Dec. 27, 2015

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Sunday EDITION

oxfordcitizen.com

Volume 2 | Issue 72

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Inside 3 News

Recovery begins after Wednesday’s tonado that touched down in Holly Springs.

4 News Andrea Correll will leave her job as city planner on March 2, after 23 months in the post.

11 Sports

JOHN DAVIS

Volunteers from the Lafayette-Oxford community pitched in to load a truck and other vehicles on Christmas Eve. The items, such as toys and food, were headed to Holly Springs to help the tornado victims have a more merry Christmas.

To the rescue

Malek Daghestani is ready to lead the Oxford Chargers to a state championship.

12 Sports

Oxford Cares donates gifts, love for Holly Springs

BY JOHN DAVIS OXFORD CITIZEN

When Curtis Knight first heard of the devastation in Holly Springs caused by the massive tornado that destroyed several towns in North Mississippi, he and others associated with Oxford Cares about People and Kids went to work. The newly formed humanitarian group, that had already donated large amounts of toys already this month, had the means, and the drive, to help those that were affected

by the terrible storm in Marshall County.

“When I went to sleep (Wednesday night), I said this is what Oxford Cares is all about. This was our chance to show our neighbors that we love them, too,” said Knight, who owns an interior design business in Oxford. “When I heard about the little 7-yearold boy that had been killed, I reacted immediately. I got up (Thursday morning), got my theory together, got with Lynn Trammel, got with Terry (Lytal) and they wanted to do this, so

we jumped on it.”

What Oxford Cares did to help was collect food, toys and clothes and cash donations for three hours Thursday at their office, located at the former Tuesday Morning in the Old Town Shopping Center. With the help of social media, the group was able to muster two full truck loads of material for the residents of Holly Springs.

That didn’t include the fleet of cars and trucks that also helped carry things up, or the two trucks that Wal-Mart donated to the project.

“We just told people that whatever they didn’t need, we could use. We told them to think about things they would need if they had lost everything that quickly,” said Knight, who had $1,000 to donate to the family of the little boy who was killed in the storm. “What is old to them would be new to these people.

We said that we would make sure it would get to these people and to the individuals that needed it the worst.”

TURN TO RESCUE PAGE 6

Brian Leyva and his teammates will have to use the momentum garnered during the season to finish strong.

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 2

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2015

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OXFORD CITIZEN REPORTS

The 2016 Oxford Film Festival (OFF) has announced the official selections today in its Mississippi Narrative, Documentary and Music Video sections including nine selections that will make their world premieres at the film festival Feb. 17-21. Among those films making their world premieres will be Tony Bloodworth’s thriller “Forced Move.”

“One of the most enjoyable and satisfactory moments we have this time of year is announcing the list of local films and filmmakers we have selected for the next edition of the Oxford Film Festival,” OFF Executive Director Melanie Addington said. “This group of locally produced films and music videos is one of the best we’ve had to date and it will be a thrill to share it with the film fans and theater goers, as well as welcome back more than a few Mississippi filmmaking alumni returning to the fold in February.”

Written and directed by Tony Bloodworth, “Forced Move” is the lone feature film among the Mississippi selections. The film follows the desperate race against time a man must make to save his family, after discovering a series of brutal murders while on his daily jog – and realizing his home is next in the path of the killers. The film will make its world premiere at Oxford, screening on Friday, Feb. 19, at 3:30 p.m. at the Conference Center.

Among the local filmmakers returning to the Oxford Film Festival are “Down Down Down” and “The Happy Song” director Coop Cooper; “Fallen Star AJC and the Envelope Pushers” director Clay “Fiddler’s Hardwick; Green” director Thad Lee; “Living with HIV” director Kathryn A. Rodenmeyer; “Rock Me Slow” director Edward Valibus; “Stagrassle Paranormal” director Glenn Payne; and “’Til

COURTESY

Tony Bloodworth's thriller "Forced Move" will make its world premiere at the 2016 Oxford Film Festival which will be held between Feb. 17-21.

About the festival The Oxford Film Festival was founded in 2003 to bring exciting, new and unusual films (and the people who create them) to North Mississippi.

The annual four-day festival screens short and featurelength films in both showcase and competition settings, including narrative and documentary features and shorts; Mississippi narratives, documentaries and music videos, and narrative, documentary, animated and experimental shorts. The festival is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization.

Death” director Matthew Graves.

The 2016 Oxford Film Festival’s full slate of films is set to be announced following the holiday season.

For more information on the Oxford Film Festival, go to http:// www.oxfordfilmfest.com.

FILMS AND DESCRIPTIONS MISSISSIPPI NARRATIVE “Forced Move” (2016) - World Premiere • Director: Tony Bloodworth • Country: USA • Running Time: 79 min.

• A man discovers a series of brutal murders while on his daily jog. Realizing his home is next in the path of the killers, he races against time to save his family.

“Freedom Fighters” (2016) • Director: Wade Patterson • Country: USA • Running Time: 16:53 min.

• The newest recruit of a rightwing militia finds himself at odds with the charismatic leader when the group tries to take a government official hostage.

“Last Night” (2016) • Director: Michael Ewing • Country: USA • Running Time: 13:42 min.

• A late night bar “conversation” among three friends reveals, in surprising ways, that actions have consequences.

“Stargrassle Paranormal” (2016) • Director: Glenn Payne • Country: USA • Running Time: 27:50 min.

• Welcome to Stargrassle! Meet the Colonel, Penny, Enzo and Bernice, their friends and foes, the ghosts that haunt them and Larry, the man that documents their misadventures.

“The Faucet” (2016) - U.S. Premiere • Directors: Danny Klimetz, Samip Raval • Country: USA • Running Time: 4:28 min.

• A gentleman just wants to wash his hands...

“The Gift” (2016) • Director: Gabriel Robertson • Country: USA • Running Time: 12:48 min.

• To celebrate his 11th birthday, a young boy selects his gift - little knowing that his choice will change the world.

TURN TO FILMS PAGE 6

OXFORD CITIZEN

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2015

PAGE 3

North Mississippi begins tornado recovery

BY RILEY MANNING AND ERROL CASTENS DAILY JOURNAL/OXFORD CITIZEN

HOLLY SPRINGS – Seven people were killed and dozens injured across Northeast Mississippi Wednesday when tornadoes strafed the MidSouth.

Three other fatalities were reported in Tennessee and another in Arkansas.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency confirmed seven deaths from the severe weather than began moving through the state early Wednesday morning, and preliminary reports indicate damage in seven counties from the storms.

