Washington is where the action is
As I write this month’s column, I am in Washington on business. Yesterday morning at 6:30, I flew out of Greenville as the sun rose over numerous catfish ponds that reflected its first rays. That evening, I watched the sun reflect those same golden rays off of the Nation’s Capitol dome.
I have been spending a lot of time up here lately. Washington reminds me of my first days as a freshman at Ole Miss when everything looked so different compared to my hometown of Shelby, population 2,000. The students up at Ole Miss then all looked so nice and (most!) had good manners. D.C. has been the same way to me – a lot of nice people up here and a lot of socializing – and nighttime socializing is how most things get accomplished here.
More...
BY JACK CRISS
DBJ Executive Editor
He’s everywhere.
I’m referring to rock star/international diplomat/new media darling, Bono, lead singer of the Irish rock band U2.
Time was when bad rock musicians (and even good ones) just whined about politics behind the safety of ones Pioneer turntable and eight-track player. Now, however, our culture has entered into a new phase whereby celebrity worship has gone beyond the teenager’s bedroom into the halls of Congress.
Hence we have the always-bespectacled Bono (nee Bubba O’ Connor or something like that) flitting about D.C. as if he were on stage before adoring fans. Now the self-righteous rocker is with Jesse Helms; now with Mikhail Gorbachev, or Tom Daschle. Cool and hip, this pop messiah has even taken his message of third world debt forgiveness to our president, George W. Bush.
More...
|
 |
|
z |
|
|
Delta Development
|
March 1, Issue
|
Mayor Laurence Leyens of Vicksburg
With candor, enthusiasm and inclusion, Leyens is redefining government
 BY
JACK CRISS
DBJ Executive Editor
“Laurence Leyens is the best thing that’s ever happened to Vicksburg.”
You’ll hear this time and time again if you talk to local merchants, industry leaders and ordinary citizens in the city by the River. Chances are, in fact, if you ask anyone in Vicksburg for an opinion about the 37-year old mayor, you need to be prepared for an outpouring of accolades.
In a day and age when there exists rampant suspicion of elected officials, Leyens seems almost an anachronism. The hallmark of his nascent administration is total openness and honesty. In plain view—and quite vocally—Leyens is literally yanking his hometown of Vicksburg into new directions that might have seemed unthinkable only a few short years ago. Yet, in this process, he’s pulling nobody’s chains.
A self-confessed workaholic (he’s on the job seven days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day), this fifth-generation Vicksburg native brings an almost religious zeal to his work. Leyens is out to convert his fellow citizens, the rest of the state and even the nation over to the potential which he sees is in Vicksburg. It would appear he is succeeding at his mission.
More...
Shelby native is Governor’s right hand woman
Armerita Tell brings experience, compassion to job
BY ALAN ROARK
DBJ Contributing Writer
“Every morning I talk to my mother on the phone. She tells me she loves me; to be sure to give something back today; and then she tells me to make sure I look pretty!”
Shelby native Armerita Tell laughs when she tells this story. It may seem quaint to some in the dog-eat-dog world of politics for a woman of position to get words of wisdom from her mother. In truth, however, this revelation from Governor Ronnie Musgrove’s Director of Citizens and Community Services speaks directly to the genuine humbleness of Armerita Tell’s character. She truly embodies the notion of a public servant.
Born and raised in Shelby, MS, Armerita Tell received her college degree from Jackson State University. Upon graduation, she returned to Shelby to work in that town’s school district. It wasn’t long, though, before Tell began her foray into government work.
More...
|
|
