Communiversities Like CMTE Making a Difference

GOLDEN TRIANGLE, MS – Courtesy of The Atlantic

The Golden Triangle of Mississippi — the ambitiously industrializing northeastern region including Columbus, West Point, and Starkville — is serving as an example to other areas on how to do things right. Among the many ambitious projects in of the area is the soon-to-open Center for Manufacturing Technology Excellence, or CMTE, out by the GTR Airport – aka “Communiversity.”

The Mississippi Communiversity is the culmination of multiple counties and government bodies all working together in order to produce and maintain a college-level educational campus that focuses on credit-based industrial know-how, including training for local college students to help them fill the ever-increasing list of jobs created by local industry.

Among others, the minds behind the project include: East Mississippi Community College (EMCC) just outside of Columbus; Starkville’s MS State U; area high schools; county, state, and federal government; the GTR LINK; private businesses with factories in the GTR Region, as well as a crowd of local individuals, businessmen, entrepreneurs, and more.

Working together, these organizations arranged for funding to the tune of over $42.5 million for the campus, much of which came from county & state bonds, as well as funding from the federal Appalachian Regional Commission.

EMCC vice president for workforce and community development, Raj Shaunak, commented that, over the past 15 years, EMCC has trained about 25,000 people — “and about 12,000 of them are currently employed in advanced manufacturing in the Golden Triangle area . . .” at companies such as Yokohama and Steel Dynamics.

“I think many of us are worried that the American economy is doing half of its job,” Jan Rivkin, of the Harvard Business School, said after an HBS team visited the Communiversity site in the fall of 2017. He added: “[The economy] is benefitting large companies and those who work for and invest in them, but it is not supporting working middle-class Americans. Rural communities are really struggling.

Yet here in the Golden Triangle, we see something very different going on: a community that is coming together to create broadly shared prosperity and great manufacturing jobs. We came here to learn. We came here to see what is going on that is special, and to figure out what we might apply to other settings in other communities.”

Finally, Shaunak had this to say: “This is a way we can give people in a distressed area new family-sustaining opportunities. . .This is a way to help them realize their American dream.”

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Lemonade Day 2019 Coming Soon!

GOLDEN TRIANGLE REGION, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch

Brooke Washington, 11, set up a lemonade stand and did well for herself as part of last year’s Lemonade Day: “She did really good and she did her own thing last summer by herself,” Brooke’s mother, Yolanda Washington said. “She did a good job and made lots of money. This year she wants to do something different. She’s making regular lemonade and pink lemonade.”  

The success of last year’s event in Starkville has caused it to spread to Columbus and West Point this year, allowing many more young entrepreneurs to take part; over 200 children have signed up so far, and organizer Jeffery Rupp says that he’s hoping to have over 300 by the time registration closes this Saturday.

“Planning and running a lemonade stand teaches kids important business and financial literacy skills,” said Doug Robertson, Columbus president for Cadence Bank, in an emailed statement. “Thinking responsibly about spending and saving at an early age sets the stage for success. By applying skills like budgeting, calculating net profit and repaying debt, participants can put real-world math skills into action. We are excited to serve as a Lemonade Day sponsor and to empower entrepreneurship among tomorrow’s business leaders.” Cadence Bank offers interest-free loans of $50 to participants, all of which were promptly paid back last year.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for young kids with an entrepreneurial spirit to learn the basics of business,” Barbara Bigelow of Columbus Main Street said. “They learn about business plans, how to handle money, they understand the importance of paying bills and they learn to give back to the community. … They are very excited about it. I would encourage everyone to visit as many kids as they can, sample some lemonade and let them know how good it is. After all, they are our future leaders.” 

Last year, Ka’Nia Lucious, 9, set up shop on Main Street near Starkville Cafe and brought home around $100 in profit. Armed with the knowledge and experience she earned then, she hopes to make more this year and donate some to her church.

“We ask that kids spend some because they earned it, save some because that’s what you should do and share some because you should also always give back to the community,” Rupp said.  

To sign up for Lemonade Day, go to www.lemonadeday.org/golden-triangle. 

Rupp said lemonade stands hours and locations may vary. Go to https://lemonadeday.org/golden-triangle/stands-map to see where the stands are.

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Businesses New and Old in Starkville, Columbus

GOLDEN TRIANGLE REGION, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch

STARKVILLE

Kim Moreland, of Moreland Inc. recently purchased the old Christy’s Hamburgers building, and plans to renovate the space in order to lease it out to a new business in the future: “I’m just going to try and give it a face lift and make it look better on (Highway) 12,” Moreland said. “We are planning on starting renovations next week. We are not going to lease to another restaurant. It will be for commercial retail or office space.” Christy’s originally opened in Starkville in the 1980’s; they also briefly had a Columbus location, which closed in 2014.

