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Navistar Lands New Contract, Will Keep Them Working Through 2019

By Other Manufacturing, West Point

Navistar Lands New Contract, Will Keep Them Working Through 2019

PRESS RELEASE – Courtesy of WCBI

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Representative Trent Kelly (R-Miss.) today announced a $440 million U.S. Army contract for work to be done at the Navistar facility in West Point.

Under the contract, Navistar workers in West Point would reset and upgrade 1,085 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) MaxxPro Excess Defense Article vehicles and associated accessories for the United Arab Emirates.  The contract has been approved through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales process.

“This contract will support an important Middle East ally, which serves our U.S. security interests,” said Cochran, chairman of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.  “I’m pleased that the excellent workmanship of Mississippians in the Golden Triangle will be an essential part of this effort.”

“Our state’s skilled workforce has become a trusted partner in advancing our nation’s defense, and this contract further proves that,” said Wicker.  “This is great news for West Point and the entire state of Mississippi.  I am pleased the U.S. Army has recognized the high quality of the work being done in our state.”

“At a time when there are rising threats around the world, our allies have never been more important,” Kelly said.  “It is great to see our hardworking First District Mississippians support our friends in the United Arab Emirates through this contract.”

The contract is expected to be completed in March 2019.

See video here.

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Nursing Program at The W Named One of the Very Best In Mississippi

By Columbus, Health & Medicine, The W

Nursing Program at The W Named One of the Very Best In Mississippi

PRESS RELEASE – MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN

COLUMBUS, Miss —

Success on the National Council Licensure Examination earned Mississippi University for Women’s nursing school a high score from Registerednursing.org.

Ranking The W’s programs No. 2 out of the state’s 23 programs, Registerednursing.org examined the university’s NCLEX-RN pass rates for the past five years with the more recent passing rates weighting more.

“This is a significant recognition of the excellence of our nursing programs and we are honored to continue to gain national recognition,” said Dr. Shelia Adams, dean of the College of Nursing and Speech-Language Pathology. “Our program equips today’s nurses with the skills and knowledge needed to deliver the superior level of care needed in today’s complex healthcare system.”

Registerednursing.org cited that NCLEX-RN pass rates are one of the best ways to determine a nursing program’s student preparedness. If schools had the same overall NCLEX-RN pass rate after being analyzed, additional characteristics were then considered, including the number of students taking the exam and the number of years of exam data available. Of the top ranked schools, The W was the only university to host both an associate of science in nursing and bachelor of science in nursing program.

Scoring a 98.01, RegisteredNursing.org found The W to be home to excellent nursing degree programs where nursing students learn to integrate clinical excellence with advanced practical concepts to advance the nursing profession.

“We are consistently high in all these areas due to the dedicated faculty, staff and department chairs who are willing to mentor and help our students succeed,” added Adams.

Registerednursing.org looks to promote excellence in nursing through enabling future nurses with the tools they need to succeed.

via   http://www.muw.edu/news/4185-website-ranks-w-s-nursing-program-one-of-the-best-in-state

 

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Lynn Lane Property Near Starkville Academy Up for Sale

By Starkville

 

Lynn Lane Property Near Starkville Academy Up for Sale

PRESS RELEASE

STARKVILLE, MS – Starkville Daily News

A sizable lot on Lynn Lane has officially hit the market.

Kay Regimbal, a broker associated with RE/MAX Partners in Starkville, told the SDN on Friday that a 4.45 acre tract located near Starkville Academy on Lynn Lane has already generated interest.

The lot – which is listed at $785,000 – is owned by the Josey family, who owns several acres on Lynn Lane.

“(The Josey family) have worked very diligently to encourage responsible development on their available sites in Starkville – most recently with the sale of the Northeast and Southeast corners of Lynn Lane at Louisville,” Regimbal said.

The family also owned the property at the corner of Lynn Lane and Louisville Street where a new Dairy Queen and gas station are being developed. The Dairy Queen is expected to open sometime this spring.

