Huge Crowd Expected at the Blue Front Cafe for the 2011 Bentonia Blues Festival in June

Thousands of fans will again make their way to the birthplace of the unique Bentonia style of blues in Bentonia, Mississippi at the world famous Blue Front Cafe, Saturday, June 18th 2011.

Bentonia, MS, March 09, 2011--On Saturday, June 18, 2011, downtown Bentonia, Mississippi, a community with a population of about 500, will swell to an estimated 10,000, all coming to participate in an annual celebration of the unique country style of blues referred to as the Bentonia School. With Free admission, live gospel music starting at 9 a.m., activities and games for families and children, arts & crafts, food and more, this is sure to be an event everyone can enjoy.

The blues stage will kick off at 1 pm, including live performances from Big Joe Shelton, Terry "Harmonica" Bean, Mark "Muleman" Massey, Bentonia's own Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, Kenny Brown Band, Fearless Four, Dexter Allen ft. Tonya Youngblood, the Jarekus Singleton Band, Johnny Rawls, and national recording artist T.K. Soul.

The festival, founded in 1972 by Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, is one of the oldest blues festivals in the state of Mississippi. With Bentonia Blues fans coming from as far away as Japan, England, Norway, Canada, and all corners of the United States, the festival has become a favorite for visitors nationally and internationally.

Jimmy “Duck” Holmes is the last living practitioner of the famed Bentonia blues style made famous by Skip James and Jack Owens. Holmes, who studied directly under Jack Owens, is also the owner of the legendary Blue Front Cafe, Mississippi's oldest juke joint and the location of the annual Bentonia Blues Festival. He will delight audiences once again on the blues stage this June.

“I've never seen anything like it,” says Holmes. “In 2007 we had about 2000 here for the festival, but in the last couple years it has really grown. That's just amazing to me. I'm thrilled to know that my music and this festival is helping to keep the Bentonia style of blues alive.”

Yazoo County Convention & Visitors Bureau is seeking help from the community in being able to continue to provide this incredible event. “This event showcases our southern hospitality as well as our unique Yazoo County culture that brings travelers from across the globe to our little corner of the Mississippi Delta,” says Executive Director of the CVB, Tonja Ray-Smith. “But, it wouldn't be possible without our sponsors and volunteers.”

For those interested in volunteering and/or sponsoring, call the Yazoo County CVB at (662) 746-1815 or visit www.yazoo.org. And, a festival just isn’t a festival without food or arts & crafts vendors. To be considered, contact the Town Hall of Bentonia, MS at (662) 755-2281.

To keep up with the latest developments of the festival, become a fan of the Bentonia Blues Festival on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BentoniaBluesFestival

Henry Barbour profiled in NYT

There’s not much left between Henry Barbour’s house and the horizon. Since the tornado came through here last April, the house has sat on a bare hill, looking out over the meager remains of the surrounding woods.

It will be decades before that seclusion grows back, but Mr. Barbour is staying anyhow. He grew up here, his family is here and he has managed a career in big-money politics from here perfectly fine.

Whenever Mr. Barbour’s name has shown up in the national news media, it has regularly been followed by the words “nephew of Gov. Haley Barbour.” That suits him well enough; Mr. Barbour has no problem being a backstage player.

But he is also fiercely competitive, and his profile has begun to rise over the last couple of months, as Mr. Barbour, a member of the Republican National Committee, has led a widely publicized campaign to have Michael Steele ousted as chairman. The committee begins its annual winter meeting on Wednesday and holds its election for chairman on Friday, and few are playing a more central role than Mr. Barbour.

READ MORE

‘Gatemouth’ Moore honored with Blues Trail marker in Yazoo City

Bishop Arnold Dwight “Gatemouth” Moore, a former national blues star who left the nightclub stage for the pulpit, is being honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail.

The marker was unveiled Monday in Yazoo City.

During the 1930s, Arthus Dwight "Gatemouth" Moore was one of the better-known blues singers in the country. But, in the 1950s he abandoned this kind of music to take up vestments in the Baptist Church. He underwent a very personal journey from being one of the preeminent blues singers in the 1930s and 1940s to becoming a minister in the 1950s.

