New Jersey mayor views Pass Christian's hurricane recovery

By LINDSAY KNOWLES — Special to the Sun Herald

PASS CHRISTIAN -- From small seaside town to small beachfront town, Mayor Matt Doherty of Belmar, N.J., flew down Wednesday for a tour of Pass Christian. Mayor Leo "Chipper" McDermott served as tour guide, and offered suggestions on hurricane recovery.

After Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of the East Coast in October, McDermott said he and his staff wanted to help out somehow. They began collecting donations. Because of a contact the Pass fire chief had in the town of Belmar, a truckload of supplies from Pass Christian was the first formal communication initiated.

After that, the mayors began emailing back and forth, and McDermott proposed Doherty visit the Gulf Coast and see firsthand how a town about the same size as Belmar had recovered after a disastrous hurricane.

"You can read it in the papers, but actually driving around and seeing it yourself gives you a real feel of what we can expect to see over the coming months and years," Doherty said.

In addition to being on the water, Pass Christian and Belmar have other commonalities. Both have populations of a little more than 5,000, and each community is without large corporations, so they rely heavily on small businesses.

Learning the lingo

McDermott shared with Doherty some of the facts and lingo he wished he had known after Hurricane Katrina slammed through the Pass, as well as some reconstruction advice and things to be on the lookout for.

"I think the main thing that Matt took away from his short visit with us was the terminology he needed to know when it comes to funding and how to secure things correctly," McDermott said.

Another item on the agenda for the men was the effects new flood maps could have on Belmar if they receive them. It isn't known whether that will happen for the New Jersey town, but McDermott offered advice because of the revised maps' effect on rebuilding here after Katrina, which led to stricter building codes.

A tour of the Pass took Doherty through the yacht club, the city's administration buildings and the picturesque shops downtown. He talked with business owners about their recovery since 2005. Then the mayors stopped for lunch at Shaggy's on the Beach for, of course, seafood.

"This being my first time here, I just wish it had been under better circumstances. But it is a beautiful community," Doherty said. "Folks who live here are blessed and I would love to bring my wife and daughters, who are 8 and 5, back to Pass Christian for a vacation.

"While this was more of a fact-finding mission, and a very informative one that I'm glad I came on, I can't wait to come back to visit again."

Read more here:
http://www.sunherald.com/2012/12/29/4380027/new-jersey-mayor-views-pass-christians.html#storylink=cpy

YoYo

For Christmas we were under a severe weather alert. The jet stream dipped low and we were under strong tornado warnings most of the day. Most of those hit north and east of us. We just had rain and strong winds. But it wasn't a pleasant day. Our weather has been warm, cloudy, rain, cold, warm, cloudy..etc. Just like a yoyo.

Quicky

A fast moving storm blew in and blew out about 20 minutes later. It was short but intense, we were lucky we did not get any tornadoes. Mobile, Alabama got most of them.

After the storm blew out the temperature drop was dramatic, this morning it was 32^o and it's going to stay chilly till Christmas when it will warm up and we will get rain here in South Mississippi

Air Balloon 12-19-12

When I lived in Middletown, New York, air balloons were a common site as there was a field nearby where people took off and landed. But in all our years in South Mississippi, this is the first time we saw one. It flew right over our house and landed not far away.

Burned South Mississippi children conscious, improving

HARRISON COUNTY -- Two children who attend Long Beach schools are improving at a burn center in Georgia from injuries in a recent accidental fire at their home near Gulfport.

Katelyn Meyers, 8, and her 12-year-old brother, Tyler, are in pain now that they are no longer in medically induced comas, said their aunt Amber Allen.

Tyler is able to speak, and has said he and his sister were playing around and started a fire.

"Once they started a fire, they got scared they would get in trouble, and my niece grabbed a can and thought she was pouring water on it to put the fire out," Allen said. The 8-year-old didn't realize it was a can of gasoline.

"(Her brother) tried to stop her but it was too late," Allen said.