Owens Outfitters, an archery and outdoors store, has opened for business at Middleton Court on Hwy 12. The shop is located in part of the old Sports Center. Their hours of operation will be Mon~ Sat, 9AM~6PM.

COLUMBUS

Construction is currently underway at 1807 Hwy. 45 N. for indoor playground center Kidz-N-Play. The plan is to open up in July with a wide variety of centers and activities for the kids to enjoy, while keeping them out of the sometimes-brutal summer heat.

“I wanted to bring back something to my hometown,” entrepreneur Eryn Jackson said. “When we leave Columbus, we don’t put something back to it. When I was little, there was nothing for me to do except play basketball. If it’s not softball or basketball, I wasn’t going anywhere. There’s just not a lot of things for kids to do between 1 and 8 years old. That’s an important time for kids to interact. I wanted something I could put my heart into.

“A lot of kids can’t afford a big playroom,” she added. “They can come to Kidz-N-Play and play with that nice kitchen they wanted for Christmas.”

Shifting our focus to downtown, Second Ave Nutrition will host its grand opening on Saturday. Michael and Rachel Womack, owners, will run the loaded tea store at 424 Second Ave. N. Hours will be Saturday from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. for the grand opening. Normal business hours will be Monday through Friday from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

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Ask Rufus: Remembering Memorial Day

OP/ED – COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of The Dispatch

A little history lesson on Memorial Day, courtesy of local Historian Rufus Ward. Many towns can lay claim to being one of the inspirations for Memorial Day, and the people of Columbus are proud to say that we’re one of them.

Mr. Ward says it so much better than I can. Please click here to read his take on it.

Steak ‘n Shake Soon to Open in Starkville

STARKVILLE, MS – Courtesy of the Starkville Daily News

Popular burger restaurant Steak ‘n Shake plans to open its first GTR location soon on the MSU campus in Starkville. The Illinois-based chain has been around since the 1930’s.

“We’re very excited . . .,” VP of Student Affairs Regin Hyatt said of the popularity of the idea expressed by many locals online. “Our dining partner Aramark is facilitating this. It’s replacing the Burger King on campus, so it will go into that location.”

This will be SnS’s fifth Mississippi location; the others are located at Oxford (on UofM campus), Pearl, Biloxi, and Southaven.

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GTR Area Collecting High Amounts of Sales Taxes TYD

GOLDEN TRIANGLE – Courtesy of The Dispatch

Area YTD sales tax collections up across Golden Triangle

GOLDEN TRIANGLE REGION, MS – Courtesy of The Dispatch

Aside from a small shortage in tax revenue, tax collection for the year so far is doing noticeably better than it was a year ago throughout the GTR region.

Halfway through the fiscal year, Columbus has brought in $4.85 million in tax revenue, as compared to $4.84 this time last year. This number comes from just before the recent re-implementation of the restaurant tax, so the total will be even higher soon.

Starkville 

Starkville continues to do gangbusters, with its revenue thus far sitting pretty at $3.66 million, where it was $3.48 million last year at this time.

“When we budget, we budget conservatively,” said Mayor Lynn Spruill. “We are always delighted when we exceed — particularly when we exceed above the amount we are showing above our budgeted amount.” 

West Point 

West Point is doing its part, as well, bringing in $1.68 million thus far, compared to $1.64 million from last year this time, despite the State withholding more money than usual due to prior overpayments to the city. Fortunately, those willbe ending soon.

“We’ve had a lot of retail growth, especially in the fast food sector,” West Point Mayor Robbie Robinson said. “To me, things are healthy here. It could be better, but we’ve had significant growth.” 

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Shops Both New and Old Thriving

GOLDEN TRIANGLE, MS – Courtesy of The Dispatch

Goose Hollow Furniture is almost ready to open their second location in Columbus; they plan to open in the former Fred’s location on 18th St by Memorial Day. This is in addition to their original store at 1405 Hwy. 45 N. Both stores will be open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon~Fri and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays.

Caledonia’s The Purple Ribbon will be opening a second location at 1824 Short Main Street. They offer tanning beds, T-shirts, decals and other gift shop items. They plan to open in June. The shop is named in honor of The owner’s granddaughter, who was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation and epilepsy; this diagnosis is symbolized by a purple ribbon. The shops will be open from 10am-5pm, Mon~Sat.

Over in Starkville, June will see the opening of Little E’s Indoor Playcenter, which features a miniature Main Street, allowing kids the opportunity to play Mayor, Cops, Firemen, and more to their hearts’ content. Bookings for birthday parties at the venue have already begun; please see www.starkvilleplaygrounds.com for more info. Their regular hours will be Wed~Sat from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

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Local Businesses Come Together to Give Local Woman a New Home

COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch

A replacement home for one its resident, 89-year-old Mary Bush, had to abandon and demolish five years ago due to mold concerns, is taking shape up on 12th Avenue North. The Columbus-Lowndes Habitat for Humanity, with the help of local businesses, just put a roof on the new structure. Kathy Arinder, Director of CL Habitat, says that the home should hopefully be move-in ready some time in June.