Four deaths were reported in Benton County, two in Marshall County and one in Tippah County.

In addition, one person is unaccounted for in Benton County, according to a MEMA statement.

Governor Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency for Benton, Coahoma, Marshall, Panola, Prentiss, Quitman and Tippah counties and other affected areas of the state.

The declaration allows local governments to request state assistance with response and recovery.

The National Weather Service in Memphis indicated the long-track, EF-3 tornado that hit Holly Springs and Ashland began just south of Clarksdale and barely missed the corner of northwest Lafayette County. Despite being under repeated tornado warnings, both Oxford Police Department and Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office said no significant damage had been reported here, although power service was interrupted briefly in both the city and rural areas of Lafayette County.

In other counties, though, the storms caused widespread damage to houses, mobile homes and public structures.

More than 1,400 power outages had been reported as of Thursday morning, and weather-related debris forced numerous road closures in the affected counties.

In Holly Springs, Phyllis

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Neighbors and friends gather at the home of Royce and Johnnie Luellen to see if they can help as clean up begins following Wednesday's tornado that touched down in Holly Springs.

Evans woke up Thursday thankful for another day.

She and several dozen of her neighbors in the Rising Star Road community of Holly Springs narrowly escaped Wednesday afternoon’s tornado.

“I was sitting on the porch with my grandbaby watching the trees moving. We heard it was time to go take shelter, and by the time we got in the screen door, I heard it hit the house,” she said. “But God was good.”

Evans lives in the house with her son, daughter and two grandchildren.

When the storm struck around 4 p.m., she and one grandchild were the only ones present in the house. Her son, Leandrew Zinn, was at work in Memphis, but came home to find their home torn apart. Thursday morning, he was still dazed.

“There wasn’t nothing fun about it,” he said.

“This is probably the worst day of my life. We’re just waiting for some friends to get here so we can get what we can get out of it.”

Evans ran the house on a generator, and the air conditioning still functioned. She spent Wednesday night in her bedroom, which was left intact.

“You got to be in good spirits,” she said. “I’m making some coffee so I can get the neighbors

something warm.”

Down the hill, Royce Luellen helped his wife Johnnie Luellen pick through their home in search of her insulin. They were away from the house when the storm struck and couldn’t reach it until 10 p.m. Wednesday night, after the road had been cleared. Like Evans, Royce said he’d lived in his home upwards of 25 years.

“I stayed in my truck last night to watch the house,” he said. “It’s a shock, man, but we’ve all been blessed.

Nobody was hurt in this area. We’re going to try to get something done today.”

In the meantime, he guessed the family would stay with his brother.

The storm also dealt damage to houses along Highway 178. Kimberly Jackson was spending time with her son Frederick Jackson and her daughter Jasmine Jackson in Oxford when the tornado struck her four-bedroom home.

“I was getting a ham at Kroger (in Oxford) and I overheard it had hit Holly Springs and I went to running,” Kimberly said. “I was in Oxford helping deliver meals with my old sorority. I was giving to the needy and now I’m in the same situation.”

The wind had torn the carpet from the floor in the home, and toppled a

tree onto one of their vehicles. However, the family maintained the attitude of thankfulness common among the victims.

“Forget the house,”

Frederick said. “What’s a house compared to still being able to talk to your mom? It’s kind of a blessing in disguise. I don’t know what we’re going to do for Christmas, but we’ll be all right.”

Around 9 a.m. Thursday morning, reinforcements began arriving in the form of city electrical departments from Amory, Tupelo and other cities, as well as law enforcement from Lafayette County. Mayor Kelvin Buck said there were considerable power outages in the three areas primarily damaged – Highway 7 South, the Rising Star Road community and Old Highway 4. Buck said it could take from one day to as long as a week to restore power to some areas.

“We have about 4,000 customers without power in a large area of damage,” Buck said. “Having assistance from other cities in these areas where we couldn’t check last night is

a huge help. We have our workers going around with MEMA officials making assessments and making sure no one was left behind.”

Holly Springs Sheriff Major David Cook said Thursday morning that no missing persons had been reported in Holly Springs, though authorities in Benton County were still searching for two or three.

In Holly Springs, he said, authorities were checking the damaged areas again road by road. Cook said there had been several minor injuries but no fatalities.

“Right now, we’re managing assets, first responders, that kind of thing,” Cook said. “We may send our canine units to Benton County to help locate those missing persons.

Their own canines were out last night until 2 or 3 a.m.” riley.manning@journalinc.com errol.castens@journalinc.com

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 4

EDITH LUCILLE JOHNSON MIZE Edith Lucille Johnson Mize, 90, passed away Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015, at Sanctuary Hospice House in Tupelo. Funeral services will be held Sunday, Dec. 27, 2015 in the Chapel of Waller Funeral Home at 2 p.m., with Rev. Randy Hope officiating. Visitation will be held prior to the service beginning at 12:30 at the funeral home. Burial will follow in Oxford Memorial Cemetery.

Memorial contributions in Edith’s memory may be made to the American Heart Association, 2170 Business Center Dr. Suite 1, Memphis, TN 38134 or the American Cancer Society, 1800 West Main St, Tupelo, MS 38801.

VIRGINIA LEE RAMAY JOHNSON Virginia Lee Ramay Johnson, 47, passed away Friday, Dec. 18, 2015, at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, AL. A memorial service was held Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2015, at Oxford University United Methodist Church with Rev. Eddie Rester and Rev. Warren Black officiating.?Memorial contributions in Virginia’s memory may be made to Oxford-University United Methodist Church, 424 South 10th Street, Oxford, MS 38655 or the American Organ Transplant Association, P.O. Box 418, Stillwell, KS 66085.

LUCILLE KIMMONS Lucille Kimmons, 87, passed away in her home on Monday, Dec. 21, 2015. A service will be held Tuesday Dec. 29 at Second Baptist Church in Oxford at noon. Burial will follow at Oxford Memorial Cemetery at 1:30 p.m. Visitation will be Monday, Dec. 28 at Hodges Funeral Home from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Correll leaving city planner post

BY ERROL CASTENS OXFORD CITIZEN

Andrea Correll will leave her job as city planner on March 2, after 23 months in the post, citing a need to be nearer her family.

The Board of Aldermen accepted her resignation Dec. 15.

The Georgia native came to be the city’s lead planning official after holding a similar post with the Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina, since 2002. She began her work with the City of Oxford on April 1, 2014.

