English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in Jackson, MS

Lumumba, again, calls out JXN Water for lack of communication with city

Mississippi Clarion Ledger

The future of Jackson's water system is still uncertain, with the past several years seeing some state lawmakers proposing ideas that ultimately failed. Now, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is throwing his own idea out there.

Lumumba, speaking during a Monday press conferences, proposes the city's water system should be made up of two boards. The first being a five-member operations board. The second a 15-member advisory committee.

"This is the administration's effort of seeing how we deal with the balance of both technical response and no-how and the equitable, sustainable solution that we feel needs to be in place on behalf of community," the mayor said.

The five member operations board would be made up of positions reserved for people with "management level experience in utility operations," engineering experts and a representative of one of the water system's highest users.

"The operations board would be a board that is responsible for hiring the CEO of the water system," Lumumba said. "That CEO would then hire all of the workforce that is necessary internally, (and) identify the operations contract within the water treatment facility."

To serve on the operations board, a candidate would need a majority vote from the advisory board. The 15-member community advisory board would also "receive updates from the operations board on a routine basis."

"We consider the community advisory board being similar to our planning board in the City of Jackson," Lumumba said. "They (the advisory board) could have some ability to ask questions, so that those members that are on the operations board know they have to be accountable to community, (and) know that there is another check-and-balance, that there is another boss if you will."

The plan is to incentivize candidates to serve on the operations board, potentially including a stipend for the job. Community meetings will also be held in the future for more discussion on the plan, Lumumba said.

"We want to incentivize and make it attractive for people to be a part of that board, knowing that the consequences of what they do will be heavily weighed and so we want to make certain that we get truly, truly talented people to be in those positions," Lumumba said.

The mayor said he has talked with the U.S. Department of Justice about his proposal, adding that the feds also said the water system should stay in the hands of the city.

"They came to us and said that the EPA wants to ramp up discussions about where do we go from here," he said. "They came to us and said they were interested in the City of Jackson maintaining control of this."

Lumumba has not broached the idea with JXN Water.

"I will just say that Ted (Henifin) and JXN Water from the agreed stipulated order have responsibilities in their communication with the City of Jackson that are not being sufficiently met," he said. "We certainly would welcome them to the table. I am always willing to talk to Ted. If Ted were available today, I'd probably cut off some responsibility I have, some meeting I have to go to, because it's that important."

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JXN Water is the federally mandated entity currently running and repairing the city's beleaguered water system and headed by Henifin, the interim third-party water manager. Henifin was appointed in November 2022 and has previously said he plans to stay until 2027.

For the majority of 2024, Lumumba has taken issue with Henifin's communications with the city. In April, Lumumba, speaking during a back-and-forth the city and JXN Water were having over sanitation collection rates, said he had not spoken with Henifin since July of 2023.

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Henifin also previously supported a bill that would essentially put the state of Mississippi in-charge of Jackson's water system, while Lumumba and other city leaders staunchly opposed the idea.

In the end, the future of Jackson's water system won't be determined until U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate, who oversees Henifin and JXN Water, says it is in stable enough condition, per the stipulated order.

George Gillespie and his wife Ann Elizabeth Gillespie have long had a dream of opening a wing restaurant.

As a young couple, who both had been to culinary school, any time they traveled, they made a point of checking out the local wing restaurant.

"We're wing people," Ann Elizabeth said. "We love wings."

After years of taking notes and working on recipes at home, the finally decided to strike out on their own.

The Gillespies have recently opened Wing Mouth in a small, 250-square-foot, walk-up location in the Belhaven Town Center.

George, originally from Greenville, has been the pit master at Pig and Pint in Fondren the last eight years, but he has always had his wing dream in the back of his mind.

"So, one night we were at Poppy's Pies (in Belhaven Town Center). We love that place," Ann Elizabeth said. "George was drinking a beer from Fertile Ground and I was having a glass of wine. It was just a cute date night. Then he looks over at what is now our building and says, 'I am going to turn that into my wing shop.'"

While on their date night, they put together a business plan on the back of a napkin.

