LUY-Development

Category: Regional News

  • Vaccine ‘conspiracy theories’ prompt threats, Dobbs says

    Vaccine ‘conspiracy theories’ prompt threats, Dobbs says

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s top health official said Tuesday that he has received threats from people who are spreading lies about his family as he urges the public to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

    The state has seen a rapid increase in cases since early July, driven by the highly contagious delta variant of the virus and the state’s low vaccination rate. The health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, has been imploring people for months to get vaccinated.

    “I have received some threatening phone calls and want to clarify any confusion there may be with some conspiracy theories going around,” Dobbs wrote on Twitter.

    Dobbs said one lie is that his son, who is also a physician, receives a World Bank-funded kickback when Dobbs urges people to get vaccinated.

    “I get zero $ from promoting vaccination,” Dobbs wrote.

    More than 1,000 out-of-state medical workers were starting to deploy to 50 Mississippi hospitals Tuesday to help with staffing shortages amid the COVID-19 surge. Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said 808 nurses, three certified nurse anesthetists, 22 nurse practitioners, 193 respiratory therapists and 20 paramedics were hired under 60-day contracts that could be extended, if needed.

    The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency awarded contracts to four companies of the 19 that submitted proposals when the state sought medical workers earlier this month. Reeves said the contract employees are being deployed within nine business days from when the state Health Department asked MEMA to seek the help.

    “That, in my view, is an impressive feat,” Reeves said during a news conference Tuesday.

    Mississippi will pay $80 million for the contracts, and Reeves said he expects the federal government to reimburse the state for the entire expense.

    The Army and the Air Force are also each deploying medical contingents to work in Mississippi, with 43 people from each branch.

    The Health Department on Tuesday reported 3,291 new cases of COVID-19 and 111 new deaths from the virus, bringing the state’s coronavirus death total since the start of the pandemic to at least 8,158. Mississippi has a population of nearly 3 million and has reported nearly 417,000 COVID-19 cases since the spring of 2020.

    The state epidemiologist, Dr. Paul Byers, said Tuesday that vaccinations have increased in Mississippi over the past several weeks after hitting a low in early July. The Health Department reported 85,510 people received a first, second or third inoculation during the week that ended Saturday. That’s the largest number in any week since mid-April.

    However, Mississippi still lags behind the national rate: 38% of eligible people in the state are fully vaccinated against COVID- 19, compared to 52% in the U.S.

    The Scarlet Pearl casino on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is requiring all of its more than 800 employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they have a medical condition that precludes vaccination, according to Ben Koff, the casino’s senior vice president of marketing. Koff said employees face a Friday deadline to receive at least the first vaccination, and more than 90% had done so Tuesday.

    He said Scarlet Pearl started its vaccine mandate with its 180 salaried employees, and one person left after declining to get vaccinated. Koff described the mandate as a way of caring for the community.

    “We’re not going to compromise on caring,” Koff said.

    Koff said Scarlet Pearl has been offering on-site vaccinations to employees and their families. Employees are receiving $300 to become fully vaccinated. He said the casino will next month give $500 prizes to 300 customers who are members of the in-house rewards club and can prove they are fully vaccinated.

  • Five puppies safe after three day attempt to rescue them from the bottom of 65-foot well in Washington Parish

    Five puppies safe after three day attempt to rescue them from the bottom of 65-foot well in Washington Parish

    Baton Rouge / louisianaradionetwork.com

    Five puppies are now safe and sound after spending days at the bottom of a 65-foot dry well in Washington Parish. Director of the Humane Society of Louisiana Jeff Dorson said responders were forced to get creative in order to save the five pitbull mix puppies.

    “Because the opening to the well was very narrow, so they couldn’t use much equipment so they had to think and believe it this took several days, from the 18th to the 20th, they were out in the hot sun trying to figure out what would work,” said Dorson.

    Dorson said they tied leashes together to form a type of webbing, enticed puppies with food into the webbing, and pulled them to safety.

    In his 33 years in the field, Dorson said he’s never seen such an operation. Overall Dorson said the puppies are in great shape considering and crews kept them fed and watered throughout the rescue.

    “They’re at the vet clinic and they’re fairly healthy, it’s a miracle all of it’s a miracle. How the property owner even heard them, realized it, we have no idea,” said Dorson.

    The puppies were transported to Mandeville Animal Hospital where they are being treated for parasites and minor skin issues.

    Dorson said the rescue is reminiscent of when several children were tapped in a cave. He’s very relieved the story has a happy ending and grateful for all the local first responders who assisted their crew and provided support, like the Franklinton Fire Department and Washington Parish Sherriff’s Office.

