Miles is Smiling Down

Tommy Joe Miles was in the hearts and minds of many people in the Nanih Waiya community lately. Just as he is every spring. But this year it was even more so. For those of you who don't know who Tommy Joe was, he was a teacher and a coach at Nanih Waiya. But saying that he was just a teacher and a coach would be an understatement. Known as Tommy Joe to his friends and Mr. Miles to his students and players, he literally built the baseball program at Nanih Waiya. His first love behind God and family was baseball. This time of year if you wanted to see Mr. Miles and couldn't find him all you would have to do is find the baseball field and he would be there. Well even now, some 22 years after his death you can still find him on that baseball field.

How is this possible you might ask? Well for one thing, his name is on the field. But more importantly his legacy lives on even in the players that just won the state championship this year. Nine out of the ten starting players for the 2011 Warriors have some ties back to Mr. Miles. Hunter Luke's dad Shawn, Jeffrey Hemphill's dad Jerry, Hunter Swart's mom Belinda, Colby Eaves' mom Gail, and even Nanih Waiya principal David Luke all were a part of the 1987 North State Championship team coached by Mr. Miles. At least one if not both of the parents of Tanner Dalton, Dominique Carter, Brandon Rigdon, and Luke Rosamond were either taught or coached by Mr. Miles. And of course Zach Hanna has ties to Mr. Miles as he is the son of Miles' nephew, Head Football Coach Tate Hannah. I would even venture to say that Mr. Miles had some influence over Stewart Ball even though his parents did not attend Nanih Waiya during that time. I am also sure he had some influence over Coach Tyler Rogers who grew up in the Nanih Waiya community.

The dream that Mr. Miles had for the Nanih Waiya baseball program almost came true in 1987. A group of young men that had played baseball together since they were big enough to pick up a bat had come together for a great season and won the North State Championship against a tough Mantachie team. But the Warriors faced an even tougher foe in the State Championship against Beulah Hubbard. The first game was a knock down/drag out, 11 inning battle between two great teams. Kevin Reel pitched 10 great innings but it just wasn't enough as Beulah Hubbard won the first game of the series. After that huge letdown the Warriors couldn't get back on track to win the second game and the hopes of a championship were dashed. It's hard to say who was more crushed after that game, Mr. Miles or the Seniors who had come so close.

Mr. Miles pushed on until his body gave out while working on his field in 1989. But his spirit remained and kept the Nanih Waiya baseball program alive through the years. His former students and players began having children over the years and they coached their kids and allowed them to play the sport Mr. Miles loved. These kids came together as a team this last week and the sun was shining bright on May 19, 2011 at Trustmark Park. Mr. Miles was there, giving the signs from the 3rd base coaching box, throwing his hat down in disgust when something went wrong, moving his hair to the other side of his head before putting his cap back on, and grinning from ear to ear when his boys won the 2011 State Baseball Championship. That bright, shining sun was him smiling down on His Warrior baseball team.

Congratulations Mr. Miles. Job well done!!!

commentary from Jerry Hemphill

What's Happening This Week in Winston County - 5-19

Lots going on this weekend in Winston County! - There wil be a Live Shoot at Estes Switch (Off Hwy 15S) starting on Friday and running through the weekend. Period weapons and clothing are all part of the event - check out our events page for more details. The ECCC Jobs Fair in conjunction with WIN & Taylor Machine Works starts on Thursday & runs through Saturday..click here for more info . The Nanih Waiya Warriors play the 2nd game of a three game series with Falkner at 4 pm on Thursday. The Warriors took the first game of the series & a win today will earn the team a State Championship. The Dizzy Dean Tournament is in town this weekend as well. click here for more info..


And last but not least we have two school graduations remaining- Noxapater on Thursday & Louisville on Friday - both start at 7 pm.......Remember to check out our pages everyday for news and events. There's something new everyday. We appreciate your support & tell your friends and neighbors to follow us at winstonwebnews.com. ---and as always --SCROLL DOWN !!-- there's alway more to see..

Busy Week -- Busy Weekend Here in Winston Co...