Moore, known as one of the most elegant and charismatic blues singers experienced a dramatic conversion when he went onstage at the Club DeLisa in Chicago in 1948. No blues came from his mouth, only the spiritual “Shine on Me.” Moore soon became not only an ordained minister but also one of America’s top gospel radio announcers on WDIA in Memphis. He did not miss a beat in transferring his flair for showmanship from the blues to the church, and remained one of the country’s most colorful personalities. He once delivered a sermon from a cross and gave his own eulogy from a casket. Although he devoted himself to church and community work, he still enjoyed singing the blues on occasion, and kept in touch with B.B. King and other bluesmen he had inspired. In the 1992 documentary on Moore’s life entitled “Saturday Night, Sunday Morning,” King described the lyrics to Moore’s hit “Did You Ever Love a Woman”: “No blues gets any stronger than that.”




 

Born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1913, Moore grew up in an impoverished environment. By the time he was nine, he was singing soprano at church but abandoned that at 16 to tour the country with Ma Rainey, performing in tent shows. Beginning nightclub work in Chicago, he ultimately reached the pinnacle of fame on Beale Street in Memphis. This mecca for black singers and musicians was a college for entertainers who could learn anything desired: showmanship, musical presentation, public relations, and much, much more. In the heart of the black community, the Beale Street area supported a separate black culture of nightclubs, churches, social organizations, schools, and businesses. Outside of this enclave, Moore and his colleagues performed in "white man's land." But they entertained well, and, as one cohort said, we "roll with the punches and take the money."

He served as pastor of several churches in Mississippi and Louisiana.

He died in Yazoo City in 2004.

Yazoo bullying problems persist

Accusations of bullying have landed some Yazoo County high students in hot water. The school district is not commenting, but several parents are.

WLBT first began getting calls about bullying at the Yazoo County high school last Friday.

Monday we interviewed one parent of a student who was accused of being a bully. Jeanetta March says her son was sent home from school after she attended a meeting at the high school Monday morning.

March says her son was not involved, but was blamed for participating in a bullying incident where 13 students surrounded another student and harassed them.

March says the incident happened over two weeks ago, and that school officials were warned by students claiming to be victims, but nothing was ever done to prevent it.

March said, "The principals were advised as to what was going on before it got to that level and before it came to the point where the parents now are having to be called in for meetings and get involved in something that should have been squashed. Should have been handled on their level a long time ago when it was first addressed to them."

Just last year, an incident resulting from bullying was caught on a school bus camera in the same school district.

A 14-year-old was seen waving a gun at other students on her bus, after she claimed she was the victim of bullying.

The gun was eventually wrestled away from her by a football player, and no one was hurt.

Yazoo county officials would only say the incident is under investigation.

WLBT

Yazoo County Sheriff's Son Faces Pot Charge

Sheriff Vaughan Turns Case Over To MBN

The son of Yazoo County Sheriff Tommy Vaughan is facing charges after an undercover drug sting, county officials said.

Investigators with the Sheriff's Department recorded a marijuana buy on videotape as part of the undercover operation, District Attorney Steven Waldrop said. On Friday, Thomas E. Vaughan Jr., 26, was arrested and charged with the sale of marijuana, Waldrop said.

When Sheriff Vaughan was informed that his son had been arrested, he immediately ordered that the case be turned over to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics in order to avoid any appearance of impropriety, Waldrop said.

"He then called me and said that no one is above the law and he wanted his son and this case treated like any other case," Waldrop said. "He is devastated and going through a rough time, but he was resolute that his son gets no special treatment."

The younger Vaughan was transported to the Madison County Detention Center.

WAPT

Yazoo Co. man, woman jailed for drug embezzlement charges

A Yazoo County man and woman are behind bars in connection to a drug embezzlement case.

Thirty-year-old Tanya Leal of Satartia is charged with felony embezzlement of and conspiracy to possess 460 dosage units of hydrocodone and xanax.

She is suspected of embezzling the prescription medications from an area drugstore where she worked as a pharmacy technician.