    “If you go to our Facebook page, Humane Society of Louisiana, you’ll actually see a video taken in real-time of them lifting up one of the puppies, extraordinary,” said Dorson.

    All five puppies and their mother who stayed with responders during the three-day rescue once cleared will be transported to a shelter and put up for adoption.

    Humane Society of Louisiana Facebook Page

    Five puppies safe after three day attempt to rescue them from the bottom of 65-foot well in Washington Parish

  • Proof of vaccination or negative test needed for Tiger Stadium entry

    Proof of vaccination or negative test needed for Tiger Stadium entry

    Baton Rouge / louisianaradionetwork.com

    LSU will require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to enter Tiger Stadium for the home opener against McNeese on September 11th.

    LSU Infectious Disease Specialist and Professor of Clinical Medicine Dr. Catherine O’Neal said this added layer of protection means those who are fully vaccinated can feel pretty safe going to the game.

    “If you are a healthy, vaccinated individual and you are going into an open-air environment in what is still the summertime in Louisiana, this is going to be a relatively safe environment,” said O’Neal who added that those who are elderly or immunocompromised should not go to the game even if vaccinated.

    O’Neal said if you are not vaccinated you can go get one today and have some additional protection entering the stadium. For those who choose not to get vaccinated but are otherwise healthy and still chose to go they should know the policy “puts you into a stadium where you have a very low likelihood of getting COVID”.

    “But (the likelihood of getting COVID) is not zero,” said O’Neal.

    Unvaccinated individuals must produce a negative PCR test result that was taken within 72 hours of the game.

    O’Neal said venues that require proof of vaccination or a negative test allow people to get closer to a sense of normalcy while remaining relatively safe.

    “Adding that layer of testing or vaccination is another way to say we are going to keep going and we are going to do this right, but we are not going to stop,” said O’Neal.

    Proof of vaccination or negative test needed for Tiger Stadium entry

  • Livestock medicine doesn’t work against COVID, doctors warn

    Livestock medicine doesn’t work against COVID, doctors warn

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Health Department is warning people not to use livestock medicine to try to treat COVID-19, after poison-control centers received calls about some ingesting it and becoming ill, including two people who were hospitalized.

    Meanwhile, as Mississippi continues seeing a sharp increase in coronavirus cases, state health officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs is reminding residents of an order he issued last year under which residents who contract the virus can be fined or jailed if they don’t quarantine.

    His tweet about the order on Friday received both support and criticism.

    Mississippi’s Department of Health reported Monday that 7,249 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the state over the weekend. Department officials also announced that 56 more people had died of the coronavirus, bringing the death toll since the start of the pandemic to 8,047.

    At least 70% of recent calls to the Mississippi Poison Control Center have been related to ingestion of livestock or animal formulations of ivermectin purchased at livestock supply centers, Mississippi Department of Health officials said last week. They did not say exactly how many calls were received.

    Some symptoms associated with ivermectin toxicity are rash, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, neurological disorders and potentially severe hepatitis requiring hospitalization.

    Most callers — 85% — have had mild symptoms, health department officials said. One person was advised to see a physician because of the high dosage they said they took.

    “Patients should be advised to not take any medications intended to treat animals and should be instructed to only take ivermectin as prescribed by their physician,” State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers wrote in a memo Friday. “Animal drugs are highly concentrated for large animals and can be highly toxic in humans.”

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved ivermectin in both people and animals for some parasitic worms and for head lice and skin conditions. It has not approved its use in treating or preventing COVID-19 in humans.

    For those who contract the virus, failure to quarantine, if ordered to do so by a health officer, is punishable by a fine of $500 to $5,000, imprisonment for up to five years, or both, under Dobbs’ order.

    Responding to questions Monday from The Associated Press, Health Department communications director Liz Sharlot said the COVID-19 isolation order, which applies to schools as well as individuals, has never been enforced. “This is an option if necessary,” Sharlot said. She said enforcement is up to local law enforcement officers.

    More than 20,000 students were quarantined for exposure to COVID-19 the week of Aug. 9-13, according to the most recent data released by the department of health. On Monday, the Greenville Public School District in the Mississippi Delta announced it was quarantining its entire high school because of confirmed cases among students.

