Year 2009 2010

Month
JANUARY 405,289.88 448,787.31
FEBRUARY 422,317.42 420,263.64
MARCH 427,565.96 448,312.25
APRIL 428,268.92 450,470.94
MAY 387,521.75 423,737.02
JUNE 416,409.09 426,622.12

Yearly Totals

$5,129,757.10 $2,618,193.28

Monthly Average for Year

$427,479.76 $436,365.55

% Change 09-10

JANUARY 10.73%
FEBRUARY -0.49%
MARCH 4.85%
APRIL 5.18%
MAY 9.35%
JUNE 2.45%

Movie: Percy Jackson & the olympians:  the lightning thief

Showtime: Sunset

Bring your family, friends, blankets, lawn chairs, and picnic baskets!

Pictured above is Pat May, President of Kiwanis of Starkville. Kiwanis partners with the Center by providing funding and volunteers to promote literacy to children 0 to 5 years old. The Club sponsors “WEE READ” Program by providing reading materials and educational prizes to children in the 24 licensed pre-schools, private day care and in-home childcare centers in Oktibbeha County. Each month 3 facilities are selected to encourage parents to read to their children during the month. Each facility receives 5 books, each child that participates receives 1 book, and the 3 top readers receive a book and an educational toy that promotes reading.

Any parent of a preschooler 0-5 years of age may participate by calling 320-4607
Oktibbeha County Families First Resource Center is a program of Starkville School District’s Department of Family Centered Programs and funded by the MS State Department of Human Services.

Mississippi Highway Patrol officials have released the names of those involved in Tuesday afternoon’s fatality crash on U.S. 82.
The crash, which occurred about 4:15 p.m. on U.S. 82 just east of the Polly Bell Road intersection saw the collision of a westbound yellow 2007 Mack tractor-trailer with a green 1998 Dodge pickup from behind, causing it to crash into a blue Ford farm tractor from behind.
However, the specific circumstances of the accident remain under investigation, MHP spokesman Brian Mobley said.

Read the article from Starkville Daily News.

Two Starkville and Oktibbeha County law enforcement agencies will receive a funding boost from the federal government for equipment purchases
The Starkville Police Department and Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department are among those sharing 20 grants worth more than $630,000 that have been approved to help city and county law enforcement agencies in Mississippi upgrade law enforcement equipment, U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., announced Wednesday.

Read the article from Starkville Daily News.

The Dispatch will not print a Monday paper, and our offices will be closed Monday.

Banks, government: Most local banks will be closed on Monday. Woodforest Bank in Walmart will operate with reduced hours, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. City and county government offices will also be closed.

Schools, services: The Starkville Public Library, the Starkville Electric Department, 4-County Electric Power Association, Mississippi State University, East Mississippi Community College, Mississippi State University and area school districts will be closed Monday.

Trash, mail: Trash pickups will resume Tuesday. Post offices will be closed Monday.

Columbus Air Force Base: Most offices will be closed. The Base Exchange and Commissary will be closed.

Aurora Flight Sciences has been awarded a contract by the United States Department of Defense to build an unmanned vehicle — the Orion Unmanned Aerial System , which is developed at Aurora’s Columbus facility — for the Medium Altitude Global ISR and Communications program.

The vehicle, which reportedly can stay aloft for days at a time, has been under design and development for several years at Aurora’s Columbus location, which currently employs about 60 engineers and technicians.

As a result of the contract, Aurora officials said employment at the facility likely will double in support of the program.

“This contract builds on Aurora’s leading role in unmanned aerial vehicle development and will be another great opportunity to provide value to the Armed Services,” said Aurora CEO John Langford. “We look forward to supporting (the Department of Defense) and working with the U.S. Air Force to deliver this innovative capability to the warfighter.”

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

More than 500 people took to the streets of Starkville Wednesday for the city’s seventh annual Get Swept Up event.

Donned in yellow T-shirts, dozens of groups spread out around town and picked up trash, pulled weeds, trimmed hedges and performed other odds and ends to help clean up the city in anticipation of Mississippi State University’s first home football game of the season, set to take place Saturday against the University of Memphis.

