Heartbreaking

Chemicals from a methamphetamine dump exploded in the face of a 9-year-old boy, leaving him virtually blind in both eyes.

"I just never dreamed this could happen," Mona Leissa Polk said as she cradled her son, Isaiah. "He's been so strong through this. He hasn't cried or even complained once. He's my hero."

Isaiah, along with three friends, 6-year-old Kaimen Lowery, 8-year-old Noel Jones and 9-year-old Wendell Williams were playing in the woods behind the Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer park they live in last week.

The family is without insurance. Polk said she has applied for Medicaid, but with medical bills already totaling more that $10,000 she's afraid it will not be enough.

Anyone wishing to assist the Polk family can visit any Hancock Bank and make a donation to the Isaiah Polk Benefit Fund.

Polk and Isaiah leave for Jackson today to explore the possibility of corneal transplants in an effort to save his vision.

"I want to be a doctor," Isaiah said. "And I've always loved science. Somehow, I won't let this stop me."

Reporter Cherie Ward can be reached at (228) 934-1442.
You can read the full story in The Mississippi Press.

St. Martin Upper Elementary

Students, teachers and faculty at St. Martin Upper Elementary School will receive more than $4,000 in new books and 10 quilts today as part of a service-based project fueled by caring students.

The children of Cypress Ridge Elementary School in Clermont, Fla., set out to help the students of St. Martin through Quilts to Books, a program designed to raise money and educate students. The program began last year, said St. Martin teacher Terrie Polma.

"The school contacted us and said they wanted to help," Polma said. "That is really how all this got started."

Read the rest in The Sun Herald.

Felony conviction could ruin security guard's life

George Stevenson is facing more than a felony record. If the 33-year-old security guard and bail bondsman who was arrested Monday for carrying a gun into Arlington Elementary is convicted, he could lose everything he's worked for in his life. "It took me 10 years to get to where I am today," Stevenson said. "If they convict me, it's all gone." Stevenson was released on $10,000 bond Wednesday after appearing in Jackson County Circuit Court. He is charged with felony possession of a weapon on school property and misdemeanor trespassing. He was arrested by Pascagoula police officers after pursuing Steven McCuller into the school. Stevenson, a security guard at Eastward Townhomes, believed McCuller may have been trying to break into an apartment.

Let's use some common sense here, Stevenson was doing his JOB, he doesn't deserve to be convicted of a felony.

Fishy Contributions

A $5,000 campaign contribution from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to Gov. Haley Barbour is raising eyebrows among some who are protesting the tribe's proposed casino resort in Jackson County.

Barbour has promised to veto the tribe's proposed casino resort in Jackson County, this seems like a blatant attempt to win him over.

Barbour's acceptance of the Choctaws' money also did not impress Mississippi Sierra Club boss Louie Miller. Club members are protesting the potential environmental effects a resort could have on the area, which is near wetlands and Old Fort Bayou.

Jackson County voters turned down gaming in a 1990 vote --

Say NO to Gambling In Jackson County

At a public hearing in October 2006, about 500 people protested the Choctaws' plan, including pastors, environmentalists and Harrison County businesses and casinos. Others worried about increased traffic and crime a casino might bring, and whether such a resort would benefit the county.

A public hearing that was held on VERY short notice. And note the area they want to build on is in the same area Ocean Springs is having such a hard time getting environmental permits to build their sports complex.

The Choctaws, who are not required to pay the same 12 percent state tax that other casinos are required to pay, have not publicly said how they would financially help the county. They have said their resort would provide at least 2,000 jobs.

I maintain that it would do more harm then good. There are already enough casinos on the coast. If they want to build one down here they can build in Harrison and Hancock County where they are already permitted, if they don't want to play by the same rules they can stay in Philadelphia where they already have a casino.

Students can't be forced to dress a certain way to get a public education

According to school officials in Flint

while there's some confusion over whether the policy is mandatory, school officials said it's optional because students can't be forced to dress a certain way to get a public education.

I wish someone had told the Jackson County Mississippi School Board that.

Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center for Arts

Things to do in Ocean Springs


What's new at the Mary C.

World Cinema shows films once a month on Sunday afternoon; cost is $5 or 10 tickets for $40.

Gallery: Now showing in the Albert Duckett Art Gallery, free admission, are photographs of Kyrgyzstan at election time, focusing on the countryside, people's dress and the actual voting; taken by Ken Flottman of Ocean Springs.

Mississippi Gets A C-minus In Education

The state received a C-minus, the same grade it got last year, from Education Week in its annual Quality Counts report released Wednesday.