"It took about 10 minutes, and we really thought nothing of it," said Ann Elizabeth, who is originally from Starkville. "But later that night, I ask him why we can't turn that place into a wing shop."

From there, they put some serious thought into it, and many months later, Wing Mouth is a reality.

There was a soft opening on Sept. 12 and they finally opened to the general public on Sept. 25 serving lunch and dinner.

They believe people will come and people will love their wings.

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"We just had not been able to find wings we love around here," Ann Elizabeth said. "That was a big inspiration. We just believed that Jackson could handle another wing spot."

So, now you can venture into Belhaven Town Center, walk up to the window and choose from Buffalo, Lemon Pepper (wet or dry), Asian Sweet Chile, Garlic Parmesan (wet or dry), Honey Bourbon BBQ or Nekkid and then grab a beverage from there or any of the other places surrounding Wing Mouth and enjoy a meal in the common areas the center is known for.

"Our wings are unique because they are the wings that we want to be eating all of the time. They are the wings we have been making at our house," Ann Elizabeth said. "We brine our wings. That's all about keeping the moisture in, but we are also trying to make it a crispy wing. That's the challenging part. You get a crispy wing by cooking it longer. You get a juicy wing from the brine. It's really a process."

Before the 30-something couple was doing this, the couple had a private chef service, where they were going into people's homes and cooking and service multi-course dinners. That was successful for them, but then came the wings.

"I don't know why we really decided to do this. It just kind of fell in our laps and we ran with it," she said. "Belhaven Town Center really needed a fast-casual food option. We knew that we were going to kind of fill that hole. Fertile Ground and everyone have all been so cooperative in this process. It's a great family of people. All of the businesses really contribute to each other. Wings and beer and pizza and beer. They all go great together."

Wing Mouth is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and then again from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. It is open from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.

A few months ago, the New York Times began circulating a list of best and worst places to raise children based on a study by WalletHub. The metric categories were health and safety, education and child care, affordability, socioeconomics and family fun. It was controversial, in part, because among the worst on the list included the Blackest cities in the country. It also, maybe unsurprisingly, skewed southern. It does beg the question of which children and families was this list actually created for?

Jackson, Mississippi was one of the cities that made the “worst” list. And it’s no coincidence that Jackson is the blackest city in the United States. Not to mention, it is located in the poorest state in the country, a state that has some of the worst health outcomes for children. However, multiple things can be true at once. Mississippi is not an easy place to raise a family largely due to systemic issues that target Black and poor folks. And also, families are using every resource at their disposal to give their children the best possible life.

I grew up and received all of my education in Mississippi. Both my maternal and paternal family have deep roots in this state. Nobody knows this state better than us. And nobody knows what it means to survive here better than us. Our resilience—Black Mississippians—is quite frankly unmatched. I was reminded of that when I learned about the oral history project, Raising Children in Central Jackson (RCCJ), largely led by the Black mothers in that community.

As part of her fellowship at Operation Shoestring, an organization that provides year-round academic, social and emotional support to children and their families, Dr. Alison Turner collaborated with community members to create a collection of oral histories documenting the experience of raising children and being raised in Jackson. In Dr. Turner’s own words regarding her experience with the central Jackson community,

“Since I came into this project as an academic who is not from this community, I needed to make sure that the project explored what is important to this community— not just to me. In other words, working in collaboration with people who live, work, and play in the communities whose stories make up this oral history collection makes possible a path away from ‘archive taking’ and toward ‘archive making.’”

Perhaps the most powerful and timely aspect of this project was making space for folks to tell their own stories. Porshia Jordan, a 32-year-old Jackson native and mother of five, stressed this in regard to her experience with the project.

“The neighborhood that we were focusing on was the neighborhood I was living in at the time. A lot of those people in that neighborhood didn’t have a voice or couldn’t voice their opinion and I feel like that project actually helped with it.”

Jordan’s comment really gets to the heart of the problem with lists that deem cities like Jackson as essentially “a bad place to live.” It is a type of silencing that extends beyond our capital city to our state and the south as a whole. The RCCJ project allowed parents and others who live in the community to discuss the issues they face with nuance while also highlighting the positives that also exist.

