A lot has been said, especially here in the Delta, concerning the forthcoming changes set to occur in congressional redistricting. No doubt, a lot more will be said. New political territories will certainly reopen old political wounds, as the jockeying for position gets underway. Because Mississippi will lose one congressman, 200,000 people must now be drawn into the 2nd district under the new guidelines. Almost anyway you slice this, the majority of these new voters will be white.

BY JACK CRISS DBJ Executive Editor

With the recent purchase of the 12,000-circulation Delta Democrat Times in Greenville, MS, Emmerich Newspapers owner Wyatt Emmerich has added another publication to an already impressive regional roster. More importantly, the 42-year old entrepreneur has continued a tradition started in the 1920’s by his grandfather. The story of Wyatt Emmerich, and his grandfather and father, is truly one of the inspiration in the annals of Mississippi business history.

BY ROBERT MCFARLAND, JR. DBJ Contributing Writer

On the afternoon of April 7, over 100 attended an official ceremony recognizing the Winterville Indian Mounds (and museum) just north of Greenville as a national historic landmark. Elbert Hilliard, Director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, presided over the event.
“I am very gratified how the people of Greenville, Mayor Paul Artman’s office, The Greenville Garden Club, the Winterville Mound’s Committee and so many others have contributed to giving Winterville Mounds a new look and a new beginning,” says Eleanor Humphreys, branch director.

BY JACK CRISS DBJ Executive Editor

The old saying is that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Whoever made this apt statement could have easily been talking about modern welfare as we know it in the United States.
At one time in our nation’s history, if you were down on your luck, or suffered some misfortune through no fault of your own, neighbors or private charities came through to help. Assistance was not namelessly legislated as became the case. People were usually only too happy to help their fellow man in times of distress. These days are almost long forgotten, as now your tax money is distributed far and wide to the anonymous disenfranchised from Somalia to Watts.

BY DON B. JAMISON DBJ Contributing Writer

When Janie and Jerry Hendrick heard opportunity knock in 1990, they opened the door to a business that has doors opening all over the Delta. Publishers of two popular real estate guides, the Hendricks have founded a successful small business that can be operated out of their home while providing a valuable service to real estate agents and prospective home-buyers alike.

BY SHELLY CRUNK DBJ Contributing Writer

What began three years ago as an attempt to maintain rail service for existing industry has become a model of how to effectively get things done.
Then-rail operator ADM, which handled sixty percent of the rail business in Coahoma County, notified the Industrial Authority and Chamber of Commerce that it was going to terminate service. Coahoma County Administrator Hugh Jack Stubbs heard about the impending closure at a Chamber meeting, and reported back to the board of supervisors at their next meeting. He was instructed to immediately make provisions that would keep Cooper Tire in business.

BY SHELLEY CRUNK DBJ Contributing Writer

An open house and public meeting was held March 12 in Benoit on the I-69 Mississippi River bridge crossing. A similar meeting was held in McGehee, Ark. the day before.
Representatives from the Mississippi Department of Transportation, Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, Federal Highway Administration and HNTB Corporation of Kansas City, Mo. were on hand to discuss the various issues related to the proposed Great River Bridge and I-69.

Every parking space was full. A hint of excitement filled the air. People were laughing and greeting their neighbors and friends. Wondering eyes took in the size and scope of the building and grounds.
Bunched shoulder to shoulder, people began to drift through the facility to see for themselves; Panola County’s new medical facility, Tri-Lakes Medical Center was a reality.

BY ANDREA ZALE DBJ Contributing Writer

Karen McKay opened her business Secretary By Design in February of this year out of her home in Greenwood. McKay says that “the objective of my business is to ease the pressure of office or personal overload by helping people with their projects.”
McKay is a pleasure to talk with and she is genuinely interested in helping people plan successful events and complete projects. The services that she provides are wide-ranging, and just because something isn’t listed on her extensive brochure doesn’t mean that she wouldn’t be willing to work with clients to help them complete whatever tasks might be necessary for the project at hand.

BY SHELLEY CRUNK DBJ Contributing Writer

Eagle Academy director Joe Johnson sums up his school’s mission in simple words: “Teach ‘em how to fish, not just to know the fisherman.”
This Mound Bayou music school teaches far more than notes and chords. The school provides area youth with a general music education, while simultaneously exposing them to the music and media industry and its broad spectrum of career opportunities. Johnson wants his students to understand that it’s not just the singers and videos they see on television that comprise the music industry. He wants them to understand the many options available to them “behind the curtains”. “What’s not seen makes what they see,” he explains.

BY NANCY COTTEN HIRST DBJ Contributing Editor

Like so many other Delta communities, the Greenville/Washington County area has been hit hard in the past year by closures of companies affected by the newer forms of international competition and trade relationships. While these problems affect the entire country, and probably will for some time yet to come, they have hit the Delta particularly hard recently due to the types of businesses being affected.

BY JACK CRISS DBJ Executive Editor

In a time when every town and community is busy positioning itself for the tourist dollar, Bill Seratt and the Washington County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau has a unique edge in all of the jockeying: The Delta, of course. As executive director of the Washington County CVB, Seratt takes pride in the part of the country he represents. He even marvels at the interests of some of the visitors to the area, noting things most natives take for granted.
“There’s a particular fascination with cotton!” Seratt laughs. “It’s absolutely amazing. A lot of people will just hop in their car and drive to the Delta in order to see what cotton looks like.”

BY DON B. JAMISON DBJ Contributing Writer

Why the Delta?
When the phrase “legal center” or “government center” comes to mind, few would initially consider the Delta a part of that world. But for an increasing number of lawyers in the state, the Delta is more than home, it’s the place where practices thrive without the personal sacrifice of home life and family life that careers in larger markets sometimes demand.

BY ALLEN ROARK DBJ Contributing Writer

Where does one begin? That is the question facing any who visits the beautiful and booming river city of Memphis, TN. In a widely diverse mix of traditional gentility and modern convenience, Memphis has reinvented itself to begin the millennium and is now viewed as a model metropolis for the “New South.”

The cotton market shuffle continues, up, down and nowhere. However, we did get a tease recently as old crop reached to within 12 points of 50 cents, a first since March 27. This week’s price action has the makings of a bottom in old crop as prices gave their first hint of breaking the downtrend that started back in early December. Old crop prices appear to be protecting a 46-cent bottom in July. Doing so would allow for a test back to the 50-cent mark.