Steel Dynamics Inc, Mississippi Steel Processing, Magnum Metals of Nettleton, and Ervin Brothers Roofing all worked together to donate the roofing material, paint, cutting, and installation labor to the house, and it’s designed to last – even the paint job has a 50-year warranty on it! Once completed, this will mark the 49th HFH home built since it was chartered in 1990. “This is definitely a first for us,” Arinder said. “It’s something that just never was in our budget. So when Steel Dynamics came to us and told us what they wanted to do, we were thrilled.”

SDI donated 10,000 pounds of 29-gauge roll steel in total, which should be enough for HFH to roof three to four more houses.

The homeowner, Bush, had to leave her longtime home after lung damage caused by a mold infestation put her in the hospital for two weeks; the old building was condemned and destroyed roughly five years ago, and Bush has been living in a rental ever since. “A voice told me to go down to (the Habitat office),” she said. “I didn’t know nothing about it. But it was the Lord telling me. . . “So I went down and we talked and talked,” she added. “The lady said, ‘Let me see what we can do.'”

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Cook Out Opens in Columbus; Benefit for Zachary’s at Market Street; and More!

COLUMBUS & STARKVILLE, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch

After almost two years of waiting, Cook Out opened its Columbus location this past Tuesday on 18th Avenue North. By early afternoon, the drive-thru had a line of cars going our to the street, and plenty of diners inside. The service, however, was fast and efficient, as the company has been doing this sort of thing for a long time; their Starkville location opened in 2016.

Their hours are 10:30 a.m.-1 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m.-3 a.m. Friday and Saturdays. A regular combo is less than $5.50 and includes a burger or other sandwich, 2 sides, and a large drink; a kid’s combo, with a smaller sandwich, 2 sides, and a drink, will run you about five bucks. Special options such as BBQ toppings or cheese sauce with grilled onions will cost an extra 99 cents, and getting one of their 40+ thic, rich flavors of milkshakes (instead of a drink) will cost an extra 2 bucks.

Market Street Festival is this weekend – see our prior post for more info about attractions, street closings, and the like. Saturday night, as the Fest winds down to a close, Huck’s Place, 121 Fifth St. S., will host a benefit for Zachary’s.

Early Sunday morning, Zachary’s had a kitchen fire that caused extensive damage, but they and the community are working together to see them come back better than ever! The benefit at Huck’s will be from 7 p.m.-midnight, and the cover is $10.

C Spire has been working hard acquiring permits and setting up towers & wiring to bring high-speed fiber optic broadband internet service to residents of the area; they have just announced that their next service area will be an expansion within Starkville. The new fiber optic services will be along Poor House Road, South Montgomery, Atkinson Drive, and South Ridge Road.  

“Residential Fiber is a game-changer and this revolutionary technology promises to boost home values, broaden entertainment opportunities, help expand the local economy and improve the quality of life for everyone in Oktibbeha County,” Ashley Phillips, general manager of C Spire Home Services, said. 

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Market Street Fest 2019 Starts Friday – And So Do the Street Closings

COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of The Dispatch

Columbus will play host to its 24th annual Market Street Festival this Friday and Saturday, May 3rd and 4th. There will be food, music, fun & games, artwork of all kinds for sale, and more! The city will also play host to over two hundred vendors of all kinds, and some shops plan to feature Festival specials. The festivities kick off Friday evening at the Riverwalk, with music from The Cleverlys at 7 p.m., and then more from James LeBlanc and The Winchesters at 9 p.m.

Saturday morning will begin with a 5K Marathon at 8 a.m. (registration at 7 a.m.); it starts at the Riverwalk. New to the Fest this year will be a children’s area at College & 6th St S; many games there will be free, while some will cost $1 each.

Street closings will begin at 6 a.m. Friday morning, so be prepared:

Main Street from 3rd to 5th streets will close at that time. 5th Street will remain open to north/south traffic until 3 p.m. Friday, as will Main Street from 5th to 7th St. A number of parking lots will need to be cleared out in advance as well.

Please see the link below for a more detailed list. All streets will reopen at 9 p.m. on Saturday and 3rd Ave South will remain open to through traffic.

Parents and guardians picking up children from First United Methodist Daycare can use the College Street and Seventh Street South entrance. Police will be manning the entrance, ensuring only those who identify as guardians will be allowed to enter.

Please click here for more info on parking and travel, as well as the full article.