #: B011145A | Mileage: 60,802 HWY: 24 MPG | CITY: 17 MPG 5

Used 2017 Hyudani Elantra SE 4WD STOCK #: P15167 | Mileage: 9,853 HWY: 38 MPG | CITY: 29 MPG

Sale Price: $15,000

STOCK #: P15146 | Mileage: 50,945 HWY: 22 MPG | CITY: 16 MPG 5

STOCK #: B033031A| Mileage: 95,801 HWY: 22 MPG | CITY: 15 MPG

STOCK #: P15099 | Mileage: 17,689 HWY: 30 MPG | CITY: 24 MPG 5

STOCK #: E005177A | Mileage: 141,678 HWY: 45 MPG | CITY: 48 MPG 4

Advertised price excludes tax, tag, registration, title, and $179.85 documentation fee.

The Patty Peck Promise Lifetime Powertrain Warranty Money Back Guarantee

Honda Certified Express Service Free Car Wash and Vacuum

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