Leal's alleged co-conspirator is 38-year-old Dewayne D. Townsend of Bentonia.

He is charged with felony conspiracy to possess the same drugs.

Both are being held Yazoo County jail under $100 thousand bond.

WLBT

Mississippi Paddler to Hit Century Mark on Big Black River to End First Month of Paddling for Alzheimer’s Awareness

Flora, MS. Saturday July 31, 2010—Mississippi paddler Keith Plunkett will mark 100 miles of paddling for the month of July Sunday afternoon after paddling 30 miles from Highway 16 to Highway 49 on the Big Black River. Plunkett is expected to arrive at the Highway 49 Bridge sometime late Sunday afternoon. The Yazoo County native and Flora resident announced in April the schedule for a year of paddling Mississippi’s waterways. The effort started on July 10 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and will take Plunkett on a journey across 5 regions of the state ending in June of 2011. During the trips Plunkett is interviewing Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers in each region, and will highlight ongoing efforts by the Alzheimer’s Association and medical professionals to defeat the disease.  Video and photos of the trips are posted online at www.lucysrevenge.com.

Plunkett has been speaking with groups across the state to raise awareness, and to sign up corporate sponsors for the journey. He has set a goal of 600 miles, or roughly 120 miles per region, and hopes to entice a few others to join him on some of the excursions. Anyone interested can follow his travels on his Facebook page through a real-time GPS mapping service provided by the newest sponsor, I-Tech of Madison. 

“I think it’s a significant symbol to hit the hundred-mile mark in the place that my Mamaw always called home,” said Plunkett of the river that marks the Yazoo and Madison County border. “

Plunkett’s grandmother was Lucy Plunkett. The matriarch of the Plunkett family reared six children, and oversaw the upbringing of 9 grandchildren. She was a housewife and an active member of the rural community of Little Yazoo in Yazoo County.

Darden turns himself in, then heads back for "treatment"

It's not the treatment in rehab he needs to be worried about. It's the treatment he'll be receiving from his new friends in jail.

Former Yazoo teacher returns to rehab


YAZOO CITY — Former Manchester Academy teacher Richard Darden is back in rehab today after turning himself in to authorities Thursday evening.

Yazoo County Sheriff Tommy Vaughan said Darden arrived at his office around 5 p.m. with his attorney. This morning, Darden made his initial court appearance in which Justice Court Judge Pam May set bond at $200,000, and Darden was ordered back into rehabilitation.

Once Darden finishes, the Sheriff's Department will place him in county jail under the bond. Vaughan said he did not know for how much longer Darden would need treatment.

"It sounded like it would be several weeks," he said. The sheriff would not say what specifically Darden is seeking treatment for other than an "addiction."

Darden's attorney, Cynthia Stewart, said her client "is innocent until proven guilty. All we have now is just allegations and many of them made in a lawsuit seeking money."

Vaughan said his investigators waited to take Darden into custody "because there were so many complaints filed we had to investigate each on independently and that takes time. We don't work on hearsay."

More than 100 students have come forward with allegations against Darden. Many are minors.

Investigator Dennis Moulder said he has yet to interview Darden because the suspect's attorney refused.

Investigators have been through Darden's house and have taken several items of evidence. Moulder also confirmed finding a room from where Darden may have watched students.

As for claims of abuse conducted at the school, Moulder said there is no firm evidence anything occurred at Manchester Academy.

Vaughan also said he is not investigating accusations against Darden made in the suit filed Wednesday in Yazoo County Circuit Court.

"I haven't seen it. I don't want to see it. I don't deal with civil. I deal with criminals," he said.

Clarion Ledger



Manchester/Darden Scandal


Related Posts: Manchester teacher caught peeping refuses to turn himself in.

Students sue former Manchester Academy teacher accused of abuse

Students sue former Manchester Academy teacher accused of abuse

Accusations are mounting against a former Yazoo City private school teacher charged this week with having inappropriate contact with students.

Several former and current students of Manchester Academy are accusing Richard Darden of administering physical exams during which he touched their genitalia even though he was not a licensed physician.