Jeremy Nicholas, head of school at Starkville Academy, told the SDN the property looks attractive, but is not something the school is interested in pursuing at this time.

Tabor Construction and Development two years ago completed the design build of the Mississippi Department of Heath Administrative Offices on the north side of Lynn Lane, which helped jumpstart progress in the area.

The tract of land for sale on Lynn Lane that sits adjacent to Starkville Academy. (courtesy photo)

“This site set the bar for subsequent business growth,” Regimbal said. “We have had quite a bit of interest on Lynn Lane recently.  With the number of rooftops South of Highway 12, and the traffic on Lynn Lane as one of our major thoroughfares – this location is primed for further development.”

Regimbal said recent sidewalk improvements and residential growth in the area have enhanced Lynn Lane’s appeal.

Additionally, she said Lot 2 of Laurel Pointe, which is located between the 2.89 acres and 4.45 acre tracts behind Starkville Academy, recently sold to a local firm planning a custom design build that is expected to enhance high-end commercial growth on Lynn Lane.

Starkville Academy is mentioned in the listing as a geographic point of reference and will not be impacted by or involved in the marketing of the property.

“The property has absolutely nothing to do with Starkville Academy,” Regimbal said.

 

https://www.starkvilledailynews.com/content/large-tract-near-starkville-academy-hits-market

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City of Columbus Waives Debt for Local Business

By Business, Columbus, Manufacturing, Mil. Manufacturing, Military

City of Columbus Waives Debt for Local Business

THE DISPATCH –

The city of Columbus has agreed to forgive about $80,000 clothing manufacturer American Power Source, located at 826 17th Ave. S., owes on its property note. In exchange, the company must pay property taxes and note payments that are delinquent and keep its employment at a minimum of 30 jobs. Photo by: Alex Holloway/Dispatch Staff

City Attorney Jeff Turnage reported that the city and Golden Triangle Development LINK worked out an agreement which would see military clothing manager American Power Source Inc. repay roughly $66,000 worth of back taxes and note payments to the city, the county, and the city school district, in exchange for the deed to the manufacturer’s property and other considerations. The agreement also requires that the company continue to do business at their current location, as well as maintaining current employment for local workers.

“In the past three to four years,” the agreement states, “APSI has unfortunately experienced a substantial reduction in orders and sales volume for U.S. military uniforms that it produces due, at least in part, to a shift in the production of such uniforms to U.S. prisons.”   Because of slumping production, American Power Source has missed several note payments and ad valorem tax payments for 2014-16. The resolution notes a “substantial likelihood” the company would fail to make the remaining note payments.

Ward 4 Councilman Marty Turner, who cast the one opposing vote, did so because he said he didn’t feel it was in the best interest of his ward or the city as a whole. He encouraged people to research the company and agreement, and said he felt more people should have been involved before the final decision.  “It could have been much better if more people were involved for the disclosure of what was going on,” Turner said. “It could have been much better. I don’t just necessarily disagree with everything, but if we would have had a better deal, then I would have went along with it . . .It seems like the government is leaving the ordinary people out of the discussion, and their representatives are just voting just to vote,” he added.

Please click here for full article.

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New Businesses Coming to Columbus, New Hope, Starkville

By Business, Columbus, Foodservice, Main Street, New Hope, Retail, Starkville

New Businesses Coming to Columbus, New Hope, Starkville

Courtesy of THE DISPATCH

Caleb Sherman of The Dispatch

New businesses are in the process of opening up shop for the convenience of customers!

In Columbus, Bargain Hunt is moving into the old Southern Family location next to K-Mart on 45

In New Hope, Starkville’s Smartphone Doctor will be adding a new location in the Lehmberg Crossing shopping center on Alabama St.

Starkville’s Main Street will be getting “Pop Porium,” a gourmet popcorn, sno-ball, and soda fountain featuring homemade syrup flavors. They hope to have a hundred varieties of popcorn available for sale by the end of the year, based on customer feedback; they plan to open soon with fifty.