     

  • Police looking for two men

    Police looking for two men

    Police are looking for help finding two men believed to be behind a pair of shootings in Natchez that left one dead. 23-year old Jadarrius Reed is charged with murder, accused of shooting Kelvin Abraham in his car on Martin Luther King, Junior Boulevard back on the 5th. He died at the hospital. In a separate case, 28-year old Khadijah Mosby is wanted for a shots-fired incident on Lafitte Street on July 28th. He faces several charges, including possession of a firearm by a felon, shooting into a motor vehicle, and shooting into an occupied dwelling counts. If you know anything in either case you’re asked to call Natchez PD or Southwest Mississippi Regional Crime Stoppers.

  • Heat wave brings scorching temperatures to a dozen states

    Heat wave brings scorching temperatures to a dozen states

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Cooling centers have opened in Mississippi’s capital city as a heat wave scorches temperatures in several states in the South and Midwest.

    Heat advisories Monday cover parts of 10 states, including Kansas, Missouri and Illinois in the Midwest, according to the National Weather Service.

    In the South, parts of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi were under heat advisories, as were slivers of Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Kentucky.

    In parts of Mississippi, the heat index could reach 115 degrees, forecasters said. The heat index is generally what the temperature will feel like to people.

    At least two cooling centers were open in Jackson, Mississippi, WAPT-TV reported.

    “I was so happy to hit that air, it wasn’t funny,” said Linda Nolden, Jackson’s community service coordinator, who is managing one of the cooling centers that opened over the weekend.

  • Saints alter season ticket refund policy amid scrutiny

    Saints alter season ticket refund policy amid scrutiny

    NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Amid public and political scrutiny, the New Orleans Saints have adopted a new refund policy allowing fans to relinquish their season tickets and get their money back.

    The Saints plan to fill the 73,000-seat Superdome for home games this season but have said that, in accordance with various local and state protocols, only fans who wear masks and show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test 72 hours before a game may attend.

    The Saints previously stated that fans who had chosen to maintain their ticket accounts for this season would not be eligible for refunds as they had been in 2020, when government restrictions prevented large crowds in the dome.

    Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican who opposes mask mandates, called on state officials Wednesday to withhold funding for ongoing improvements of the state-owned Superdome unless the Saints agreed to provide refunds.

    The Saints, in turn, announced the new refund policy on Thursday, noting that just 120 account holders previously requested refunds — and that anyone else who wants a refund must make a request by Tuesday.

    “Last season, we made the decision to offer refunds or rollover accounts to the following season because we knew government regulations would not allow us to fulfill a full season of attendance,” Saints spokesman Greg Bensel said. “This is not the case this season. Based on current city and state regulations allowing full capacity, we did not plan to offer refunds for season tickets, as has been our standard policy.”

    However, Bensel noted, the Saints have received “thousands of calls” from fans wanting to purchase season tickets made available by current account holders seeking refunds.

    “Our preference is to have these loyal fans in the seats” rather than see other fans who’d previously requested refunds sell their tickets to visiting fans on the secondary market, Bensel added.

    Bensel also noted that the Saints will allow ticketed fans who show up to the Superdome without proof of vaccination or a negative test to gain entry to games if they receive a free vaccination being offered at the dome with help from Ochsner Health System, one of the club’s chief sponsors.

    Fans age 12 and under will not have to provide proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter.

    The club also has said that Superdome COVID-19 protocols could be eased during the season if the rates of infections drop. Recently, however, they have spiked.

    Louisiana had the nation’s highest rate of new coronavirus infections over the last week per capita, and its hospitals are breaking records daily for the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19. The state health department reported 3,022 COVID-19 patients in the hospital Wednesday, 91% of them not fully vaccinated.

    “We are hopeful that the city mandate is temporary and we remain optimistic that as vaccination rates increase, this policy will no longer be necessary,” Bensel said.

  • Grambling student chosen by White House as HBCU Scholar

    Grambling student chosen by White House as HBCU Scholar

    GRAMBLING, La. (KSLA) – A student at Grambling State University (GSU) has been chosen as one of 86 HBCU Scholars across the country. It’s part of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

    Jordan Braithwaite, a sophomore at GSU, is being recognized for her achievements in academics, leadership, civic engagement, and more.

    “The students who hold this honor are committed to creating a more just and equitable society through their civic engagement,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “They are leaders and change-makers in their communities, and I cannot wait to learn from them as they serve as ambassadors both for the White House Initiative and their institutions of higher education.”

    The White House’s initiative provides scholars with info about the value of education and a number of networking opportunities. Scholars also maintain relationships with community organizations and public and private partners.

    “This honor will involve me serving as a student ambassador for the White House Initiative where I will ensure that information, resources, and opportunities are distributed to my fellow classmates at Grambling State University,” Braithwaite said.  “Additionally, I will assess and articulate my professional aspirations as well as the needs of my institution, to determine the many ways that the initiative can support me, my fellow classmates, and Grambling State.”