The exams took place at his home, the private school and the Yazoo City Medical Clinic, according to the civil suit filed today in Yazoo County Circuit Court.

"Plaintiffs and their parents were advised that the physicals were required to be conducted by Darden in order for the students to be eligible to participate in football and in other sports at Manchester," the suit states.

The lawsuit also alleges the school allowed Darden, then a ninth-grade biology teacher and dean of students, to act as an athletic coach and trainer and use his home as a "clubhouse" for athletic teams where male students would shower after games or spend the night.

Attorney Cynthia Stewart, who is representing Darden in his criminal case, could not be reached for comment.

Darden resigned May 7 from the school, where he had worked for more than 25 years. The lawsuit alleges Darden's resignation coincided with several male students' discovery of a secret room in Darden's home that "was used to voyeuristically watch minor boys."

The Yazoo County Sheriff's Department said earlier this week it had obtained an arrest warrant for Darden, who faces three counts of voyeurism and three counts of child exploitation.

Darden reportedly checked himself into an unidentified rehabilitation facility shortly after his resignation and before he could be questioned by authorities.

Assistant District Attorney Steven Waldrup said today he has not been notified whether Darden is still in rehab or in law enforcement custody. Sheriff Tommy Vaughn did not return calls for comment this morning.

If convicted, Darden could face 40 years in prison on each exploitation count and five years on each voyeurism count.

In addition to Darden, the suit names Manchester Academy, the clinic and the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Inc. as defendants. The suit alleges the entities allowed Darden to abuse his position of authority, fostered an environment where employees did not report questionable contact or behavior and failed to investigate the students' claims of abuse.

Manchester Academy Headmaster Bryan Dendy would not comment. He referred questions to the school’s attorney, Jeff Walker.

“I have not seen the complaint so I cannot comment,” Walker said.

The Clarion Ledger


Manchester/Darden Scandal

Related Posts: Manchester Teacher Caught Peeping Refuses to Turn Himself In

Manchester teacher caught peeping refuses to turn himself in.

Former Yazoo Co. teacher wanted in voyeurism case


Arrest warrant includes three counts of child exploitation

YAZOO CITY — Yazoo County officials want to arrest a former high school teacher they say behaved inappropriately with students, but they can't find him.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Richard Darden, who until recently taught biology at Manchester Academy for more than 25 years, on three counts of child exploitation and three counts of voyeurism.

Authorities said Darden had a special room in his home that allowed him to secretly watch young men as they dressed and undressed in the bathroom.

Darden, who resigned from Manchester earlier this month, faces 40 years in prison on each exploitation count and five years on each voyeurism count.

After allegations were raised at school on the morning of May 7, Darden checked into a rehabilitation facility before authorities could question him.

"They involved three male students that are all underage that went to Manchester. None of the actions that occurred were on school property," Sheriff Tommy Vaughn said during a news conference on Monday.

Cynthia Stewart, Darden's attorney, wouldn't say where her client is being treated or what he is being treated for.

"We've made arrangements to handle it appropriately, and I can't comment beyond that," Stewart told The Clarion-Ledger.

"She knows the smartest thing to do is to accompany him up here to face the charges," Vaughn said.

Yazoo County law enforcement authorities said if Stewart doesn't tell them where Darden is within the next week or two, they'll have her in court.

Three male student athletes - whose average age is around 16, authorities said - found the peeping area and confronted Darden on May 6. That evening, Darden reportedly went to his minister before going to the school's headmaster, Bryan Dendy.

Dennis Moulder, chief investigator for the Yazoo County Sheriff's Department, has talked to more than 100 people in the community since the case broke.

Darden, who isn't married, was popular with students. Authorities said students often hung out at his home, appear to have dropped by unannounced and may have called him when they had been drinking alcohol.