Correll says her decision to leave is strictly familyrelated.

“I miss my child too much,” she said of her son, who lives in eastern North Carolina.

“At Thanksgiving, I hadn’t seem him in over a year.

He has two jobs – he works days and nights. It’s 750 miles, four airports, and $600 a trip.

“It’s family first, especially if you only have one child.”

Correll said she has been gratified to oversee the nearly year-long update of Oxford’s longrange, comprehensive plan, dubbed “Vision

“

“

OBITUARIES

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2015

It’s family first, especially if you only have one child.

Andrea Correll, Oxford city planner

2037,” which is now almost complete.

“I’ve been very happy here,” she said. “I really thank my boards and commissions.

They’ve been wonderful to work with. It’s just too far. It’s all about family.”

Correll also emphasized she’s leaving on good terms with city leaders and others who share Oxford’s planning responsibilities.

“I’m giving them a long notice, until March 2, to try to tie up everything with a bow – get the comprehensive plan adopted, get the rewrite under way.

It’s all about leaving Oxford in a good place,” she said. “I’ve been very happy here. I really thank my boards and commissions.

They’ve been wonderful to work with.

Correll has written or rewritten more than 50 ordinances in less than two years and will likely write several new ones to start implementation of the

new comprehensive plan.

One focus that will require intense effort will be an expected transition from traditional land-use-oriented zoning to multi-use zoning that aims to encourage neighborhoodscale mixtures of retail, other commercial, residential and public use, along with encouraging a “Complete Streets” approach to moving people around, with emphases given to transit, biking and walking as well as traditional private vehicle transportation.

Mayor George “Pat” Patterson lauded the progress made during Correll’s tenure.

“She’s carried a tremendous workload,” he said.

City officials are expected to begin a search process to choose a successor for Correll immediately after the holidays. errol.castens@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenec

BRIEFING Junior Leadership deadline Jan. 15 The Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce invites 10th grade students to be a part of their Junior Leadership program. In its 17th year, Junior Leadership attempts to identify young leaders in the Oxford and Lafayette County area.

The program is meant to assist in sharpening leadership skills to exert a strong positive influence on the future of Oxford and Lafayette County.

Participants will work together in a program that combines eight group study sessions with actual community projects that require them to use and develop leadership skills. Training sessions include leadership, team building, medicine, education, legal field and law enforcement, government, career development and the arts, among other topics. The program runs from late January through the early April and meets on Monday afternoons from 4:15 to 6:15 p.m.

The program is restricted to 10th grade students who live in Oxford and Lafayette County. Acceptance is based on completion of the required forms and documents by the assigned deadline of Friday, Jan. 15, and the payment of $45 tuition fee. The class is limited to 25 participants.

Preference will be given to applicants who, in addition to their potential for leadership, would contribute to the overall diversity and strength of the class and have available

time to commit to the program.

Download applications at, http://files.ctctcdn.com/566d b90b001/9ea87203-61754387-8caf1cdaa49babd4.pdf.

OM Baseball holding camps Ole Miss baseball will host two winter camps in January.

A hitting speciality camp will be Jan. 16-17 and open for grades 1-12. Cost is $240.

Parents can save $20.00 per sibling. Contact sahead@go.olemiss.edu prior to registering to receive your promo code. All of the camps will be hosted at Oxford-University Stadium. Check in will between 8 and 8:30 a.m.

The camp offers extensive instruction on the specific skill of hitting for campers.

Some of the skills learned will be stance, swing mechanics, mental side, bunting, base running, weight training and video evaluation.

Campers will need to provide a glove, cleats or spikes, cap, tennis shoes for indoor workouts. A bat and baseball pants are optional. Spending money is also needed for concessions or souvenirs.

Lunch will be provided for campers at the 1810 Grille at the Manning Center. A pitching speciality camp will be held Jan. 23-24 also at a cost of $240. It is also open for grades 1-12.

For more information on the camps, visit http://collegebaseballcamps.com/rebelbaseball.

Maxwell named to state high court OXFORD CITIZEN REPORTS

Gov. Phil Bryant announced Wednesday that he has appointed Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge James D. Maxwell II to the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Maxwell’s appointment is effective Jan. 1. He replaces former Justice David Chandler, whom Governor Bryant recently appointed Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Family and Children’s Services.

Maxwell, who lives in Oxford, has served on the Court of Appeals since 2009. Initially appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour on February 2, 2009, Maxwell was elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. On the Court of Appeals, Maxwell represented Northeast

Mississippi’s District 1. On the Supreme Court, he will represent District 3, which encompasses Northeast Mississippi and most of Maxwell Northwest Mississippi. The seat will be on the ballot in November 2016.

Governor appreciate “I Bryant’s confidence in me and am honored to represent North Mississippi on our Supreme Court,” Maxwell said. “Having worked both sides of the bench, I know the importance of a fair and impartial judiciary. And I will work hard to continue to uphold the integrity of our

state’s highest Court.”

Maxwell earned his undergraduate degree and juris doctorate from the University of Mississippi. He practiced civil law in Jackson before returning to Oxford to serve as Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi.

As a federal prosecutor, he represented the United States Department of Justice in prosecutions and jury trials of public corruption and white collar fraud cases, as well as money laundering, drug trafficking, immigration, and gang-related crimes. He also handled appeals before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Maxwell served as Corporate Fraud Coordinator and partici-

pated on the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. He received various commendations from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“Judge Maxwell has seen the judicial system from all sides as an attorney in private practice, a former prosecutor and a Court of Appeals judge, and that experience makes him extremely qualified for the Mississippi Supreme Court,” Governor Bryant said.

“I’m pleased he has agreed to accept this appointment, and I’m confident he will continue to serve the people of Mississippi well.”

Maxwell is past president of the Young Lawyers Division of the

Mississippi Bar Association, the Lafayette County Bar Association, and Tri-County Young Lawyers.

He has also served on the Board of Bar Commissioners, the Mississippi Bar Foundation, the Diversity in the Law Committee, and the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Prosecutors Association.

He is a graduate of Mississippi Economic Council’s Leadership Mississippi program and in 2007 was named “Top 40 Under 40” by the Mississippi Business Journal.

Maxwell frequently lectures on appellate and trial advocacy, legal writing and Mississippi’s judicial system. He and his wife Mindy have two children, Trip and Mae Covington. The Maxwells are active members of Oxford’s First Baptist Church.