    Braithwaite is majoring in history with a concentration in law and society.

    “I am overjoyed and extremely grateful to not only being selected as a Scholar, but to be recognized on a platform of this magnitude for my academic achievements, campus leadership, and civic engagement,” Braithwaite said. “I also must give a special thank you to President Gallot for nominating me for this honorable position, and a thank you to my mentor, Ayeisha Gipson, for consistently motivating me to work hard to excel and be selected for honorable programs such as this.”

    Braithwaite is from St. Louis, Mo. She was chosen as the Freshman Class President, and is the Miss NAACP-elect for 2021-22. She will also serve as a resident assistant during the fall semester. During the summer, she’s completing an internship with the Greenwood Project, a non-profit organization aiming to build a diversity pipeline for minority students to enter the financial industry.

    Braithwaite has also been invited to attend the 2021 Annual National HBCU Week Conference, which has workshops designed to help HBCU students develop skills in leadership, professional development, and workforce development. Registration information is available here.

    https://www.knoe.com/2021/08/18/grambling-student-chosen-by-white-house-hbcu-scholar/

  • Town eyes former health building for police, fire department

    Town eyes former health building for police, fire department

    MAGNOLIA, Miss. (AP) — A south Mississippi town may soon be chasing crooks and dousing fires from a former health center.

    The Enterprise-Journal of McComb reports that Magnolia Mayor Tammy Witherspoon is asking Pike County supervisors to let the town take over the former Magnolia Health Center building. The town would like to turn the county-owned building into its police and fire headquarters.

    Supervisors voiced preliminary approval of the idea on Friday.

    Witherspoon and Magnolia Police Chief Sonya Woodall said the current police station is deteriorating while the health center building is in good shape.

    Witherspoon said she secured funding to upgrade the police and fire department when serving as a state senator. Officials earlier looked at a vacant garment factory but decided it was too big.

    Woodall said there’s room to build a secure sallyport for prisoners in the rear of the health department building.

    County attorney Wayne Dowdy said he saw no legal problems with the request.

  • Vicksburg District announces new chief of Project Resources Management Branch

    Vicksburg District announces new chief of Project Resources Management Branch

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 August 16, 2021

    USACE Vicksburg District announces new chief of Project Resources Management Branch

    VICKSBURG, Miss. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District has selected Jason Mooney as Chief of Project Resources Management Branch (PRMB).

    In this role, Mooney will lead the way of carrying out PRMB’s mission, which is to provide quality engineering and other professional services for flood damage reduction, hydropower production, recreation management, water supply, natural resource stewardship, and environmental compliance activities. They also manage all programs to ensure consistent and thorough implementation of policy, guidance, procedures, and programs as directed by higher headquarters in such a manner that meets or exceeds our customer’s expectations.

    Mooney began his USACE career in the Design Branch in 2003 after graduating from the University of Mississippi.  He worked as a design engineer in Levee & Drainage Section until 2013.  During that time, he worked on a multitude of Mississippi River Levee enlargement designs as well as several channel improvement projects.  He also served as technical manager for the Viper Program, which included the designs of numerous levees, flood walls, and flood gates in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, which was developed for the New Orleans District after Hurricane Katrina.

    In July 2013, Mooney was selected as Chief, Inspection & Dam Safety Section in the Geotechnical Branch.  In this position, he was responsible for executing the Vicksburg District’s Dam Safety Program, which included performing formal inspections and assessments and carrying out dam safety maintenance for all dams, locks and dams, pumping plants, and numerous large flood control drainage structures in order to ensure that structural integrity was intact for each project.  He was also responsible for executing the Relief Well Maintenance Program for the District to ensure that the relief wells located along the levee toes operated at peak performance during high water and flood events.

    Mooney replaces outgoing PRMB Chief Johnny Kiser, who will retire December of this year. Kiser and Mooney will work together over the next four months to ensure a smooth transition.

    Project Resources Management Branch has O&M authority for 10 lakes in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana and nearly 2,000 miles of levees.  Overall project missions include flood control, hydropower, recreation, environmental stewardship, and water supply.  Other missions include carrying out the 208 and 408 permit programs for alteration requests to federally constructed projects and coordination with local, state, and federal partners/stakeholders regarding use of public lands.

    The USACE Vicksburg District is engineering solutions to the nation’s toughest challenges. The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana that holds nine major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline Mississippi River levees. The district is engaged in hundreds of projects and employs approximately 1,100 personnel.