The Clarion Ledger

Mississippi Paddler Announces Camellia Home Health and Hospice as Gold Level Sponsor for Alzheimer’s Fundraiser

Flora, MS. May 19, 2010—Keith Plunkett, Mississippi paddler and organizer of Lucy’s Revenge, announced today that Camellia Home Health and Hospice will be a Gold Level Sponsor of the yearlong project to raise funds for Alzheimer’s research and support services. Camellia Home Health and Hospice is based out of Hattiesburg, Mississippi and has 18 locations from Jackson to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

“I am extremely excited to welcome Camellia Home Health as a partner for this project,” said Plunkett. “They understand firsthand the toll Alzheimer’s is taking on our seniors, and the need to fight this disease.”

In Mississippi alone, 53,000 people have been diagnosed with the disease with an additional 148,000 caregivers providing unpaid care.

“As Keith begins his journey, it is our hope to get our local offices involved in drumming up support and participating in the paddling experience,” said Camellia President Abb Payne. “I look forward to working with him, and the Alzheimer’s Association to further their efforts.”

The effort will begin in July on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and will take Plunkett on a journey across 5 regions of the state to paddle waterways that are both popular destinations and underutilized opportunities. During the trips, the Yazoo County native and Flora resident will tell the stories of Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers in each region, and will highlight ongoing efforts by the Alzheimer’s Association and medical professionals to defeat the disease.

Over the next two months leading up to the kickoff on July 10 in Ocean Springs, Plunkett will speak with groups across the state to raise awareness, and to secure donations. He has set a goal of 600 miles, or roughly 120 miles per region, and hopes to entice a few others to join him on some of the excursions, including Payne.

“Abb told me he would like to join me on a few trips, and I look forward to it,” said Plunkett. “Paddling is a great family friendly sport, and we have so many resources in Mississippi to enjoy. I welcome anyone that wants to join in.”

Work is ongoing to outfit the current website, www.lucysrevenge.com, with a real-time map that uses GPS to track Plunkett’s whereabouts, and a website has been setup by the Alzheimer’s Association to begin collecting donations. A Paddling Partners Program has also been established for those who would like to form paddling teams and compete to raise money for the project.

The project is named in memory of Lucy Plunkett, who suffered from Alzheimer’s before succumbing to the disease in 1994. The matriarch of the Plunkett family reared six children, and oversaw the upbringing of 9 grandchildren. She was a housewife and an active member of her church and the rural community of Little Yazoo in Yazoo County.

Harper discusses FEMA flap in Yazoo on Fox and Friends (Video).

U.S. Representative Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) joins Steve, Gretchen and Brian live on FOX & Friends to discuss a recent incident in Yazoo County involving local volunteers and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) employees. Volunteers with faith-based organizations were asked to change their shirts because of a religious message on the shirt, before they were allowed to proceed with an interview with a FEMA employee. This interview hits on the details of this episode and Congressman Harpers encouraging conversation with FEMA Administrator, Craig Fugate.


 



Related Posts: Gregg Harper upset with FEMA over T-Shirt Flap
Michelle Malkin addresses FEMA T-Shirt Flap

Michelle Malkin addresses FEMA T-Shirt Flap

FEMA attempts to whitewash faith-based volunteers


A few years ago, economist Arthur Brooks wrote a must-read book on volunteerism in America titled, “Who Really Cares.” An excerpt:

The conventional wisdom runs like this: Liberals are charitable because they advocate government redistribution of money in the name of social justice; conservatives are uncharitable because they oppose these policies. But note the sleight of hand: Government spending, according to this logic, is a form of charity.

Let us be clear: Government spending is not charity. It is not a voluntary sacrifice by individuals. No matter how beneficial or humane it might be, no matter how necessary it is for providing public services, it is still the obligatory redistribution of tax revenues. Because government spending is not charity, sanctimonious yard signs do not prove that the bearers are charitable or that their opponents are selfish. (On the contrary, a public attack on the integrity of those who don’t share my beliefs might more legitimately constitute evidence that I am the uncharitable one.)

To evaluate accurately the charity difference between liberals and conservatives, we must consider private, voluntary charity. How do liberals and conservatives compare in their private giving and volunteering? Beyond strident slogans and sarcastic political caricatures, what, exactly, do the data tell us?

The data tell us that the conventional wisdom is dead wrong. In most ways, political conservatives are not personally less charitable than political liberals—they are more so.