"She is awake and can move about," Allen said, "but still has the ventilator and feeding tube. She can open her eyes but she can't talk. She is agitated."

Both have second- and third-degree burns. They remain hospitalized at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center of Doctors Hospital in Augusta.

Katelyn, a student at Quarles Elementary, has burns on about 85 percent of her body. Tyler, a student at Long Beach Middle School, has burns on about half his body, including his face.

The children ran into a Gulfport emergency room Nov. 24 after their father drove them to the hospital, Allen said.

They were flown to the burn center.

A Boston laboratory is using some of Katelyn's DNA to create replacement skin for her, Allen said. The lab is able to grow skin fibroblasts, which will be grafted onto her body in a couple of weeks.

Their parents, Shannon and Elisha Meyers, are staying near their children, who will be in the hospital two to four more months.

The parents are grateful for the prayers and Coastians' efforts to raise money to help them while they are unable to work, Allen said.

Several fundraisers are set for this weekend. T-shirts and bracelets are being sold in conjunction with some events.

One will feature visits and pictures with Santa and craft tables from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday at the Re/Max real estate office on Pineville Road in Long Beach.

Another is a poker run that will start at Shaggy's restaurant in Pass Christian at noon Sunday and end with entertainment and fun at The Shed BBQ & Blues Joint on Mississippi 53 north of Gulfport.

Starting at 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Long Beach police will sponsor a 16-mile Ruck March from the Bay St. Louis Bridge to Jones Park in Biloxi.

Contributions to the Benefit of Tyler & Katelyn Meyers can be made at any branch of Hancock Bank.

Read more here:

http://www.sunherald.com/2012/12/14/4359573/burned-south-mississippi-children.html#storylink=cpy

2012 Hurricane Season Ends Today

Today marks the end of hurricane season, a day many along the Coast have been waiting for since the season began June 1. The season actually got revved up before it was supposed to, with storms Alberto and Beryl forming in May.

This year there were 19 named systems, and nine of those were tropical storms. Ten were hurricanes, and one, Michael, was a major hurricane.

Though many of the storms curved out to the Atlantic and dissipated or were torn apart by wind shear, three hit the U.S.: Tropical Storm Debby and hurricanes Isaac and Sandy.

Debby hit the Florida Panhandle, Isaac hit the tip of Louisiana, and Sandy hit the northeastern U.S. All three caused major damage, with Isaac creating massive flooding issues for some people in South Mississippi.

According to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, more than 500 homes in four South Mississippi counties received flood damage from Isaac; Jackson, 249; Pearl River, 151; Hancock, 103; Harrison, 16.

MEMA officials also estimate $11 million has been given to state and local governments for their costs associated with the storm.

"This year proved that it's wrong to think that only major hurricanes can ruin lives and impact local economies," said Laura Furgione, acting director of NOAA's National Weather Service. "We are hopeful that after the 2012 hurricane season, more families and businesses along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts become more 'weather ready' by understanding the risks associated with living near the coastline. Each storm carries a unique set of threats that can be deadly and destructive.

"Mother Nature reminded us again this year of how important it is to be prepared and vigilant." Rupert Lacy, emergency manager in Harrison County, said it's important to be prepared throughout the year for all types of hazards.

"The most important thing is that hurricane season really doesn't follow a calendar," he said. "We see the most intense storms in August and September, but they can happen any time. We have to be prepared for all hazards."

This hurricane season proved busier than officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted. In May, experts had predicted nine to 15 named storms, four to eight hurricanes and one to three major hurricanes.

In August, NOAA officials increased that projection to 17 named storms, five to eight hurricanes, two or three of which would be major. Hurricane Michael was the only major hurricane this year, but Sandy did as much damage as a major storm.

Sandy made landfall Oct. 29 near Atlantic City, N.J. It collided with another weather system, which made the effects even worse.

The storm became the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, with winds spanning more than 1,000 miles.