OXFORD CITIZEN

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2015

PAGE 5

Two locals winners of Humanities Council 2016 awards OXFORD CITIZEN REPORTS

JACKSON – Two Oxford residents are among the Mississippians announced as recipients of 2016 Public Humanities Awards. Presented by the Mississippi Humanities Council, the recognitions honor outstanding contributions by Mississippians to the study and understanding of the humanities.

Alysia Burton Steele has been named Preserver of Mississippi Culture.

Steele, who holds an M.A. in photography with an emphasis in multimedia management from Ohio University, is assistant professor of multiple platform journalism at the University of Mississippi. Her documentary work includes Habitat for Humanity projects in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa, and she was picture editor on the photo team that won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize, Breaking News for their Hurricane Katrina coverage.

Her recognition by the

*

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$

Humanities Council stems from her 2015 book, “Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother’s Wisdom.”

When she moved to Mississippi, she began to realize how much she needed the insights of her Gram Burton, who died in 1994.

“I wasn’t smart enough or insightful enough, I should say, to learn more about her while she was alive. I have so many questions now,” she said.

Instead, Steele undertook a quest to learn from church mothers from the Mississippi Delta whose lives intersected with the Civil Rights era.

“This was never meant to be a book; it was a personal project for personal growth,” she said in an interview for Bishop T.D. Jakes’ “Destiny Visions” documentary series. “I moved to Mississippi, and I saw the Delta and I saw the cotton fields, and I saw the old churches, and I saw the old homes … and it took me back to visiting my grandmother’s people in Spartanburg, South Carolina.”

Steele, the daughter of a black father and a white mother, realized she knew far more about her white family’s history than her black family’s.

“It was a struggle to pull what I did pull from my family. Why are we doing that?

There’s a lot of pain, absolutely; there’s a lot of struggle. But maybe if our youth heard more of that, they would understand where they came from; they would understand the sacrifices that were made for them. …

I want a movement of oral history. I want a movement of American history.”

Soon she realized the project was no longer just about her need to know but her need to share what she was learning.

“I just wanted to tell stories, and I wanted to take beautiful photographs of these women and give them dignity and show people the warmth and the education and the love and the pride with these women, my grandmother’s contemporaries,” she said.

Having grown up in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Steele had never imagined she would live in Mississippi.

Louis Bourgeois of Oxford will be presented with the Humanities Educator Award.

Bourgeois is executive director of Vox Press, a nonprofit organization created “to challenge diverse audiences to engage in the excitement and enrichment of the experimental literary arts. Through inventive programming and publications, VOX seeks to support artists by creating audiences.”

One of Bourgeois’ dedications is teaching creative writing to prison inmates.

“We realized that some of our greatest writers and artists may very well be housed in Mississippi’s oldest and largest prison, Parchman Farm, and we thought it best to establish classes to help them organize their creative potential,” he said. Class sessions combine reading a wide variety of writers with the prisoners’ writing their own memoirs.

The first classes at Parch-

man yielded such a wealth of stories that Vox Press published some of them as a book, “In Our Own Words: Writing from Parchman Farm.” A second volume, “Unit 30,” will be released early next year.

“They all have reported that this writing program has increased their awareness of themselves somehow,” Bourgeois said. “I don’t know if they had it all figured out or if in the process of writing where they came from they made certain discoveries. All I know is that all in all their stories have been fascinating and very well done.”

The sponsors of the Mississippi Prison Writes initiative – including Oxford writer-publisher Neil White and the Mississippi Humanities Council – see the program as not only as a development of artistic resources and practical skills but a humanitarian outreach as well.

“If you want a better society, you must cure the causes of crime born out of environmental factors and give peo-

ple a sense of self-worth,” Bourgeois said. “Although technical skills are necessary and desirable – and the program will start with technical training – the most important aspect of education you can give a person is a sense of dignity. When a person has self-worth, they become less hostile and less likely to engage in criminal activity.”

Since beginning the Mississippi Prison Writes initiative at Parchman, Bourgeois has extended the classes to Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, where they became available to female and juvenile inmates.

Other recipients of the Mississippi Humanities Council’s 2016 awards include the following: • Cora Norman Award – Willis Lott, Past board chair, Mississippi Humanities Council, Hattiesburg • Humanities Partner Award – New Stage Theatre, Jackson, MS • Humanities Scholar Award – Max Grivno, Associate Professor of History, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS

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OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 6

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2015

Rescue FROM PAGE 1

Knight said he called the sheriff’s office to find out where to drop the donations. Red Cross also helped figure out who needed the toys and food and other items.

“They just thought it was awesome and that our community was so willing to partake. What has gone on here the past few hours, the amount that we have gotten from people, is just phenomenal,” he said. “It just shows Oxford was ready to jump in and help these two guys do a couple of nice things turn into serving an entire community.”

Prior to the tornado, Knight said that Oxford Cares donated over 3,500 items to the two local school districts. He also said that over $1,000 was given to the homeless in the county and 750 items were awarded to the FedEx Family House that is associated with Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis.

“Then all of sudden this happened and I said our

Films FROM PAGE 2

“Til Death” (2016) • Director: Matthew Graves • Country: USA • Running Time: 10:05 min.

• On the dark and stormy night of his fiancée’s funeral, a grieving man, so overwhelmed at the thought of never seeing the love of his life again, decides to bring her home.

MISSISSIPPI DOCUMENTARY “The Black Definition” (2016) – Regional Premiere • Director: Michael Fant • Country: USA • Running Time: 11:03 min.

Seven black male students discuss the racial climate in America today, including stereotypes, police brutality and progression.

“Finding Cleveland” (2016) Mississippi Premiere • Director: Larissa Lam • Country: USA • Running Time 12:24 min.

• “Finding Cleveland” is a documentary short film that follows Charles Chiu and his family on an emotional journey as they take a trip to Cleveland, Mississippi to visit the grave site of Charles’ father, KC Lou. “Layers” (2016)

JOHN DAVIS

Oxford Cares for People and Kids organized the relief effort for Holly Springs in the matter of a few hours and exclusively through their Facebook page. project isn’t done, we’re not done,” Knight said. “We’e still got a job to do. It’s a blessing like no other. My heart is so filled with joy.

I’m just so appreciative that people care and they show it.”

Lytal helped fill the panel truck that was donated by Jimmy Marquis, adding that it was filled with love as far as he could tell.