…People living in conservative states volunteer more than people in liberal states. In 2003, the residents of the top five “Bush states” were 51 percent more likely to volunteer than those of the bottom five, and they volunteered an average of 12 percent more total hours each year. Residents of these Republican-leaning states volunteered more than twice as much for religious organizations, but also far more for secular causes. For example, they were more than twice as likely to volunteer to help the poor.

I bolded that last part as a segue to this stomach-turning story from the Associated Press about how a FEMA official taping interviews with volunteers helping tornado victims in Mississippi was so sick of meeting faith-based volunteers in the area that he asked two women to change their shirts to hide their religious affiliation:

The top officer for FEMA said one of the agency’s videographers was “absolutely wrong” to ask Mississippi church volunteers not to wear religious T-shirts for a video about tornado cleanup.

Angela Lott and Pamela Wedgeworth, who are sisters, told The Associated Press that the FEMA worker videotaping the cleanup on Saturday in the small town of Ebenezer asked them to do on-camera interviews but requested that they change out of their T-shirts because of a Salvation Army logo.

“He said, ‘We would like to ask you to change your shirt because we don’t want anything faith-based,’” Lott said Tuesday.

Lott said she asked him why he didn’t want to feature faith groups.

“All he said was, ‘We’ve done that hundreds of times,’” Lott said.

No surprise there.

If only the religious volunteers had worn ACORN or SEIU or “God is Dead” t-shirts, the FEMA employee would have featured them in full-length documentaries and bought them steak dinners.

Michelle Malkin

WJTV: Congressman Gregg Harper Upset With FEMA Over T-Shirt Flap (Video)

WJTV Reports:

Mississippi’s 3rd District Congressman is demanding answers from FEMA. More than 300 people spend their Saturday volunteering to help Mississippi tornado victims. A FEMA photographer showed up to take pictures but asked a church group to change their t-shirts. The reason, the shirts included the Salvation Army logo and the photographer told volunteers faith-based organizations could not be profiled. The church volunteers were members of Crossgate Baptist Church in Brandon, Mississippi. Harper is a member of Crossgates Baptist Church.

Yazoo City bustling with signs of healing

Sounds of swinging hammers fill the air along U.S. 49 and Old Benton Road. It seems like every other building has a roofing crew crawling atop it.

Yazoo City appears to be healing - less than three weeks after a tornado struck this community.

Nearly 200 homes in Yazoo County were destroyed by the April 24 tornado or suffered major damage - the most of any of the counties hit. And nearly half of the $1.2 million in individual disaster grants distributed by the federal government has gone to residents of the county.

State Sen. Kenneth Wayne Jones, D-Canton, who represents the area, said he is satisfied progress is being made. Jones said some of that has to do with the coordinated effort of the federal and state government, but most of the credit for the speed of the cleanup goes to the local communities.

Despite the damage, morale is high, he said.

"From what I can see, it's been overwhelming with communities supporting each other," Jones said.

Most of the struggles of individual homeowners revolve around insurance claims.

Alberta Harris was among those at the Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster recovery center in Yazoo City this week trying to figure out her next steps.

It is bad enough that Harris' home was severely damaged by the tornado, but it comes just a few weeks after the death of her mother. Harris, who hid under her bed when the tornado roared past, said the problem is the home belonged to her mother and the insurance policy still is in her name.

She applied for disaster assistance but said FEMA sent her back to her insurance company. Mostly, she has relied on help from local charities.

"I'm starting from scratch," she said. "I thank God for the churches. They helped me out."

FEMA spokeswoman Diane Allen said the disaster center in Yazoo City has processed 655 claims and was averaging about 55 claims a day.

Yazoo City Mayor McArthur Straughter said he believes some of his citizens' housing needs may be met with the arrival of one- and two-bedroom cottages originally constructed to house victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Read more at The Clarion Ledger

The last courageous moments of the life of Nikki Bradshaw Carpenter

Relatives: Tornado victim lost life shielding sons

By SHELIA BYRD
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. — Nikki Bradshaw Carpenter was tough: she could kill a deer and skin it. But when it came to her three sons, the 31-year-old mother was a nurturer and a protector.