Sandy was responsible for 209 deaths in seven countries. Officials estimate the losses could surpass $50 billion.

Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2012/11/29/4330901/end-of-hurricane-season-is-here.html#storylink=cpy

Small plane crashes into house

JACKSON, Miss. — A small plane en route to an FAA safety conference crashed into a house in a modest Jackson neighborhood late Tuesday, killing all three pilots aboard, authorities said. A resident of the home escaped with minor injuries.

The Piper PA-32 single-engine plane had just taken off from the Hawkins Field Airport when it began to falter. A police officer who saw the plane go down said it was sputtering as if out of fuel, and the plane's owner said it struck several trees as it went down.

Large flames and black smoke rose about 50 feet from the house that was hit, according to witnesses in the neighborhood of single-family homes surrounded by big magnolia and oak trees.

A deputy fire chief told WJTV-TV that one person escaped the burning home with minor injuries, but it was not immediately clear if anyone else was inside. One patient from the scene was in good condition at University of Mississippi Medical Center, said spokesman Jack Mazurak. He wouldn't give the person's name or gender or the extent of the injuries, citing privacy laws.

Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart confirmed three people died in the crash. She said dental records or DNA would be needed to confirm their identities and that the identities would not be confirmed Tuesday night.

The plane was owned by Roger and Michele Latham, from Superior Pallet Company in Flowood, Miss., both of whom showed up at the crash site, along with their grown daughter, Emily Latham.

Emily Latham noted that her father was supposed to have been on board but changed his plans.

"He went hunting," she said. "Thank God."

Michele Latham said all three men on board were pilots. Roger Latham, who is 15 hours short of getting his pilot's license, identified one of the victims as John Edward Tilton Jr., his flight instructor.

"He was one of the finest Christian men I knew," Latham said.

Authorities did not identify the other two people aboard the plane.

"We had three great men who lost their lives," he added. "I just want to wake up in a while and say, 'This didn't happen.'"

The plane had just departed Hawkins Field Airport headed for Raymond, Miss., for an FAA safety conference, just 25 miles away. Latham said his plane had been parked in a hangar for a month and they wanted to take it out for a short flight before he flew it to Gulf Shores, Ala., for Thanksgiving. Latham said he had owned the plane for 2 1/2 years and described it as being in mint condition.

The plane took off at 5:10 p.m. and shortly after, the pilot asked for permission to return to the airport, according to a news release issued by the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority. The plane was unable to return and crashed.

Latham said a Jackson police officer who was about a block away when the plane was coming down told him "it was spitting and sputtering and ... starving for fuel."

It hit trees on the way down, Latham said, adding, "I'm sure John was doing everything he possibly could to save the lives on board." Vivian Payne, who lives about six blocks from the crash site, said she heard a loud bang that sounded different from an electrical transformer blowing.

"It shook the walls of my house," Payne said as she stood among ambulances, police cars and fire trucks, their lights flashing in the chilly night air.

The weather in Jackson is partly cloudy in the 40s.

The National Transportation Safety Board along with the FAA will be investigating the cause of the crash.

Mississippi author Ellen Douglas dies at 91

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Ellen Douglas, a Mississippi native whose novel "Apostles of Light" was a 1973 National Book Award nominee, died Wednesday in Jackson. She was 91.

Douglas, who cited fellow Mississippi native William Faulkner as a literary influence, was the pen name of Josephine Ayres Haxton; she said she took a pseudonym to guard the privacy of her family. Douglas' Mississippi-set work dealt candidly with race relations, families and the role of women.

Douglas grew up in Hope, Ark., and Alexandria, La., and spent summers with her grandparents in Natchez, Miss., where the family's roots reached back generations. She graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1942. She wrote 11 books, including six novels and several collections of short stories and essays.

"Apostles of Light" is a complex novel about the mistreatment of residents at a home for the elderly in fictional Homochitto, Miss., the town in many of her works.