“Beautification is important to anything you love, and we love this community,” said Tasha Hill, special events coordinator for the Greater Starkville Development Partnership and one of the organizers of the Get Swept Up event. “Whatever you love, you take care of.”

Hill was thrilled to see hundreds of volunteers throughout town, from high school and college students to employees of local businesses to everyday citizens.

“We are very pleased with the turnout,” Hill said. “It’s good to see this many people helping clean up our community.”

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

Daniel L. Gardner

Guest Columnist

Those on the Left really do just want us to go away. You might remember President Obama’s unscripted, unteleprompted rant to his critics last August to “Get out of the way!”

Glenn Beck hosted the “Restoring Honor” rally in Washington, D.C., this past weekend, delivering on his promise the rally would not be political.

Before Beck and those rallying to restore honor could utter their first prayer for America, New York Times (NYT) writer, Bob Herbert wrote, “America is better than Glenn Beck. For all of his celebrity, Mr. Beck is an ignorant, divisive, pathetic figure.” Herbert further opined, “Facts and reality mean nothing to Beck. And there is no road too low for him to slither upon.” Remember, Herbert had the audacity to write this BEFORE the event, before considering facts or reality.

After reading Herbert’s rant, I wanted to take a shower.

The day before the rally, Charles Blow, another writer for the NYT opined similar criticism of Beck and the rally, demonstrating the Left really do just want anyone who expresses opposition or criticism to shut up, regardless of whether they are praying or not.

For those of you who didn’t attend the rally or watch it on TV, rally leaders and participants prayed, sang religious songs, and preached that Americans should begin restoring honor in our nation by first looking within ourselves individually, each one of us assessing his or her relationship with God.

This message was repeated time and time again by every speaker, including Dr. Aleveda King, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s niece. More than 240 clergy representing Christians, Jews, and Muslims filled the stage praying for America.

But, the rally also included a tribute to our military, raising more than $5 million to date for Special Operations Warriors Foundation, a non-profit organization that gives scholarships to children of Special Ops troops who are killed in training or action.

Beck and those at the rally also honored three Americans for their extraordinary leadership and contributions, awarding three medallions symbolizing faith, hope, and charity.

Pastor Charles Lewis “C.L.” Jackson from Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, received the first medallion for his Faith. Baseball great Albert Pujols, who credited his faith in Jesus Christ for his heart to serve others, received the merit award for Hope. And, Jon M. Huntsman, author of “Winners Never Cheat” and founder of the Huntsman Cancer Institute received the award for Charity..

Even while conservatives rallied to pray for God’s blessing of America, honored our truest heroes in the military and their families, and recognized the many contributions given by three of America’s most admired citizens, Liberals plugged their ears and kept shouting, “Shut up! And, get out of the way!”

Glenn Beck routinely pokes fun at himself on his TV show on FOX News Channel. He readily admits he’s a recovering alcoholic who’s taken only one college course, and whose past is littered with many failures.

Beck challenged Americans to reappraise individual and corporate relationships with our Creator.

Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist who lives in Starkville, MS. You may contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com, or interact with him on the Clarion-Ledger feature blog site http://www.clarionledger.com/section/blogs06 . Gardner’s columns are also featured on http://dannygardner.opinioneditorial.com/ and http://www.msdigitaldaily.com/2/Opinion/CAT6/Daniel%20Gardner/127/default.aspx .

His column does not reflect the views of Starkville-Now.com.

Property Values
More than just a pleasant amenity, the walkability of cities translates directly into increases in home values. Homes located in more walkable neighborhoods—those with a mix of common daily shopping and social destinations within a short distance—command a price premium over otherwise similar homes in less walkable areas. Houses with the above-average levels of walkability command a premium of about $4,000 to $34,000 (4 percent to 15 percent) over houses with just average levels of walking access. Another way to say this is more people want to live in places where they can at least choose to walk and will pay a premium for it. Livability is about having options.

Economic Development
In a growing number of communities, bicycling and walking are considered as indicators of a community’s livability, a factor that has a profound impact on attracting businesses and workers as well as tourism. In cities and towns where people can regularly be seen out bicycling and walking, there is a palpable sense that these are safe and friendly places to live and visit. Wide sidewalks in business communities offer an opportunity for trees, landscaping and other amenities that create an inviting place for customers to shop and do business. When safe facilities are provided for pedestrians and bicyclists, more people are able to be productive, active members of society and businesses can load and unload goods more easily.