“There are a lot of people in Oxford that have opened up their arms to help other people, so it’s fantastic,” he said. “It was unbelievable that we could get this kind of response in this short of

a time period. To put something on Facebook and then in one hour get this started. And in four hours to be able to fill two vans and cars and trucks. I also think we’re blessed because we know so many people in Oxford, too.”

Trammel said her heart was broken when she heard about the storms, and how it would affect so many children at Christmas.

“Curtis and Terry and I go way, way back and I just put a post on and called them said let’s do something and this has just been overwhelming,” said Tram-

• Director: Christina Huff • Country: USA • Running Time: 12:45 min.

• Two Mississippians talk about their lives as artists. Claire Whitehurst talks about her art and her stylistic choices, while Jonathan Kent Adams talks about his struggles with his homosexual identity within his art. Using layers within their art is a very big theme for both artists, connecting these two talented artists’ stories into one narrative.

come the first professional African hair braider in Mississippi. Her victory struck down laws which required aspiring natural hair professionals to endure years of expensive licensing that only benefited the cosmetology schools and didn’t teach anything about hair braiding or natural hair.

“Living with HIV” (2014) • Director: Kathryn A. Rodenmeyer • Country: USA • Running Time: 28:09 min.

• Mississippi, the ‘buckle’ of the Bible Belt, ranks 7th in the U.S. for prevalence of HIV infection.

Young African American men are the fastest growing group to become infected with HIV. In “Living with HIV,” those infected with HIV share their stories and how they are living with this incurable condition.

“Locked Out: A Mississippi Success Story” • Director: Sean W. Malone • Country: USA • Running Time: 26:53 min.

• “Locked Out” chronicles the struggles and success of Melony Armstrong, an entrepreneur who fought state restrictions to be-

“Mo’ ‘bout Joe” (2016) - World Premiere • Director: Tim O’Grady • Country: USA • Running Time: 24:51 min.

• “Outsider” artist Joe Wrenn of Charleston, Mississippi, is featured in this documentary. We glimpse into his life and his amazing and storied paintings.

MISSISSIPPI MUSIC VIDEO “Booker Wright’s Mashup” (2016) - World Premiere • Director: George Gross • Country: USA • Running Time: 2:50 min.

• A musical video mashup of Booker Wright’s infamous 1966 monologue on NBC News’ TV documentary, “Mississippi: A Self Portrait.”

“Bottle of Sunshine” (2016) World Premiere • Director: Damein Wash • Country: USA • Running Time: 2:58 min.

• A boy, all clean and dressed up, is denied ice cream and for-

A panel truck was donated to help carry food, clothes and toys to the victims of last Wednesday's tornado that affected Holly Springs and other parts of Marshall County. mel, who was up at WalMart at 6 that morning getting items to donate. “It was such short notice, we never dreamed we would get this much. It just warmed all of our hearts and made us so thankful for what we have.

Just think about those people that had everything under the tree for their kids? I wanted those kids to have some Santa Claus. I knew I couldn’t do a whole lot by myself, but I did what

I could. It’s just been great.”

Knight was going to ask everyone that joined the Facebook page to vote if they wanted Oxford Cares to remain open, and if they still wanted the contributions to come in.

“At the very least, I would like it to be open for the holidays,” he added. “But if a house burns down or a family member gets killed in a car wreck or if somebody gets air lifted to The Med in

Memphis, we would love to give them a gas card in order for them to be with with their family. We have to have the funds to do it. I’m going to ask, because this is not about me and Terry. It has become the community of Oxford. If they community is willing to stick with us, we’re willing to do the leg work.”

bidden to get dirty by his mother.

She leaves him on the bench as she goes into a shop. Then, a little girl appears.

• Directors: Nancy Maria Balach, Katie McLaughlin • Country: USA • Running Time: 4:52 min.

• “Ole Miss Rebel Blues” celebrates music, football, and the social culture of Oxford, Mississippi. This Mississippi music video was created, produced, and performed by established artists (University of Mississippi faculty and alumni), who worked side by side with current UM students and children from the Oxford community.

• Alone with her just her thoughts, a bottle of bourbon, and her music, Faith Evans Ruch dwells on heartbreak and sorrow.

“Down Down Down” (2016) • Director: Coop Cooper • Country: USA • Running Time: 3:25 min.

• A music video by Steve Kolbus and the Clarksdale Blues Revue.

Shot on location, live at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

“Fallen Star AJC & the Envelope Pushers” (2016) • Director: Clay Hardwick • Country: USA • Running Time: 8:00 min.

• “Fallen Star” is what happens when you make it to the top. This music video combines three original songs into a cinematic narrative, following AJC into a world of bitter famedom. Of course, making a deal at the crossroads has its costs.

“One Star Delta Night” (2016) World Premiere • Director: Jason Rochelle • Country: USA • Running Time: 3:40 min.

• A love story in the heart of the Mississippi Delta. A night where everything is just right. Where a romantic night turns into a beautiful relationship.

“Preacherman” (2016) - World Premiere “Fiddler’s Green” (2016) • Director: Calum Macdiarmid World Premiere • Country: USA • Running Time: 7:04 min.

• Director: Thad Lee • Music video featuring Melody • Country: USA Gardot, based on the story of civil • Running Time: 5:55 min.

• A song about a mysterious after- rights hero Emmett Till. world for people who are too bad for Heaven and too good for Hell.

“Rock Me Slow” (2016) • Director: Edward Valibus “Ole Miss Rebel Blues” (2016) • Country: USA • Running Time: 3:40 min.

- World Premiere

john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitzenjd

“Ruremarm” (2016) • Directors: Melvin Robinson (Theca Jones), Joecephus Martin • Country: USA • Running Time: 3:12 min.

• Skipp Coon makes the street his congregation.

“Streetwalking-RototillerDream” (2016) - World Premiere • Director: Tate Moore • Country: USA • Running Time: 17:34 min.

• Kudzu Kings celebrate 20 years as a band at a special one night show at the Lyric Oxford.

“The Happy Song” (2016) • Director: Coop Cooper • Country: USA • Running Time: 5:25 min.

• A music video by Blackwater Trio. Three lonely people having a bad day receive a mysterious invitation to an event which will change their lives.

“Women and Work” (2016) • Director: Jonathan Pekar • Country: USA • Running Time: 3:23 min.