Read the full article here: http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=56294

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West Point’s Navistar Plant Going Strong

By Business, Manufacturing, Mil. Manufacturing, Other Manufacturing, West Point

West Point’s Navistar Plant Going Strong

PRESS RELEASE

WEST POINT, Miss. (AP) – Navistar International Corp. has been awarded a $35 million contract to deliver 40 armored vehicles to Pakistan from its Mississippi plant.

The U.S. Army announced the contract Thursday, saying Navistar, based in Lisle, Illinois, had made the only bid for the mine resistant ambush protected MaxxPro Dash DXM trucks.

Work is supposed to be done at Navistar’s plant in West Point, as well as in Pakistan, and is estimated to be finished by Oct. 31, 2018.

Although the West Point plant had laid off all its workers in 2013, it has since won a series of contracts to build or refurbish vehicles for the U.S. Army and foreign militaries, hiring several hundred workers.

Courtesy of WCBI

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WIN Center Moves to New Location, Still Helping Workers Find Jobs PDQ

By Business, Education, EMCC, Golden Triangle, Starkville

MAYHEW – Courtesy of the Commercial Dispatch

The WIN center, which helps to match prospective employees up with jobs of all sorts, is up and running during its move to a new facility at EMCC’s Center for Manufacturing Technology Excellence in Mayhew.

Calvin Dailey, an interviewer with the WIN center, said the state-funded job placement center regularly draws 200 to 400 people, mostly job-seekers, per week from Clay, Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Noxubee and neighboring counties, depending on the season.  “If you just come in here saying, ‘I need a job today,’ nine times out of 10, we’re able to get you a job today because you just want employment,” he said. “But if you come in and you’ve got a resume and you want something specific, we’re going to work with you until we help you get that job.” He went on to remark that “Moving here turns us into a one-stop shop; moving here was a great benefit to our people, really.”

Once a client comes seeking a job, WIN creates a profile — that can be used at any WIN center in the state — and helps track potential matching openings.  The WIN center also offers a variety of training programs, designed to help workers build better resumes, dress for success, and more. They also provide assistance to workers displaced due to jobs being outsourced overseas, as well as to veterans in search of work.

There is no cost to use the WIN center’s services, and the referral service does not conduct background checks nor drug testing; workplaces that require these are expected to handle it themselves.

The city of Starkville recently submitted 10 job orders to the WIN center, and City Human Resources Director Navarrete Ashford said that seems to be working out well — with interviews for eight of those openings scheduled this week.

The WIN center, as always, works hard to help people find work, and to help employers find workers – and THAT’S Good for Business!

Please click here for the full article.

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M. Smith’s Newest Work Launches Today to Great Fanfare

By Culture/Entertainment, Recreation

M. Smith’s Newest Work Launches Today to Great Fanfare

From information obtained from the author’s publisher (Lee Boudreaux Books/Little, Brown & Co.)/Press Release and  The Dispatch

COLUMBUS, MS –

Michael Farris Smith, award-winning author of 2013’s “Rivers,” will be officially releasing his brand-new book, “Desperation Road,” to the public tonight at an event from 5 to 7 PM. The event will be held at Book Mart at 501 Main Street in downtown Columbus. Please stop by the store to pick up a copy and show your support for a local author!

The book describes “Russell Gaines on the morning he is finally released from the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections: ‘In the southern Mississippi swamp you can watch the world awaken as the pale yellow sun edges itself between the trees and moss and widewinged cranes.…Limbs too old to hold themselves up any longer bend and break like old men accepting their marshy graves.'” It goes on to tell of how he must now adapt to how the world has changed in the eleven years of his incarceration, and how he must adapt even more quickly to the angry relatives of a man whose death he was held responsible for…and that’s just for starters.