Thus, friends and family say it came as no surprise to learn Carpenter had lost her life trying to shield her children from last weekend's killer tornado.

Rodney Bradshaw, her cousin, said he found Carpenter pinned by two collapsed walls, a washing machine and a refrigerator. Two of her sons were beneath her; a third at her feet. All three children survived.

On Thursday, a funeral was held for Carpenter, one of the 10 Mississippi victims of the severe weather system that kicked up tornadoes around the South and also left two dead in Alabama.

James Bradshaw said his daughter was just 5-foot-5 and slim, but had a powerhouse personality.

"I don't think she's met anybody that she wouldn't talk to," Bradshaw said. "I used to take her hunting and fishing. She killed a deer this past season, hung the deer, skinned it and cut it up and put it in the freezer. She was very feisty."

Moments before the twister barreled down the rural road where she lived in a mobile home, Carpenter's phone rang with a warning about the storm.

"We don't know who called. We never recovered the phone. Whoever it was saved them," said James Bradshaw, whose oldest grandson told him about the call.

Hoping to preserve precious memories, Carpenter pulled family photographs from the wall. Then, she grabbed the boys, piled pillows on top of them and covered them with her body. The twister lifted the trailer in the air like a paperclip, throwing it more than 100 yards, said Rodney Bradshaw.

When Rodney Bradshaw, arrived at the scene, he said the sight was jarring: "The two littlest ones were under her. The oldest one was at her feet. I still can't get her face out of my head."

He said a memorial service will be held for Carpenter in his hometown on May 8.

Hymnal found in the debris at Hillcrest Baptist Church from Saturday's tornado.

Hang in there 'zoo crew!

MC Journal: Barbour saws to Yazoo with Flora mayor

As Flora Mayor Les Childress and dozens of other volunteers used chain saws and tractors to clear debris off U.S. 49 to Yazoo City following Saturday's deadly tornado, he turned around to see Gov. Haley R. Barbour pitching in.

Childress and many other Flora residents were some of the first on the scene Saturday, literally cutting their way through downed trees to reach victims of an EF-4 tornado that cut through central Mississippi and claimed 10 lives.

State officials are estimating nearly 700 homes were damaged and 49 people were injured during the storms. Two others died in Alabama.

The hardest hit areas included Yazoo and Choctaw counties. This week Barbour asked President Barack Obama to declare both counties major disaster areas to open up aid for residents and business owners.

On Saturday, Barbour, a Yazoo City native, was on the front lines clearing debris from U.S 49 and directing traffic to give workers enough room to clear the roadway.

"It really hit home for him," Childress said. "You could tell he was really trying to get there (Yazoo City)."

Childress said they were all shocked at the amount of devastation before them, but the mayor said he was even more amazed at the almost instantaneous outpouring of support from the community.

"I went up there Saturday around 1 p.m. right after it happened and there were already folks from Flora there," he said. "Every citizen that lived in the surrounding area was there working to try and help out their neighbors.

"Flora has a lot of ties to Yazoo County," he added. "They're family."

Read more at the Madison County Journal

MISSISSIPPI DELEGATION UNITED IN SUPPORT FOR DISASTER DECLARATION

Federal Lawmakers Endorse Barbour Request for Disaster Aid Following Tornadoes

WASHINGTON, D.C. – All members of the Mississippi congressional delegation today signaled their united support for approval of a federal disaster designation that would sanction federal recovery resources to help Mississippians recover from a deadly storm that tore across the state Saturday, killing 10 people and destroying scores of homes.

The delegation today sent President Obama a letter endorsing the disaster application submitted by Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. The letter was signed by U.S. Senators Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker and U.S. Representatives Bennie Thompson, Gene Taylor, Travis Childers and Gregg Harper.

“We know from our ongoing recovery from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, which hit our state in August 2005, that significant resources and cooperation are necessary to recover fully from natural disasters as quickly as possible. We stand ready to face this new challenge by supporting the local communities, the State, and your administration as we work together to rebuild and renew areas destroyed by this major storm,” the lawmakers wrote to the President.