• A music video that celebrates the great Southern band Lucero’s music and character.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2015

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 7

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 8

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PAGE 9

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Nicole Cain Wright 662.617.5744 Oxford

Danny Flowers 662.816.7294 Oxford

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 10

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2015

TO P L I S T E R S

Polina Wheeler

Eileen Saunders

Eileen Saunders

Blake Thompson

TO P S E L L E R S

T O P P RO D U C E R S

Eileen Saunders

Blake Thompson

Danny Flowers

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PAGE 11

AND THE

AROUND SQUARE BEYOND JOHN DAVIS OXFORD CITIZEN

n the 1950s, when Johnny Vaught led Ole Miss Rebels in the coaching department, a quarterback had to fill several roles. The all-around abilities of quarterbacks was coveted by Vaught, who recruited a number of high school signal callers from the Mississippi each and every year.

Bobby Ray Franklin was one of those quarterbacks. The Clarksdale native could do everything. He could punt, he could play defensive back and most importantly, he was elusive. If you played quarterback for Vaught, you had to run.

Some were faster than others, but they all could escape pressure, and defenders.

The idea was if they weren’t able to pass the ball once they got to Oxford, they could play something else like fullback, offensive line or even linebacker. Vaught ran a sprint-out offense in those days. Franklin said there was a drop back series, called 70, but dropping back and sitting in the pocket was not done very much. And there was no shotgun. And no up tempo. A good defense was a good offense. Vaught used to punt on third downs at times. In the 1950s, teams would combine to total 500 yards on offense. And that was considered a good day, Franklin said.

“The quarterbacks in our heyday are definitely different than today’s time. Coach Vaught would recruit a lot of athletes and if they couldn’t play the position they did in high school, he would find a place for them,” said Franklin, who was a member of the 1959 team that only lost one game and defeated LSU 21-0 in the Sugar Bowl.

I

TURN TO SQUARE PAGE 14

PETRE THOMAS

Oxford senior Malek Daghestani is focused on bringing a second state title to the Chargers this season.

Vocal Daghestani ready to lead Chargers to title

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

Before this year’s soccer season really got going, Malek Daghestani noticed how the younger members of the team were preparing. He felt like the younger Chargers knew they had shoes to fill, and he felt like they knew they couldn’t slack off at practice if certain goals were going to be reached.

“At first they were being freshmen,” is how Daghestani describe how the early stages of practices looked. “Then they started to get it, that we were here to win a state championship and not here to have fun.”

Winning a title is something Daghestani is looking to accomplish in his final season wearing Oxford’s gold and

“

At first they were being freshmen. Then they started to get it, that we were here to win a state championship and not here to have fun.

“

Just like this season, QBs decided Rebels’ Sugar Bowl fortunes

Malek Daghestani, Oxford soccer senior

blue. He was a freshmen when the Chargers won their title under Jamie Perkins, and he wants to feel that joy, that sense of accomplishment again.

“The freshmen have been playing club ball and middle school ball and it’s a whole dif-

ferent atmosphere when you get into high school,” he said before reflecting on his own start with the varsity. “It’s way more competitive and way more aggressive game that we play. They really have to transition to that and really learn how to play tougher and not

get knocked off the ball as much. When they were in eighth grade, they were running the show and now they have to learn how to play our game.”

Oxford’s newbies definitely cut their teeth the first half of the season that culminated with three tough matchups in the Showcase held at FNC Park. Head coach Jonathan Branch has believed in better competition makes a team better. He set up several matches against varsity teams for his junior varsity and middle school teams.

Now, with Christmas break on the back end, instead of the horizon, it’s up to Daghestani and the other seniors to push the Chargers into the right frame of mind the final TURN TO CHARGERS PAGE 13

OXFORD CITIZEN

PAGE 12

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2015

Leyva delivers leadership, toughness for ’Dores

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS EDITOR

How the Lafayette Commodores ultimately finish the 2015-16 soccer season revolves around how well Brian Leyva and his teammates use the momentum they garnered the first 14 matches of the season.

Head coach Gene Anderson is depending on Leyva, a senior, to help guide the Commodores in the right direction.

Solid is the word Anderson used to describe his defense this year, and his feeling is that when matched against other teams from Class 4A, his Commodores can hold their own.

“I’m going to feel good about our chances and what we can do with the way we’re playing defense,” Anderson said. “And then offensively, we changed our formation around a little bit and they gave us some energy. That’s kind of picked up the tempo on offense.”

Leyva, who has scored three goals and is tied for the team lead with three assists, is a fearless player.

He’s also selfless. He has no problem slide tackling an opposing player, or taking a ball off his body to stop a shot. Leyva has improved tremendously during his six years playing soccer, and that improvement has benefited Lafayette.

“I think I made a big jump when I was a freshman. I grew a lot. When I first started, I wasn’t that great of a player,” he said.

“I really wasn’t good at all really. I had to push myself and get on other teams in order to play more.”

The extra reps gained playing with a travel team from the Oxford Park Commission and with the Mississippi Flood the past three years has been impactful for Leyva.

“The Flood is very, very competitive and we’ve gone to a lot of competitive, competitive tournaments against some very good teams,” Leyva said.

Heading into the Oxford Showcase just before Christmas, Leyva was high on what the Commodores

could accomplish.

“This is one of the very best teams I’ve been on and it really is surprising to say after all the guys we lost last year,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve shown how good we can be. Only glimpses.”

As for the way Leyva plays, he described himself as “defensive” but someone who could also go attack as a defensive midfielder. In a lot of ways, Leyva is the point guard of the soccer Commodores.

“I get shots every now and then, but my job is to really get the ball to the forwards,” he said. “I’m really there to distribute it more, but also recover it a lot. I’ve played a lot of positions over the last few years, but I really think that this is my position.”

Lafayette returns to action on Jan. 2 at Amory.

The Commodores had seven overall matches, and Leyva said he wanted to see the team play with more confidence.

“There has been a few times where there has been too much arguing going on and we lose our heads in the game and that just makes you not play your game,” Leyva said. “We have done a lot to support each other on the field and not to put each other down. The talent, we have it. We just have to put it out there.

Sometimes I think the guys may be a little scared to show out.”

Leyva added that the team can’t stop working towards being great even if the Commodores have won the division or been in the playoffs.

“The past few years, we’ve grown as a soccer program. Some people think that we have it just because of our name and they think that because we’ve been good these past few years, we’re going to stay good,” Leyva said.

“We need to put hard work in at practice and not play around. I think that’s one of the problems we’ve had this year. We’re not as consistent with that as we need to be.”

PETRE THOMAS

john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

Lafayette's Brian Leyva feels like this year's Commodores are talented and have all the makings of a team that can win some games when the Class 4A playoffs begin late next month.