"If you don't have conflict, you don't have fiction," Douglas told The Associated Press in a 2005 interview about race relations and other forces that helped shape literature.

State Rep. Steve Holland, a funeral director handling arrangements, said Douglas died after an extended illness. He said she would be buried in her native Natchez.

Douglas raised her family in Greenville, Miss., and had lived in Jackson for the past three decades.

In a 1980 oral history with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Douglas said she was influenced by the "overwhelming hypnotic style" of Faulkner, who was living and writing in Oxford when she was a student there at the University of Mississippi. She said she met him once when she was a student and a couple of times years later, but didn't know him well.

Her 1979 novel, "The Rock Cried Out," is about a young Mississippi man whose cousin was killed during the Freedom Summer of 1964, a pivotal time for the civil rights movement in the Deep South state.

Some of her other works were "A Family's Affairs" and "Can't Quit You, Baby."

Douglas won a lifetime achievement award in 2008 from the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters.

She is survived by three sons: Richard Haxton, Brooks Haxton and Ayres Haxton.

Cynthia Shearer, a novelist who is a writing consultant at Texas Christian University, said when she did her first public reading of her own writing in the 1980s, Douglas was in the audience in Oxford, Miss.

"She didn't know me from Adam, but she beamed at me the whole time, telegraphing bravery to me," Shearer recalled.

Shearer, author of the novels "The Wonder Book of the Air" and "The Celestial Jukebox," said Douglas was quiet and unassuming.

"I saw her sitting by herself at a writers' conference one time after I'd published my first novel, and I took my little glass of white wine over to sit with her," Shearer told AP. "She held up her glass of bourbon instructionally, and then eyed my white wine sardonically, and said, 'You got to do better than that.'"

Douglas was writer-in-residence at the University of Mississippi from 1979 to 1983. One of her creative writing students was Larry Brown, an Oxford firefighter who later wrote "Big Bad Love" and other gritty novels set in the South. Brown died in 2004.

http://entertainment.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=773757

November already

With my old laptop dying and getting a new laptop with Windows8 and Hurricane Sandy hitting the NE where some of my family and friends live, I have been pre-occupied.

Our weather has been cool, breezy and dry. But we might get some rain tomorrow.

Our mornings are foggy.

Halloween was not as busy as last year, we only used one bucket of candy instead of two. The weather was excellent, a chilly, starry night.

Pass Christian

Pass Christian (pronounced "kris-CHAN" or "kris-chee-ANN", rather than "KRIS-chin"), nicknamed The Pass, is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, along the Gulf of Mexico. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,613 at the 2010 census.

Geographically, the town of Pass Christian is peninsular, with water on three sides: the Gulf of Mexico to the south, the Bay of St. Louis to the west and a long stretch of bayou to the north. The unincorporated area north of the bayou, known as DeLisle (pronounced "duh LILL" or "duh LEEL"), shares a zip code with Pass Christian, but is not within the city limits. DeLisle was formerly known as Wolf Town or Wolftown.

Pass Christian was named for a nearby deepwater pass, which in turn was named for Nicholas Christian L'Adnier, who lived on nearby Cat Island beginning in 1746. In 1781 all of Pass Christian peninsula was owned by Julia de la Brosse (Widow Asmard). Upon her death in 1799, Widow Asmard deeded 800 arpents - the entire downtown Pass Christian - to Charles Asmar, her freed slave, who upon his death left the property to his heirs. Pass Christian was officially charted as a town in 1848.

The town was a famous resort prior to the American Civil War and the site where the first yacht club of the South (and second in the US) was established in 1849. The town was a favorite location for the beach and summer homes of the wealthy of New Orleans. The row of historic mansions along the town's shoreline, especially Scenic Drive, was one of the country's notable historic districts.

During the Civil War, the Battle of Pass Christian occurred when the USS Massachusetts (1860) began shelling the town. The 3rd Mississippi Regiment, which was stationed in Pass Christian, had marched toward Biloxi expecting a Union landing there, leaving Pass Christian completely unprotected.