Initial reviews of the work give it high praise:

“DESPERATION ROAD is a brilliantly compelling novel dealing with an enormously difficult but fundamental reality of the human condition: how lives lived intensely for years without connection to or even knowledge of each other can suddenly intersect with profound consequences. Michael Farris Smith is a prodigiously talented writer whose new book is not only an exciting read but an important literary event.” —Robert Olen Butler, author of A Small Hotel

“A novel that lends dignity and grace to those too often damned, DESPERATION ROAD is fearless, guttural, and thunderously heartfelt. Quite simply one of our finest writers at work today, Michael Farris Smith has made his own place at the table.”—David Joy, author of Where All Light Tends to Go

“Anchored by prose that is both poetic and brutal, DESPERATION ROAD is a gorgeous and violent book. But don’t be fooled by the title. Michael Farris Smith’s novel teems with the honest and believable humanity that only the bravest writers dare to search for in the most troubled souls.” —Ivy Pochoda, author of Visitation Street

Smith was honored for his work as part of last month’s “Goose’s Grand Gala.”

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Internet Tax Bill in Jeopardy

By Business, Retail

Internet Tax Bill in Jeopardy

 

This is a follow-up to a couple of stories we published recently:

PRESS RELEASE — Associated Press by way of The Dispatch

JACKSON — The Mississippi House could be on track to reverse itself and eventually kill a proposed internet sales tax.

Jeff Smith (courtesy photo)

House Bill 480 passed the House on Wednesday, despite opposition from some Republicans who said they oppose any new taxes. The bill would enforce sales tax collections for items sold over the internet, and would earmark the money for road and bridge work.

The bill was put on hold for the possibility of more debate. On Thursday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jeff Smith, R-Columbus, tried to remove that hold and send the bill to the Senate — but opponents blocked him.

The House has until Feb. 13 to reconsider the bill. If nothing happens by then, the bill will die.

The bill is an effort to formalize the collection of sales taxes from Amazon.com and others that sell goods to Mississippians from outside the state. It would set aside the internet sales tax collections to pay for road and bridge work, with 70 percent going to the state, 15 percent to counties and 15 percent to cities.

College Board researchers estimated in January that Mississippi was losing between $106 million and $123 million in sales tax revenue. Transportation officials say they need at least $500 million to prevent roads from deteriorating. However, many lawmakers refuse to raise fuel taxes, leaving road advocates searching for other revenue.

Original article here: http://cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=56015

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IHL Commish Emphasizes the Need for MS’s Future Success: More College Grads

By Business, Education

IHL Commish Emphasizes the Need for MS’s Future Success: More College Grads

COLUMBUS – Info courtesy of the Dispatch

Glenn Boyce – IHL commissioner (courtesy photo)

Glenn Boyce, commissioner of Mississippi’s Institutions of Higher Learning, recently spoke to the Rotary Club about what he feels is needed for the state to continue its success in business going forward: Namely, getting people into college – and more importantly – seeing them through to graduation.

“Mississippi’s future economic growth is post-secondary training,” Boyce said. “The simple truth is that if we don’t get Mississippians through college with a degree, our economic growth is going to stagnate. By 2020 — that’s just three years from now — studies show that 65 percent of all new jobs will require a post-second degree or specialized training.”
Educating residents is one thing, though. Keeping them is another important issue, Boyce said.

He pointed out that students in Mississippi have been making great strides in recent years in terms of both education in general and the college graduation rate, but that we still lag far behind the national average. He also spoke about the need to provide viable work opportunities for new graduates in-state: “You hear a lot about what’s called ‘The Brain Drain’ in Mississippi,” he said. “It’s disturbing. We’re losing as many as 50 percent of our graduates to other states. It’s not because they don’t love Mississippi. It’s because there aren’t opportunities for them here. If they have the opportunities, they will stay. In fact, we know that Mississippians come back to the state at a high rate when opportunities arise.”

Fortunately, things are looking up – step by step. “Thanks to the (IHL) board, we’re starting two bio-medical engineering programs at Mississippi State and Ole Miss,” Boyce said. “We want to create a wave of engineers specially trained for the bio-medical industry and then go after those companies. But we have to create the labor pool of qualified workers before we can go after those companies. We can’t bring in the companies and then train workers.”

Please click here to see the full article.

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