In Oktibbeha County, 28% of residents live below the poverty level. 62% of these residents live within the Starkville city limits. Data show the people in need of transportation in this area are primarily persons with handicaps, the elderly, and persons with low income needing to travel to Starkville for work or errands. Ability Works—a major employer in the Starkville Industrial Park that trains disadvantaged persons for future employment—noted that several individuals who have left their program cannot find work because of transportation problems and over 1/3 of their employees do not own cars. It is significant to note that every major employment center reports having at least a handful of employees who are currently getting to work without personal vehicles. Starkville is failing many of its citizens who least can afford it. Livability is about having options, like an option to get to work.

Safety
Pedestrian injury is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 5 – 14. Motor vehicle crashes account for approximately 80 percent of all childhood pedestrian deaths. Sidewalks separate pedestrians from motorist; Sidewalks not only provide physical safety to pedestrians, but they provide security to the neighborhood. Police officers will tell you that as people begin to walk the neighborhood they act as a deterrent to crime. Walkers are the eyes and ears of a neighborhood. Livability is about having options, like the option for children to not play in the street, like the option to meet neighbors and build community.

Quality of Life
Transportation decisions can have significant equity impacts. In an auto-dependent culture, where the majority of the transportation infrastructure is devoted to people in cars, the people who cannot drive are unable to get around adequately. Such people are often unable to access jobs, schools, and shopping areas. Children, the handicapped, the elderly, and the poor are particularly affected. According to the Consumer Expenditure Survey, households in the lowest income bracket spend 39 %t of their income on transportation, most of it on vehicles. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, over half of Oktibbeha County residents who are likely to feel the strain of forced automobile ownership are Starkville residents. The highest concentrations of these residents live in the central part of the city.

Adequate mobility is essential for people to participate in society as citizens, employees, consumers and community members. It affects people’s ability to obtain education, employment, medical service and other critical goods. Automobile-dependent development is discriminatory against those members of society who cannot drive or cannot afford to own a car: the elderly, children, and the poor.
Sidewalks in rural areas give children a place to walk to the school bus or to a friend’s home and for healthy, daily physical activity. A good system of sidewalks may allow older pedestrians who no longer drive to walk to services and socialize in their community, while offering a continued independent lifestyle. Sidewalks allow parents to stroll their babies and pet owners can enjoy an evening walk with their dog without having to dodge cars. Livability is about having options, everyone having options.

Health
The public health benefits of simple activities like walking and bicycling are well documented. Regular exercise combats obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and has also been shown in some people to combat some forms of depression. It can also lower health care costs by keeping people healthy. Diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure are obesity related chronic illnesses that lead to seven of ten deaths in the United States and 75 percent of our national health care costs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared an obesity epidemic among adults and children, noting that creating bikeable and walkable communities are an important first step in combating obesity. Since 1981 when the CDC began keeping records on obesity, MS has had the highest level of obesity in the nation (currently 34.4%). Oktibbeha registered 32.8% in adult obesity.

Health experts agree that walking is one of the simplest and most effective forms of exercise and can be done by most people. Mississippi First Lady Marsha Barbour is sponsoring Let’s Go Walking, Mississippi. First Lady Michelle Obama joins her in this call. One of the top priorities of Mrs. Obama is the Let’s Move! campaign, where she has the goal to end childhood obesity within a generation, so children who are born today grow up at a healthy weight. Currently, 44% (47% Male and 42% Female) of MS teens are overweight. Providing the requisite infrastructure so citizens of all ages can go walking and get moving is a governmental responsibility. Livability is about having options, like the option to not have heart disease.

The health, safety, environmental, and economic benefits make the installation of sidewalks and the current sidewalk ordinance worthy of communitywide support. Starkville is a small town with very few sidewalks. We must start somewhere. Most new sidewalks will labeled sidewalks to nowhere today but not tomorrow. The best way to eliminate sidewalks to nowhere is to build more sidewalks – not less.

Dr. Bethany Stich
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science and Public Administration
Mississippi State University