For instance, Jordan speaks candidly about community violence and the impact on her children’s ability to safely play outside. Nonetheless, she refuses to let that dictate her children’s future and does so by always encouraging them to show up as their best selves. In addition to being able to tell her story on her own terms, Jordan feels that she gained so much from listening to the stories of other parents, “It helped me more with my parenthood skills also because reading and listening to some of those stories you would have never known what some of those people [and] their kids went through.”

"These parents go to the ends of the world for [their children], but because they don’t have a certain financial status, they’re looked at as not good parents, or because they don’t live in the best neighborhood, they’re looked at as a certain way. But it was definitely heartwarming to see how much the parents in this area really love their kids."

Kearani Miller, a community member who is originally from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, had similar sentiments as Jordan regarding the project and the importance of it. An alum of Tougaloo College, Miller works as an office manager and after-school teacher at one of the local elementary schools. While Miller doesn’t have children of her own, she found the experience of being interviewed meaningful,

“It allowed me the opportunity to reflect, because I don’t necessarily have children, but I work directly with children in this area. And so, a lot of times people [think] ‘you’re not a mom, or you don’t understand’ but we really become attached to the children as well. And so, I think it just kind of opened my eyes . . . whether it’s working with the after-school program or directly with the school, I can still have a major impact in the lives of the kids.”

In addition to thinking about her own role in the community, Miller felt like the project really revealed how devoted parents are to their children, despite public perception.

“Because this is considered a rough area, a lot of people from the outside looking in, may have the perception that people don’t cherish their children . . . These parents go to the ends of the world for [their children], but because they don’t have a certain financial status, they’re looked at as not good parents, or because they don’t live in the best neighborhood, they’re looked at as a certain way. But it was definitely heartwarming to see how much the parents in this area really love their kids. They absolutely love their children.”

What Miller describes is really a hallmark of what holds communities together in Mississippi, especially in economically deprived areas. When I think about the small town I grew up in which is predominantly Black and as of 2022 had a median household income of about $35,000, well below the state and national average, I’m reminded of witnessing a similar level of care there. Even if our parents were not able to, there were always grandparents, aunties, uncles, faith leaders and teachers who showed up for children in the community.

My hope for those who encounter the RCCJ project is that they’re encouraged to look beyond the “numbers” and consider that real people with real stories live in this area and state that they’re attempting to write-off. Miller also feels these stories can be relatable to people regardless of who they are or where they live,

“I just feel like that’s the magic of this project in particular. Because even if you don’t have children, you know somebody that does, or you live next door to [them] or you work with [them]. They’re everywhere. Everybody can relate to that, especially people who are not from there, who may not understand. These are just people trying their best to do right by their children.”

Danielle Buckingham

Danielle Buckingham is Reckon’s Black Joy Reporter, and a Chicago-born, Mississippi-raised writer. A 2021 Lambda Literary fellow, her work has been published in MadameNoire, Midnight & Indigo Literary Magazine, Raising Mothers, and elsewhere.

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JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Rides and vendors have arrived at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds for the 165th Mississippi State Fair.

The 2024 Mississippi State Fair is scheduled to run Thursday, October 3 through Monday, October 14 in Jackson.

“We’ll have over 100 food vendors, mostly local food vendors. And they’re looking forward to serving you some of the best fair food you’ve ever tasted. And I am going to sample a lot of it myself. So, you’re invited to be a part of that. Don’t forget, we have a lot of also special activities here in the Trade Mart. The State Fair Marketplace is going to be inside the brand new Mississippi Trade Mart,” said Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson (R-Miss.).

Fairgoers will be able to experience the Taste of the Dixie National Rodeo; State Fair Marketplace Expo and Genuine MS Store; State Fair Pageant and Talent Show; Farm Bureau Petting Zoo and pig races; 4-H and FFA livestock shows; Zerbini Family Circus; and the Biscuit Booth. In addition to all the usual vendors, shows and rides, the 2024 State Fair will also feature all-new attractions like the Tumbleweed Crossing Wild West reenactment, the family-friendly Agri-Puppets show and the hands-on 4-H and FFA Barnyard exhibition.