OXFORD CITIZEN

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2015

Chargers FROM PAGE 11

month of the season.

Daghestani what really helped him a lot was the tough summer Branch put the team through. His conditioning jumped to a new level, while the touch on the ball also got better.

“We always have to restart every time we got back at the start of the year because our summer wasn’t nearly as rigorous as it was this year,” Daghestani said. “I noticed we didn’t have to work our fitness as much as we have done in the past.

Our focus was only on the state championship. This is our last year, so we know we have to get it done.

Coach Branch really wants this for the seniors. He knows what’s inside us and he knows that we want a state championship as much as he wants to get a state championship for us.”

outward vocal leadership, to help the Chargers, rather than it hurt the team.

“One thing that Malek brings is that vocal leadership out on the field. He’s very valuable to us. He will vocalize whatever we need to get accomplished. He gets everybody back and gets them in line,” Branch said. “He’s a guy that still likes to have fun, but you have to have those type of guys as well. He was my first junior voted captain.

Ever. That says a lot about a guy. He plays wherever we need him. He played goal keeper, played some in the back. He’s grown.

We saw the talent he had that first year, but he wasn’t giving the effort. He didn’t want to get better, but this summer, something clicked in him. He worked his tail off and he got so much better.”

gressive. He does what he needs to do. He pretty much hunts these other players down.”

Maybe the biggest area that Daghestani has improved in revolves around his leadership.

“When I first got here, and we laugh about it all the time now, I heard all the stories about Malek and how he liked to cut up,” Branch said. “I tried not to hold that against him. We wanted to start out clean and then our first couple of practices, he got a couple of strikes right there. I told him he gets three strikes and that he was sitting on two. He’s been sitting on two since my first year here. I think with me being new coming in, he wanted to see what he could get away with. Once we set our boundaries, he’s been fantastic.”

And Branch has been able to harness that toughness, and

The role that Daghestani plays on the field is making sure that the ball doesn’t get in the net. In essence, he is just like the goalie, other than he doesn’t use his hands.

He is the last line of defense, the Charger that has to get the ball going the other away.

“I like being that role, playing center back, because I’m the one that has to get the ball. That’s what I’m good at,” he said. “I’m comfortable doing that. Coach Branch does put me at any position he wants, but I’m glad to do that center back role. I want to do what is best for the team and whatever position that is, I’ll play it.”

James Cutler, who is very close to Daghestani, said his fellow teammate gets the ball away from opposing players as well as anybody.

“When he goes and gets the ball, he pretty much gets it,” Cutler said. “He’s really ag-

john.davis@journalinc.com Twitter: @oxfordcitizenjd

PAGE 13

SPORTS IN DEPTH OLE MISS BOWL HISTORY Ole Miss is 23-13 all-time in bowls.

1936 Orange Catholic University 20, Ole Miss 19 1948 Delta Ole Miss 13, TCU 19 1953 Sugar Georgia Tech 24, Ole Miss 7 1955 Sugar Navy 21, Ole Miss 0 1956 Cotton Ole Miss 14, TCU 13 1958 Sugar Ole Miss 39, Texas 7 1958 Gator Ole Miss 7, Florida 3 1960 Sugar Ole Miss 21, LSU 0 1961 Sugar Ole Miss 14, Rice 6 1962 Cotton Texas 12, Ole Miss 7 1963 Sugar Ole Miss 17, Arkansas 13 1964 Alabama 12, Ole Miss 7 1964 Bluebonnet Tulsa 14, Ole Miss 7 1965 Liberty Ole Miss 13, Auburn 7 1966 Bluebonnet Texas 19, Ole Miss 0 1967 Sun Texas-El Paso 14, Ole Miss 7 1968 Liberty Ole Miss 34, Virginia Tech 17 1970 Sugar Ole Miss 27, Arkansas 22 1971 Gator Auburn 35, Ole Miss 28 1971 Peach Ole Miss 41, Georgia Tech 18 1983 Independence Air Force 9, Ole Miss 3

1986 Independence Ole Miss 20, Texas Tech 17 1989 Liberty Ole Miss 42, Air Force 29 1991Gator Michigan 35, Ole Miss 3 1992 Liberty Ole Miss 13, Air Force 0 1997 Motor City Ole Miss 34, Marshall 31 1998 Independence Ole Miss 35, Texas Tech 18 1999 Independence Ole Miss 27, Oklahoma 25 2000 Music City West Virginia 49, Ole Miss 38 2002 Independence Ole Miss 27, Nebraska 23 2004 Cotton Ole Miss 31, Oklahoma State 28 2009 Cotton Ole Miss 47, Texas Tech 34 2010 Cotton Ole Miss 21, Oklahoma State 7 2013 BBVA Compass Ole Miss 38, Pittsburgh 17 2013 Music City Ole Miss 25, Georgia Tech 17 2014 Peach TCU 42, Ole Miss 3.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS Capital One Orange Bowl Clemson vs. Oklahoma – Dec. 31, 3 p.m. (ESPN) Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Alabama vs. Michigan State – Dec. 31, 7 p.m. (ESPN) College Football Playoff National Championship Clemson-Oklahoma winner vs. Alabama-Michigan State winner – Jan. 11,

7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Houston vs. Florida State – Dec. 31, 11 a.m. (ESPN) Fiesta Bowl Notre Dame vs. Ohio State – Jan. 1, Noon (ESPN) Rose Bowl Stanford vs. Iowa – Jan. 1, 3 p.m. (ESPN) Sugar Bowl Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss – Jan. 1, 7:30 p.m.

(ESPN)

OTHER COLLEGE BOWL GAMES Miami Beach Bowl Western Kentucky 45, USF 35 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Akron 23, Utah State 21 Marmot Boca Raton Bowl Toledo 32, Temple 17 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Boise State 55, Northern Illinois 7 GoDaddy Bowl Georgia Southern 58, Bowling Green 27 Popeyes Bahamas Bowl Western Michigan 45, Middle Tennessee 31 Hawaii Bowl San Diego State 42, Cincinnati 7 Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman Pittsburgh vs. Navy – Dec. 28, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN) Quick Lane Bowl Central Michigan vs. Minnesota – Dec. 28, 4 p.m.

(ESPN2) Lockheed Martin Armed

Forces Bowl Air Force vs. California – Dec. 29, 1 p.m. (ESPN) Russell Athletic Bowl North Carolina vs. Baylor – Dec. 29, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN) NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl Colorado State vs. Nevada – Dec. 29, 6:30 p.m.