A busy weekend is ahead of us in Winston County. Not mentioning specific memorials and graduation events and parties, Dizzy Dean baseball is in town as well as the Kids N Kats fishing rodeo held on Saturday at Legion State park. If you have a youngster 12 years of age or less, you don't want to miss this: concessions, doorprizes and 750 catfish just waiting to be caught.Registration starts at 7:30 and it looks like it will be a beautiful day.
There will also be a Relay for Life Survivor's Luncheon at the First Presbyterian church at 11:00 am. All cancer survivors are welcome to attend. ... And it may be too late to register but you can call the Library to find out - The Fancy Nancy Tea Party is scheduled for Saturday as well.. All these events are posted on WinstonWebNews on our events page and on our Coummunity Calendar.
The Community Calendar is a great tool to schedule your events and see what's going on - any given day across the area & you can print it out!!
There's been lots of news this week - from the tornado cleanup to all the board meetings to honoring our senior honor graduates - teachers and parents.. If you are not checking out WWN at least once a day (twice is better) then you are missing the most current news source in our area.. & REMEMBER _ SCROLL DOWN_ there is so much happening in the county right now that we are posting several stories a day. If you don't scroll down our home page - I guarantee you will miss something... for all the stories & links to all our pages click here.

Bad Weather Brings Some Things That Aren't So Bad

It’s been a long week here in Winston County. The news obviously dominated by the weather. We have to realize that we have been blessed when we start making comparisons to our neighbors in surrounding counties; damages and injuries and death in almost every corner. Wednesday was the worst. The last count I saw was 165 possible tornados across the Southeast and approaching 300 deaths, more than thirty of those right here in Mississippi. The little town of Smithville was all but wiped out and across the state line, Tuscaloosa & Birmingham had the highest death toll and property damage.

We did have our problems right here. Wednesday morning brought damage to my neck of the woods as some neighbors in the Evergreen & Poplar Flat communities dealt with downed trees and the resulting damages to their homes. But it was the afternoon storms that dealt a heavy blow not only across the South but here in our immediate area. A significant tornado made its path through Neshoba, Kemper and into the southwest corner of Winston County. The storm devastated the small community of Preston where three sisters with Winston County ties were killed. The path of the tornado made its way along County Line Road and surrounding area, across Hwy 397 and along the Shuqualak Road. Multiple homes were damaged in the County and some injuries occurred - But - it could have been much worse as the community south of Nanih Waiya was sparsely populated. As I surveyed the area and the path of the tornado, I realized just how powerful this thing was and how bad it could have been if this had hit a few miles further north and west.

The wrecked homes and property were a hard thing to see. It’s difficult not to be moved when you think of people’s lives turned (literally) upside down. But I saw something that affected me even more than the debris piles, turned over vehicles and missing roofs.

The morning after the storm , I saw yards full of cars and pickup trucks, people swarming rooftops covered in blue tarps, the sounds of hammers, saws, tractors and backhoes as people helped their neighbors, friends and family start to pull their lives back together. I saw the utility crews working methodically to restore power and I even saw a few smiles as people waved as we drove by.

I didn’t see FEMA, the Red Cross or a news crew from CNN; just people helping each other without waiting for the government or an aid agency to do it for them. In a very short time, homes will be repaired or rebuilt, lives will resume and only a few scars on the landscape and some personal stories will remain from the 2011 tornado. It’s good to be from the South -It’s good to be from Mississippi & it’s good to be from Winston County.

William McCully

Reader Questions Projected Savings in School Restructuring

An Article in last week's Winston County Journal concerning plans to restructure Eiland Middle School and the projected cost savings indicated, prompted this response from a local citizen:

Where are the Savings?
After reading the article on the front page of the Winston County Journal 2/16 edition, I am confused. If the school transfers the students from Eiland Middle School but still keeps the facility open, where are the savings? The article goes on to say that the staff will not be cut so am I to assume the administration of Eiland will also be transferred to another school? My confusion is how do you not close the facility but save money by transferring the students? You will still have the same overhead costs to maintain and service the facility so again, where are the savings? After the large increase to our taxes due to the school's share, I was surprised to see it admitted that the overall attendance has declined, but yet the cost is increasing. I would also like to know what the expected building costs might be to build at the high school to accommodate the students as discussed in the article. Maybe, in future articles we may be privy to the creative accounting that shows how you can transfer students and staff, build additions to the high school, leave the Eiland building open and functioning and still save money.

Respectfully, Jim Anderson

An Open Letter to Our Viewers

We've been busy here at WWN. We continue to tweak & test our site and later this Spring you can look for some major design and content changes. But we've got great things that we've added right now:

The Legislature is in session and on top of that - it's an election year. Our Legislative News page (4th tab down on toolbar) is something completely new that we don't believe has ever been done before. This page contains a Twitter feed of tweets not only from WWN but also news sources and legislative members right at the State Capitol. Now folks here in Winston County or across the state, can continually monitor the activity during the session. WWN screens the tweets for content (no flagrant campaigning or name - calling) and will post links to bills or further news stories.

