SIMMONS...pg 8
YOUNG....pg 9
Vol 16, No. 10 • March 2017
News You Can Use
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Area athlete refuses to let disability obscure success was and still would remain one that centered around a passion for sports. With time, that passion would only grow stronger. Powell’s mother, Tammi Johnson, relates: “Jaylon never skipped a beat. He played little league baseball and basketball...from the very beginning, we have known that basketball was his passion. Now, at age 18, he sleeps with his basketball and fastens the seatbelt around his ball when he's traveling. Sounds crazy? Not to me.” And not to Jaylon. Nor should it to anyone. Jaylon went on to play Junior high football and basketball, and he excelled in both. Basketball remained his passion, and he went on to play at the high school level. It was there at Tishomingo County High School that he came under the guidance of Coach Josh McCalmon: “When I took the job as the high school coach, I wanted to
by B.H. Bonds In 2004, a couple of children were playing at golf. One of them, a six year old boy, walked in front of the other as he was mid-swing. And, at the tender age of six, that boy forever lost vision in his left eye. It is generally at this point in a story, that you expect to hear something like “and his life was changed forever.” But this simply isn’t the case. When you are dealing with young men like Jaylon Powell, you learn that there are people who refuse to allow anything to stand in the way of their passion and future success. Out of the two things that were going on that day, the golf was actually more indicative of Powell’s future than the injury. His life
Jaylon Powell
One would not expect a young man born with maladies like club feet, stiff joints and weak muscles to play defensive back in football or point guard in basketball, but those are just a couple of the unexpected accomplishments that Tracy
Return Address: P.O. Box 1292 Corinth, MS 38835
POSTAL PATRON Tracy Skelton
Holden Nickels
By Lucy Weber
est asset a healer can possess, empathy for those who suffer. Skelton was born with Arthrogyrposis, an illness that severely limits joint movement. At one point in his childhood Skelton, a Greenwood native, could not walk at all and spent much of his young life in hospitals. After numerous surgeries and with the aid of braces doctors eventually got Skelton moving, but the psychological toll that the chronic illness took on the youngster was substantial. see SKELTON pg 4
see HOLDEN pg 4
see POWELL pg 4
Skelton has managed in life. Skelton, 19, is a student at Northeast Mississippi Community College where he is beginning his studies to become a doctor, a career that will allow him to help others who face health problems. It is his life experience however, that has already given him the great-
Hard working 8-year-old expects to see name in lights one day
Eight-year-old Holden Nickels is a whirlwind of creative energy. If this third-grader at Corinth Elementary had a resume, it would be a lengthy one listing all his skills and talents. He sings, he plays a variety of instruments, he dances and he writes songs. "There's never a dull moment. We don't know where he gets it from. We're amazed to be a part of this," said his mom Mia Nickels, who along with husband Fred have 5year-old Grayson. "If he sees a dance move, he picks it up. He hears a chord, and he can knock it out on the guitar." Holden plays guitar, and got started at age two "when he came home begging for a guitar," his mother said. His red blues guitar is called Lucille and his first guitar is called Judith. His acoustic guitar that he can plug in is named Cara after his girlfriend, and his banjo is called Billy Banjo, because as Holden says, banjos are named after boys. He also plays drums, steel drums, violin, ukulele and piano. Guitar is the only instrument he's had lessons in. All the others are self-taught. "I want to learn to play bass guitar," he said. When he grows up, Holden plans to be an all-around entertainer. "I love dancing. I sing all the time," he said. "I want to do the same thing as Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson."
Defying the Odds: Tracy Skelton has not let illness hold him down By Galen Holley
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