Which is one of the reasons I homeschool. My kids deserve better then a C- school.

According to the report, Mississippi scores at or below average in the four policy areas, but the state's worst grade, a D, was in school climate.

Maybe that explains the Bay High Brawls.

Mississippi ranks 45th in the nation on this report.

Ocean Springs - Biloxi Bridge

Area artists will be asked to submit concepts on how they would camouflage pilings supporting the new U.S. Ocean Springs-Biloxi Bridge. Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran said discussions are underway to create freestanding panels to hide the pilings that would extend along the south side of the new bridge from the shoreline to Front Beach.

I'll just be glad when they get the bridge built. The traffic in my community has increased since the bridge was destroyed by Katrina.

Fordice Signed Away Mississippi's Rights

When Kirk Fordice in 1992 secretly signed a compact permitting the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians to operate casino gaming on tribal lands near Philadelphia, no one dreamed it could lead to a multibillion-dollar casino complex in the red clay hills of rural Neshoba County.But 14 years later that has become a reality and Mississippi's once-impoverished Choctaws are rolling in dough from their booming Silver Star and Golden Moon casino operations with attached hotel, dining and entertainment facilities. Under the compact, the state has no gaming or taxing authority over the Choctaw facility.When Fordice signed the compact with Choctaw chief Phillip Martin (without consulting then Attorney General Mike Moore), he signed away any right of the state to share in profits derived from Choctaw casino operations, depriving this state of untold millions in tax revenue. Additionally, there is no provision in Mississippi's compact to renegotiate or amend it, unlike stipulations in most other states that have tribal gaming.

The state will in no way benefit from allowing the Choctaw's to open a casino in Jackson County. It's proximity to the casino's in Harrison & Hancock Counties (who are regulated by the state and pay taxes) would provide it with an unfair advantage. The proposed site in Jackson County is near the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge, and is surrounded by wet lands. We do not know what environmental impact such a large project would have on the endangered Mississippi Sandhill Cranes. Or how it would impact Jackson County's desire to promote ecotourism in our county. We also can not foresee what flooding it would cause to nearby homes. Then there is the increased traffic it will bring to the area and the fact that the residents of Jackson County have consistently voted AGAINST gambling. All in all this is a bad idea that should be put to bed sooner rather then later.

Choctaw Casino Plan Fishy

The Clarion Ledger had this to say about the Choctaw's plan

One problem: Jackson Countians have consistently voted against gaming. Another problem: Other casinos pay a combined 12 percent state and local gaming tax that adds millions of dollars each month in taxes. But the Choctaws, under the their gaming compact with the state, are required to pay no taxes - although they do voluntarily provide funds for roads to their casinos in Neshoba County. Certainly the jobs they provide are valuable, but so are the thousands of jobs provided by the other casinos in the state. No one should object to the tribe wanting to expand. But can't the Choctaws compete on a level field? Other tribes from outside the state have plans to build on the Coast and abide by state rules. Why not the Choctaws?

Many People & Many Reasons For Not Wanting a Casino in Jackson County

Local pastors don't want a casino in Jackson County, they site the dangers of gambling. Environmentalist object to the proposed site which is partially wetlands and close to the Mississippi Sandhill Crane refuge. Coast Businesses For Fair Play object to an untaxed & unregulated casino near their taxed and regulated casinos in Harrison County. Now the Mowa Choctaws have stated their opposition to the casino.

The Mowa Choctaws, a tribe located 35 miles north of Mobile, Ala., also plans to protest the Mississippi Choctaws' casino, Sunray said. "Our community has been fighting the Choctaws for 16 years," he said. "(Tribal Chief Phillip Martin) spent $15 million against our petition for national recognition." The Mowa Choctaws are not interested in opening their own casino, he said. "We held a referendum on gaming four years ago, and the majority of our people were overwhelmingly against it,"Sunray said.

The Mississippi Choctaws are not averse to using their money to undermine competition.

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians helped former congressman Bob Riley's campaign for governor of Alabama, The Decatur Daily reports. The records show the money was part of "Operation Orange," a campaign the Choctaws funded in order to preserve their gaming enterprise. Alabama -- home to the Poarch Band of Creek Indians -- was considered a threat. The tribe spent $4.5 million over two years to fund Operation Orange.

The fact that other Indian tribes oppose him should counter the argument that because they are Indians the Mississippi Choctaws should be allowed to do whatever they want.

Why do we have to wait until 2008 to tell the Mississippi Choctaws we don't want a casino in Jackson County. I for one am tired of being threatened with having a casino I don't want as a neighbor.