For those unfamiliar with Twitter - posts must be short but can contain links to news stories, websites, video & photos. It's a great headline generator and posts are almost immediate. -- And the great thing about WWN's Feed is that you don't have to follow anyone or even have a Twitter account - Just check out our page several times a day. If you know of an area legislator or news source that tweets, let us know and we will continually add them to our feed.

Also*** you will see a series of video stories over the next few days from Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley's town hall meeting right here in Louisville on Thursday night. He presented a great deal of information that almost any consumer can use and we have edited his remarks into short videos that will be posted in the News Links section of our home page on a regular basis over the next several days (next post will be Monday). Topics include a Rate payers Bill of Rights, Cell Tower coverage in Winston County, Spoofing, Cramming, the Kemper coal plant and more. The first video is online now.

We know that we have a long way to go to provide more coverage of Winston County. We advance as time & money allow. You can help also by:

Giving us your opinion - likes and dislikes

Telling your friends, neighbors & coworkers about WWN

Remembering to contact us when you have an event, news story or article idea that needs to be publicized.

Patronizing our advertisers and consider advertising yourself on our pages.

Make us one of your homepages and visit our site on a daily basis.

Thanks for your support over the last six months and in the future.


William Mccully
Editor WWN


http://winstonwebnews.com

To Droop or Not To Droop - Every Middle -Aged Man's Question

I’m afraid I’ve reached that certain point in my life; a milestone of middle age that all men dread worse than prostate exams and ear hair; a sign of the aging process that can’t be hidden with a toupee or a botox injection. I have finally reached the “droopy drawers” stage of my life.

My pants and yes, even my underwear just won’t stay put anymore. The gravity that’s been working aggressively on various parts of my body has now attacked my britches. My pants bag around my backside looking for any excuse to drop a little lower and drag my BVD’s along for the ride.

Now a fellow might think that all this bagginess might be coming from a loss of mass in the posterior, allowing for more wiggle room in the standard pair of khakis or jeans, but unfortunately this is not the case. Most men my age could stand a little less baggage back there, but believe me, guys, while this is one of the few areas you do want to shrink as you get older – it ain’t gonna! No, the problem is coming from the other direction.

The late great Lewis Grizzard called it the “two-bellies”; a condition that men seem to suffer from as they reach their forties and beyond. The two-bellies (TB for short) almost always appear in conjunction with droopy drawers and is most likely the cause of this sad sagging situation. If you’re not sure that you suffer from TB, let me provide some instructions for self-diagnosis because the medical profession refuses to recognize this or droopy-drawers (DD) as actual medical problems. All they’re going to do is put you on a low-fat diet and tell you to eat only those things that have the taste and texture of cardboard or Styrofoam packing peanuts.

These ailments are most obvious in the standing position. I suggest you wear a white t-shirt, your favorite pair of khakis and a standard belt. Place the waistline of your britches in the standard position and tighten the belt - one more notch than you usually do. Now, look in a full length mirror. What do you see? If there are two distinct bellies; one north of the belt and another south, you’ve got the TB’s. To further verify your condition, sit down and stand back up. Turn around and view yourself from behind. If the seat of your pants is in close proximity to the back of your knees, you are also suffering from “Droopy Drawers”.

What has happened is that your waistband slipped below belly number two when you sat down. This is a design mechanism built into most trousers to keep their integrity intact and to prevent the top button from popping off with such force as to put out an eye or break a window. But by slipping below belly two, the seat is also lowered and the result is of course “DD”.

Some men try to overcome the effects of “TB” and “DD” by raising their waistline above belly number one to a point just below the neck. This is called high pants or “HP”. This actually rejoins the two bellies into one and produces a nice rounded shape in the midsection. However, it does seem to be only effective when wearing polyester pants and white socks with sandals and the general consensus of opinion is that “HP” is even less attractive than DD.

Most of us go through life after forty, adjusting and hitching up our britches and shorts every time we stand or take a few steps or when we suck in our bellies when we see a pretty girl. It’s just a fact of aging that we have to deal with; like stray hairs growing out of our foreheads at the same time our hairline is receding.

There is no easy cure for “TB” and “DD”. Do a hundred sit ups a day and eat cardboard or deal with the symptoms by hitching up our pants and going about our business – or -- switching to dresses – but most of us just don’t have the legs for that.