A housewife dashed to her upper floor balcony and waved a white bed sheet, the flag of surrender, and the bombardment ceased. Union soldiers plundered the town before withdrawing, there being little of value, including food, for them to confiscate. This skirmish became known as the Bedsheet Surrender.

In 1884, Wolf Town - so named for the preponderance of wolves in the area - was renamed as Delisle. Delisle is a stretch of land north of the Pass Christian bayou.

Pass Christian was in the path of two of the most intense hurricanes ever to hit the United States--Hurricane Camille on August 17, 1969, and Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. Each hurricane caused the near total destruction of the city.

Cruisin the Coast

16th Annual Cruisin' The Coast will be October 7-14, 2012.

Cruisin the Coast

Be THERE!

Name change for Mississippi Man

JACKSON, MS (AP) -

A Mississippi man has been allowed to change his last name on his driver's license by using his marriage certificate after the ACLU complained state authorities were discriminating against him.

Robert Everhart of Pascagoula, born Robert McCarthy, says he changed his license to take his wife's last name Wednesday after being turned away several times previously.

The ACLU sent a letter Tuesday to Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Albert Santa Cruz. It said DPS was violating state and federal law because women are routinely allowed to use marriage certificates to change their names.

DPS says it notified employees that men can use marriage certificates, too.

Everhart says he took his wife's name because she was the only surviving child in her family and people mispronounced his old name.

Nice weather

It has been cool in the mornings 60s, and warmer during the day.

We have had no rain in weeks which was good because it allowed ALL the rain from Hurricane Isaac to dry, but now we need some rain.

Saturday we have a good chance of getting some, of course its because the kids have so many outdoor events.

Tchoutacabouffa River

Tchoutacabouffa River

How do you pronounce Tchoutacabouffa River?
The word, the French spelling of an Indian name, is pronounced "CHOO-tah-kah-BUH-fuh", or locally as "CHOO-tah-kah-buff".

The Tchoutacabouffa River is a stream located in Harrison County, Mississippi. The river's mouth is located just north of the city of Biloxi at Biloxi Bay and south of Interstate 10, and it flows approximately 31 miles to the north.

Southern Mississippi art potter George E. Ohr, who worked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, dug much of the clay he used for his works locally from the Tchoutacabouffa River. Tchoutacabouffa is the Biloxi tribe's word for "broken pot."

Isaac still causing grief!

MS (WLOX) - Just when South Mississippi thought Isaac was behind us, the remnants of that storm are pounding the coast.

Overnight rains have topped the six inch mark. And that's caused a variety of problems, especially in Jackson County.

Sporadic power outages have been reported. Soggy neighborhoods once again look like lakes.
Cars are flooded. So are streets. And in Ocean Springs, school will start two hours late today.

Forecasters say the heavy rain is a storm that's linked to the remnants of Hurricane Isaac.

Nutria clean up operation begins in Bay St. Louis

BAY ST. LOUIS, MS (WLOX) -

Clean up has begun in Bay St. Louis where thousands of dead nutria washed up ashore in the wake of Hurricane Isaac.

Officials with the Hancock County Emergency Management Agency say that parts of Beach Boulevard from Lakeshore Road to Washington Street have been closed while workers in hazardous materials suits try and pick up the carcasses.

Hancock County EMA officials estimate more than 15,000 dead swamp rats washed up on the beach.

Authorities now worry about a potential health issue because of the stench from the animals and the possibility that they might bake and explode in the heat.

Residents have been advised to avoid that part of the beach for the time being

Nasty Isaac

We had bad weather all Tuesday (Aug 27th) and the eye hit southwest of us in Louisiana, where it stalled. Everything flooded and the bands of the huge hurricane pumped gulf water here for 3 days because we were on the wrong side of the storm.