(American Sports Network) AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl Texas Tech vs. LSU – Dec. 29, 8 p.m. (ESPN) Birmingham Bowl Memphis vs. Auburn – Dec. 30, 11 a.m. (ESPN) Belk Bowl North Carolina State vs.

Mississippi State – Dec. 30, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN) Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl Louisville vs. Texas A&M – Dec. 30, 6 p.m. (ESPN) National University Holiday Bowl Wisconsin vs. USC – Dec. 30, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN) Outback Bowl Northwestern vs. Tennessee – Jan. 1, 11 a.m.

(ESPN2) Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl Michigan vs. Florida – Jan. 1, Noon (ESPN) TaxSlayer Bowl Georgia vs. Penn State – Jan. 2, 11 a.m. (ESPN) AutoZone Liberty Bowl Kansas State vs. Arkansas – Jan. 2, 2:20 p.m. (ESPN) Valero Alamo Bowl TCU vs. Oregon – Jan. 2, 5:45 p.m. (ESPN) Cactus Bowl West Virginia vs. Arizona State – Jan. 2, 9:15 p.m.

(ESPN)

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Square

(10-0). Ole Miss won five of six bowl games played in FROM PAGE 11 during that time period, with four being played in “You had to have good the Sugar Bowl. speed because back in our “Coach Vaught was a days, we didn’t have any winner. Back then, he big quarterbacks. Raycould get anyone he mond Brown was a senior wanted because they all when I was a sophomore wanted to play for Ole and Raymond was proba- Miss,” Franklin said. “If he bly as tall as any of them had too many players at during that span of time. one position, he would just He wasn’t but about 6 feet, put you over to a new posi6-1, maybe. And he was tion. He moved a lot of the tallest of the group. I people around. He really was a triple threat. I ran, recruited the great athlete, passed and kicked. That first.” was the way it was at Ole Players during that time Miss.” period always played both Franklin was ending his ways up until the late career at Ole Miss, and 1950s when Franklin said gearing up for the pros, the rule was changed. Even when Jake Gibbs was on after the rule, it wasn’t unthe verge of playing for the common for quarterbacks New York Yankees. Gibbs to play special teams, was a multi-sport athlete at whether that meant punt, Grenada, and he ended up hold on extra points or playing pro baseball incover kickoffs and punts. stead of quarterback from “When you signed with a professional standpoint.

Ole Miss to play quarterFranklin never played a back, you knew that Coach down of quarterback when Vaught would have them he was a member of the lined up three and four Cleveland Browns, but his deep, so you knew somebackground on offense one could always take your made him a better dejob and you be off doing fender, he said. something else,” Franklin When it came time to list said. heights, Franklin said they The quarterbacks of the always added an extra inch era also liked to have a during his days. good time. In short, they “I was 5-10, but I always were practical jokers, or at put 5-11,” he said with a least Franklin was. A story laugh. “Jake may have been he will never forget came 5-11, close to 6 feet. I guar- during the 1959 season antee he wasn’t over 6. when the Rebels were Then Doug Elmore, he was playing Vanderbilt. The about the same. He was a Rebels defeated the Com5-11 type guy. And Glynn modores 33-0 that day, Griffing, he was listed saying back then, they about 6-1 and I don’t know were the pushover on the if was 6-1 or not. I know as schedule each year. old as we are, the older we Franklin was in the hudget, the shorter we get.” dle and calling plays and To be clear, Brown he was surrounded by played for the Rebels from sophomores tailbacks.

1955-1957. Franklin was “I knew they were up1957-59. Gibbs was 1958tight, nervous and every60. Griffing was 1960-62, thing. I called this play I but he got to know made up. I said ‘Wing right, Franklin when he was on swing left, around the the freshman team in chicken coop on 2.’ I 1959. Elmore, meanwhile, clapped my hands and they was the tri-captain of the went running up to the line Rebels alongside Billy Ray of scrimmage,” Franklin Jones and Ralph Smith. His said. “I had to holler, ‘Come three-year career was back here.’ We tell that story 1959-61. every time we got to Ole Between 1955 and 1962, Miss for a reunion. We all the Rebels won three SEC get up there and tell a titles, and were recognized bunch of lies, a bunch of with two national titles, stories. My senior year the even if the Associated three quarterbacks were Press poll failed to do so. me, Jake and Elmore and The Rebels won 74 games Griffing was the freshman in eight years. They never quarterback.”

Franklin normally took lost a game under Griffcare of the punts back in ing’s command in 1962, 1959. He was actually out which is the only perfect season in Ole Miss history of the game when Billy

OXFORD CITIZEN Cannon returned his famous punt 89 yards in the only loss the Rebels had in 1959. Gibbs was the one who booted the ball down the field.

“He got off a good punt and it happened to go over Billy Cannon’s head. It was muddy, been raining that day. He got the ball and starts down the sideline.

He had six or seven people with a shot at him,” Franklin said. “That was one of the only touchdowns scored on us that year. That ‘59 team, it was fantastic and that was a fluke play. It wouldn’t happen again in a million years.”

In the rematch with the Tigers, Franklin was 10for-15 for 148 yards. He threw two touchdowns in the 21-0 win. One went to Larry Grantham. The other to George Blair. Gibbs threw the other touchdown in the victory that cemented the 1959 squad as the “Team of the Decade.”

“It was great to finish my career as the MVP and go out with a win over them,” Franklin said. “Back then we may not have been as big as they are in these days, but we were a lot of faster. Of course the game is different these days.

Who wouldn’t want to go up and down the field like they do now. And you want to have a quarterback be at least 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 now.”

Before Franklin got to Ole Miss, he watched Eagle Day, another legendary quarterback, lead the Rebels on offense. Day helped give the Rebels their first major bowl win, 14-13, over TCU in the 1956 Cotton Bowl.

Franklin’s idol growing up was Day, who also grew up in Clarksdale.

“Eagle helped sign me on Signing Day. I think they ran the Single Wing back when Eagle was there. He was called quarterback, but he was really a tailback,” Franklin said.

“He was a great athlete. He and Charlie Conerly were my two idols. I remember when they took me to the Cotton Bowl when Eagle was playing and I was just graduating from high school.”

John Davis is the Oxford Citizen sports editor. He can be reached at john.davis@journalinc.com.

Follow him on Twitter at @oxfordcitizenjd.

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