The fair is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors. State, county and local law enforcement agencies will be on hand to patrol the fair.

“When you come to your state fair, and you’re coming from out of town, we want you to feel safe. You have the full commitment from the Department of Public Safety and all our divisions that they’re going to give everything they can to make sure we ensure the safety of those patrons that come to this fair and want to have a good time,” Gipson said.

Fairgrounds Chief of Security Steve Shows outlined the following safety measures that will be in effect at the 2024 Mississippi State Fair:

For the first time in State Fair history, fairgoers can purchase general admission tickets and fair ride wristbands online. Pre-sale tickets are available now through October 2 online for $8 per person. Online tickets purchased after October 2, as well as tickets purchased at the gates, will be $10 per person.

Children aged 5 and under will be admitted free of charge. Patrons can enjoy free admission every weekday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., except on Monday, October 14, Columbus Day.

A recent inspection of Thalia Mara Hall by the State Fire Marshal Office's found 22 violations against the international fire code, according to a report reviewed by the Clarion Ledger.

On Monday, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba spoke on the report, while also continuing to defend the city's response to the ongoing issues that have plagued the venue since it closed on Aug. 1.

The state fire marshal's inspection of Thalia Mara Hall, which was conducted on Sept. 9, cited violations including, blocked entrances, combustibles stored around a flammable storage locker improper or out-of-date fire extinguishers, missing ceiling tiles, breakers missing from electrical boxes and broken exit signs.

The city has until Sept. 23 to contact the state fire marshal's office with "a plan of action or (to) make necessary corrections."

Though he noted the violations and assured the city is working to get them resolved, Lumumba described them as "very minor issues that won't take long to deal with. Period."

The inspection also noted mold growing on "floors, seating, rails etc.…" and "human waste products" along the upper outside balcony of the venue.

The mayor said the human waste was a result of the city's homeless using the balcony as a place to rest and sleep. A contractor is on standby to address this "biohazard issue."

"To be clear, before this was announced to the public through the state fire marshal's report, we were already looking to remediate the challenge of the unhoused going into the balcony area," Lumumba said. "Not only for their safety, but for the safety for those who work at Thalia Mara Hall sometimes being startled by someone resting or setting encampment up at one of those areas."

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The city is still working to find a remediation team to fix the mold growth, which was initially the reason the venue was shut down. Because of that, no person is allowed to enter Thalia Mara Hall, which was built in the 1960s.

"But once it is safe to return, the Jackson Fire Department's fire marshal will work to assist Thalia Mara crews to address the issues," Lumumba said.

Lumumba also defended the city's handling of allocations for Thalia Mara received from the Mississippi Legislature, with $1 million the city received this year and a total of $5 million received since 2022.

"The money that was allocated was for a multitude of things that we already listed, so we were very aware of that money," Lumumba said. "It wasn't because we were sitting on our hands, it was because many of those things needed to be contracted, bid out, the scope of work needed to be completely identified. This isn't like working on our houses.

"We knew what the money was (for). In fact, we had had conversations with our legislative delegation about the needs at Thalia Mara Hall … Unfortunately, it's decline has been more rapid than the timing of our plans. So Thalia Mara Hall is going to be just fine, I look forward to the day that that is no longer a discussion and then we're going to be talking about not only how we make these low hanging fruits that need to be made, but how we move it into its next phase."

Thalia Mara Hall tab on city's website shows

At last week's mayor's press conference, Lumumba announced the creation of a tab on the city's website dedicated to providing updates on repairs at Thalia Mara. The tab will be updated every Thursday.

Below are the steps the city has made to resolve issues at the venue, according to the latest update on the city's website:

Next steps will be to review the remaining quotes the city has received to remediate the mold. It's predicted that a remediation timeline could take between four to eight weeks.

Once remediation is complete a final inspection will be performed, and a certificated of occupancy will be determined.