Our road flooded and so did our backyard but we did not get water in the house and best of all, WE DID NOT LOSE ELECTRICITY! yay

We did not have rain this morning so the ground has a chance to dry.

So far, landfall after midnight

Latest track on Isaac

Hurricane Isaac

"Ironically, Isaac is expected to threaten lives and property along the northern Gulf Coast seven years to the date of Hurricane Katrina's devastating landfall."

Isaac

Keeping an eye on Isaac

two dry days in a row

The humidity lessened a bit at night but it's still very humid during the day. It is partly cloudy but no rain is expected today.

B.B. King

KILMICHAEL, Mississippi — The town of Kilmichael and blues legend B.B. King will be honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail.

The "Kilmichael: Roots of B.B. King" marker will be unveiled Tuesday afternoon at 105 Depot Ave. in Kilmichael.

A news release from the Mississippi Development Authority says King, who was born in the Delta fifty miles west of Kilmichael in 1925, spent many of his formative years in Kilmichael in the 1930s and '40s before achieving stardom.

His first mentor on the guitar was the Rev. Archie Fair, who played while preaching at a local church.

King credited his teacher at the one-room Elkhorn School, Luther Henson, with instilling in him dignity, independence and hope.

Gecko

Geckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 cm to 60 cm. Geckos are unique among lizards in their vocalizations, making chirping sounds in social interactions with other geckos.

Geckos are the most species rich group of lizards, with close to 1,500 different species worldwide and many others likely yet to be discovered. The New Latin gekko and English gecko stem from the Malay gēkoq, which is imitative of the sound the animals make.

All geckos, excluding the Eublepharidae family, have no eyelids and instead have a transparent membrane which they lick to clean. Nocturnal species have excellent night vision; their eyes are 350 times more sensitive to light than the human eye.

Most gecko species can lose their tails in defense, a process called autotomy. Many species are well known for their specialized toe pads that enable them to climb smooth and vertical surfaces, and even cross indoor ceilings with ease (one hypothesis explains the ability in terms of the van der Waals force).

These antics are well-known to people who live in warm regions of the world, where several species of geckos make their home inside human habitations. These species (for example the House Gecko) become part of the indoor menagerie and are often welcome guests, as they feed on insects, including mosquitoes. Unlike most lizards, geckos are usually nocturnal and are great climbers.

They are one of the few creatures here in the South that I am NOT afraid of.

A storm or two a day

We have had rain and storms the last few days. Today is the Long Beach Fair for the High School Band. It looks like it won't be cancelled which means the field is going to be a mud hole since it rained heavy most of the early morning. The skies are not clearing up yet.

Calm in the Gulf

Thankgoodness Ernesto and Florence will be no threat to the Gulf coast, nor USA.

Our weather has been hot and humid with some fast moving wicked little storms thrown in, but I'll take that any day rather than a hurricane or tornado.

School started yesterday and the grandkids had a good first day.

Last weekend at the Edgewater Mall.

We went shopping the day after the Tax free weekend so the mall was not crowded, which was a joy.

Active Atlantic

It looks like we might have a hurricane named Ernesto in a few days. It will be moving in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday or Tuesday and then where will it go..?

Annual Night out against crime

Mississippi Tourism

Visit Mississippi

Mississippi Tourism is a division of the Mississippi Development Authority. Thank you for your interest in Mississippi, and we look forward to your visit to our state.

Please feel free to contact us if you need further information about any aspect of Mississippi tourism. We want to be your trusted guide to everything wonderful about our state. We are here to help you Find Your True South in Mississippi.

Lightening strike

We had some wicked storms the last few days. One storm two nights ago, the lightening hit pole and knocked it down. Luckily the wires were still attached and we only lost electricity and phone service for an hour before everything was mounted on a new pole. Our road flooded today with the storm, the first time that has happened this year.

SummerTime

There was a storm or two during the night. Today was mostly sunny, hot, breezy and humid.

That house is abandoned and its probably been empty since around Katrina. There are still a lot of abandoned houses in this town and surounding towns.

