Praise for our schools and students

It is not uncommon today to see concerning or even disturbing news about our schools from any number of media outlets. I wanted to take just a moment to share my experience(s) last week with school administrators, teachers, counselors and students at Meridian High School.

My interaction with students was limited to students at the 9th Grade Academy and was related to financial literacy prgraoms behing shared and taught to those students.

The purpose of this letter is twofold. First, I want to applaud the efforts and involvement of Principal Victor Hubbard, Dropout Prevention Specialist Diedre Bland, Counselor Holli Cobb and teachers Shannon Hosey and Wendy Smith. Secondly, and the primary purpose of my letter, is to publicly say how impressed I am with the students.

They were the best mannered, most respectful and engaging group of young adults I have encountered in years. They were very bright, inquisitive and well-spoken and I just wanted them to hear these compliments from me and to also hope that you will feel better about what our schools are capable of doing when we offer our support and encouragement.

Archie Anderson

President, Trustmark-Meridian

What will you be doing on Nov. 7

All 82 Circuit Clerks are asking voters to look at their calendar to make sure they will be able to go to their precinct on election day, Nov. 6, during the polling hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mississippi does not have early voting, but rather has absentee voting, whereas you need a legal reason to vote. The most frequent reason is going to be out of town, whether vacation, working, a conference, etc., or surgery scheduled.

Many of the occupations benefiting from the absentee process are railroad workers, trunk drivers, any shift workers covering 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., etc.

The Circuit Clerks encourage and recommend that if you do need to vote absentee, to NOT wait, and to go vote NOW in your local Circuit Clerks office. By going in as soon as possible, the hopes are to avoid waiting in line.

Mississippi’s Voter I-D also applies when voting absentee in person in the Circuit Clerks office. If you have any questions, call your local Circuit Clerks office in your county.

Donna Jill Johnson

Circuit Clerk, Lauderdale County

PSC makes effort for representative workforce

Have you ever been the only? The only person of color sitting at a table? The only woman in a room? The only person self-identified as LBGTQ? The only veteran? The only mother with small children?

Employers, how many “onlys” do you have representing your company?

Recently, the Mississippi Public Service Commission issued an order requiring certain investor-owned utilities to annually report certain workforce diversity information and recruiting/educational outreach data. Passed by unanimous vote by the three elected Public Service Commissioners, the final order requires the utilities to submit their first report on May 1, 2019

Mississippi law allows public utilities to operate under a monopoly system. The MSPSC approves geographic areas where only one provider can provide certain utility services. When making economic decisions, Commissioners are now able to track certain utility companies’ investment into Mississippi’s workforce and educational institutions. In 2016, 40% of the Mississippi population was African American. Along with national industry efforts, the MSPSC’s goal is to diversify the utility industry by assisting utility companies in diversifying their workforce which helps produce creative ideas and input to ensure programs and services meet the needs of their customers.

As state leaders, we have to look at our capacities and maximize our efforts to help our state move the needle. To that end, the MSPSC is hosting a Historically Black Colleges & Universities Utility Career Summit focused on bringing awareness about the stable careers offered in the utility industry. The Summit will feature speakers from across the country, state, and locally. The Commission will host special guests from our seven HBCUs, executives from MS’s utility industry, contractors, and various other partners who are invested in Mississippi’s workforce diversity.

Economic development involves collaboration. The MSPSC’s effort to bring educational institutions and privately owned utility companies together offers worksite field trips, internship/apprenticeship awareness, and helps create pipelines for Mississippi students to obtain good paying jobs in their home state.

Dr. Alex Washington

Chief Policy Advisor, Mississippi Public Service Commission, Office of Commissioner Cecil Brown