LETTER FROM TUNICA: MARCH 1,2023 All this talk about building a new public high school looks likely to fade away for at least a couple of years. Civic leader James Dunn, a member of Tunica County’s Board of Supervisors, found little support for his ambitious idea of jump-starting construction plans.

After more than three years as governor, Gov. Tate Reeves now has a major road building plan, just in time for his reelection campaign.

We, the people, thank former President Gerald R. Ford for proclaiming the entire month of February as Black African American History Month. Prior to this we celebrated one week in February as Negro History Week, which was the second week in the month of February.

My heart is haunted Not by ghosts or goblins, Or any such ephemeral creatures. No, my heart is haunted by regrets. Regrets for what I didn’t do but should have. Regrets for what I wouldn’t do but could have. Regrets for things I did that gave pain or sorrow. Regrets for what I didn’t see that needed seeing, For calls I didn’t hear that needed hearing, Words I didn’t speak that needed saying, For emotions I shut down that needed feeling. I grieve for paths I should have followed but didn’t trace. Regrets for people I’ve left behind or missed the chance to know, Because I let other things become more important for the moment. Regrets for time I wasted, sunsets I didn’t see, flowers I didn’t smell. So many experiences un-lived and now regretted. A priest could exorcise a demon or a ghost. Garlic could stave off a vampire. But nothing can change the past, And so, I must face the fact that regret will always inhabit my world, Haunting my heart. -- Mary Beth Magee

Over here in Tunica County, at the crossroads of Interstate 69 and U.S. Highway 61, you can see the boom taking shape down the road and up over the bluff.

Gov. Tate Reeves’ office listed these projects as part of the $1.3 billion economic stimulus: North Mississippi • Tippah County- $150,086,966 for new alignment of MS 15 from Union County Line to 1 mile north of MS 4 at Ripley • Tippah County- $45,000,000 for new alignment of SR 2 from existing SR 15 to SR 15 Bypass • Lafayette County- $150,000,000 for new alignment of MS 7 from MS 9 to .2 mile north of SR 6 • DeSoto County- $124,794,895 for widening of I-55 from Church Road to MS 302 • Total Funding Requested (Northern Commission District): $469,881,861 Central Mississippi •Neshoba County- $65,000,000 for widening of SR 19 from MS 492 to Tucker • Warren County- $10,300,000 for interchange improvement of Flowers Interchange • Yazoo County- $49,419,865 for pavement of US 49 to Bentonia to Yazoo City • Leflore County- $20,250,000 for the pavement of US 82, .24 miles West of SR 7 (Itta Bena) to .34 miles West of US 49E • Madison County- $65,000,000 for widening of I-55 from SR 463 to Gluckstadt • Lauderdale County- $10,000,000 for widening of US 80, Jimmy Rodgers Parkway to Russell • Rankin County- $55,000,000 for widening ofSR25fromGrant’s Ferry to SR 471 (including interchange improvements at 471) • Total Funding Requested (Central Commission District): $274,969,865 South Mississippi • Harrison County- $43,014,474 for pavement rehab and widening of US 49 O’Neal Road to School Road • Covington County- $20,000,000 for pavement restoration of US 84 East of Collins • Jackson County– $60,000,000 for widening of US 90 from SR 609 to Dolphin Drive • Lincoln County- $30,000,000 for US 84 rubblization of concrete section from US 51 to SR 184 • Walthall County- $6,000,000 for reconstruction of SR 48 at Davo Creek • Franklin County- $25,000,000 for reconstruction and slide repair of US 84 near Roxie • Forrest County- $64,530,000 for I-59 interchange improvements at I-59 and US 11Phase 1 • Forrest County- $111,900,000 for I-59 interchange improvements at I-59 and US 98Phase 2 • Total Funding Requested (Southern Commission District): $360,444,474 Proposed Funding for Existing Projects • Union County- $17,585,773 for widening, grading, bridging, and paving of SR 15 from the Pontotoc County Line to Kings Creek south of New Albany • Washington County- $35,860,000 for paving US 82 Greenville Bypass from MS River Bridge to SR 1 • Pike County- $7,800,000 for rubblization of concrete section from US 98/SR 24 to Summit and interchange improvements • Hancock/Harrison Counties- $24,000,000 for widening of I-10 from Diamondhead to Wolf River The proposed $85,245,773 for these existing projects will free up funds, providing MDOT with further flexibility to fund additional infrastructure projects.

BlackHistoryMonth provides the opportunity to reflect on events of national prominence and create a connection to our current context. The year 1973 marked the end of the draft Army and the transition to the all-volunteer force for the U.S.

Soft silence rests now in a hollowing stump. A once magnificent hickory left to decay. Century’s old prayers buried deep within its roots. Enduring faith of the dearly departed. Fabled as being a simpler time, if blood and sweat were ever simple. Lingering days and cursory nights. Once the mighty tree stood in solitude. Its rich bark layered like armor. Thick callus upon callus. Strong, wide branches reached up toward the heavens while the foliage umbrella cast shade below. A modest farmer walked past the earthly monument daily. Through each season of sowing and reaping. To and from the expectant fields. Stopping for a short time of prayer at morning’s new dawn and the quiet evening’s dusk. In abundance and drought, his devotion remained the same. Time advanced with each transient season. The maintained farmland slowly returned to an unruly thicket. Natural invaders reclaiming all that they once owned. The robust hickory forfeiting its individuality and disappearing into the woods. All that remains is a meager stump, seemingly ordinary and unremarkable. Thousands of prayers whispered in its presence, still palpable today.

If by chance you run across Tate Reeves, Brandon Presley or anyone else trying to win election for state office in Mississippi, ask a simple question. How will you create good jobs in Mississippi? Politicians in Jackson talk these days about potential tax cuts made possible by what they call sound fiscal policy.

Kevin McCarthy reportedly promised many things to Republican hardliners en route to clinching his job as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.