The letter also notes the ongoing economic hardship of the affected areas, as well as the need for Congress to replenish funding for the Disaster Recovery Fund administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). A supplemental appropriations bill pending before Congress would add $5.1 billion to the FEMA fund.

Members of the congressional delegation have been consulting with Barbour, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and local officials as recovery efforts get underway. The issuance of a presidential disaster declaration, as requested by the state, would trigger the release of federal disaster assistance. Barbour’s initial federal disaster declaration request would encompass Choctaw and Yazoo counties, with other Mississippi counties expected to be added as damage assessments across the state are compiled.

The following is the text of the congressional delegation’s letter to the President:

Dear President Obama,

In the wake of devastating weather events across the Southeastern United States this past weekend, we are writing to request your full consideration of Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour’s request for a federal disaster declaration for Yazoo County, Mississippi and Choctaw County, Mississippi.

We also understand that the State of Mississippi and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) jointly continue to assess the damage across the state, particularly in Attala, Holmes Monroe, Union, and Warren Counties. It is our understanding that Governor Barbour will request a federal disaster declaration in Holmes County sometime today. Should Governor Barbour request federal disaster declarations for these or other counties, we are hopeful you will also give these requests your full consideration.

We have been encouraged by the efforts of FEMA to deploy rapidly to Mississippi to assist state and local officials in estimating the severity of the initial damage caused by a series of tornado touchdowns, some rated as devastating as EF-4. The latest estimates show that 10 Mississippi lives have been lost and hundreds homes have been destroyed. Much of this destruction has occurred in parts of our state that have been particularly affected by our nation’s current economic situation. Many of these counties have poverty levels that are more than double the national average.

Examination of National Weather Service data shows that these tornado touchdowns were some of the most extreme in Mississippi’s history. Preliminary estimations show that one of the touchdowns was 1.75 miles wide at some points and stayed touched down for 149 miles, carving a path of destruction across the heart of our state. If these estimates hold, this storm event will lay claim to the widest tornado in Mississippi’s history and the fourth longest touchdown distance in our state’s history.

We know from our ongoing recovery from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, which hit our state in August 2005, that significant resources and cooperation are necessary to recover fully from natural disasters as quickly as possible. We stand ready to face this new challenge by supporting the local communities, the State, and your administration as we work together to rebuild and renew areas destroyed by this major storm.

We are also very aware of the depleted status of the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund and the potential effect a disaster declaration for this past weekend’s events in Mississippi could have on its solvency. We are hopeful that the Disaster Relief Fund will be replenished as soon as possible so that federal assistance for this and other disasters can flow freely to states in need.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you need further assistance in this effort.

A good reason for a great meal!

That's all I needed, another good excuse to go eat some of those gold band oysters. AJ's also has some of the best ceviche around.

WJTV:

Madison Restaurant Offers Community Ways to Help Tornado Victims


MADISON, Mississippi – April 27, 2010 – AJ’s-on-the-Lake has asked its patrons and servers to band together to help our neighbors in need after last week’s tornados by matching gratuity and part of proceeds at the restaurant this week.

AJ’s servers are donating 30% of their tips received this weekend to Mississippi Tornado Relief Efforts. The monetary amount will be matched by AJ’s Management. And all week, AJ’s will be matching part of your proceeds on special menu and drink items in order to raise money for the communities in need.

AJ’s has also asked patrons to bring non-perishable food, bottled water, clothing and bedding and other items to aid in relief efforts for storm victims if they would like the restaurant to transport the goods to the donation center at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds on their behalf.

About AJ’s on the Lake
AJ’s on the Lake has been locally owned and operated by Lucy and John Taylor for the past ten years. AJ’s provides a casual fine dining atmosphere, some of the freshest seafood in Central Mississippi, as well as steaks and pasta. AJ’s won Taste of Mississippi’s best entrée for 2010 and was voted best seafood restaurant in the state by Mississippi Magazine in 2009. AJ’s is located off Highland Colony Parkway just north of Steed Road. For more information, visit http://www.ajsgrille.com/