Morning Thunder

Another hot and humid day. But this one starts with a little fast moving thunderstorm and a beautiful sunrise.

We have been getting thunderstorms in the late afternoon, we'll see if we get one later.

Long Beach Festival

2012 Long Beach Festival

Date: Saturday, August 11, 2012

Time: 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM

Website: http://www.lbhsbandfestival.com

Bring your family & friends for a fun day of music, waterslides, street vendors, Kiddie Village, a Cruise In, exhibitions, & more!

Please come and check out these local bands:
Foresight, Ricky Rowan, Where The Water Meets The Land, Suthurn Touch, Dustin Kahlil, StereoHype, & Hanover Drive!

Admission is free & you can ride the waterslides all day for just $10!

For more info, please check out our website at www.lbhsbandfestival.com!

Fata Morgana

There is a new show at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino.

“Fata Morgana,” a cirque-style show featuring Bello Nock, runs through Aug. 19 at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, 875 Beach Blvd. in Biloxi.

Showtimes are 7 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, plus 3 p.m. matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. There are no performances on Mondays

Tickets are $9.95, $14.95 and $19.95 plus tax and service fees and available for purchase at the Beau Rivage Ticket Office, by phone at 888-566-7469 or online at BeauRivage.com. They also are available through Ticketmaster.

A family package of four tickets is available for $30. Advance reservations are required and package pricing is based on availability. Room packages also are available.

Bello Nock has been on our news shows. I hope the kids don't take up that hairstyle.

After the 4th

The 4th was pretty quiet. I could hear fireworks but they were not close, possibly on the beach. We did have a little rain on the 3rd but everything is still very very dry. Today is another hot, humid, breezy day but we have a better chance of rain, today.

Aloe plant on the patio table.

Checkpoints

Mississippi Hwy Patrol Troop K started conducting checkpoints Tuesday at 6 p.m. and already, MS Highway Patrol Master Sgt. Johnny Poulos said they’ve made two DUI arrests.

Safety checkpoints have been set up in Harrison, Hancock, Pearl River, Jackson, Stone and George counties. Troopers will check for seatbelt use, drunk driving, driver’s license and insurance.

Poulos said, troopers will also be watching for distracted drivers.

“Distracted driving is a killer also, people who are not drinking, maybe focusing on something other than driving like texting or what's going on inside the car. Husbands and wives trying to feed their children while they are driving,” Poulos explained. “Innocent people lose their lives everyday due to distracted driving.”

Poulos said motorists going through checkpoints should be prepared with their driver’s license and insurance cards so they can pass through the checkpoints as quickly as possible.

He said one of the most significant things motorists can do is drive defensively.

“Keep in mind, your main mission is to arrive at your destination safely. That includes your family and someone else’s family and if we all work together we can all accomplish that mission.

The checkpoints will run all day until midnight.

“We didn't have one fatality statewide during last Memorial Day weekend,” Poulos said.

He said he hopes to continue zero fatalities during this holiday.

Dry and Hot

Still no rain and still hot, the air heavy.

Local News

LONG BEACH, MS (WLOX)- There were some tense moments Thursday morning in Long Beach as officers executing a search of a home found several grenades. Long Beach officials tell WLOX News their officers were assisting Hancock County officials on a child porn case. Upon entering a home near the intersection of Commission and Daugherty roads, they saw several grenades, and called the Biloxi bomb squad. The devices turned out to be duds, and the all clear was given at 8:45am.

Tracking a Black Bear

Imagine walking more than 100 miles in this heat. That's what a black bear has been doing in South Mississippi.

The bear was spotted at a home in Pass Christian Tuesday morning. Wildlife officials tell WLOX News they've tracked the bear all the way to the coast from Jones County.

Brad Young with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife said the animal was trapped and fitted with a tracking device early last month. He started his journey near Highway 98 in Jones County, passed by Camp Shelby, then moved on to Poplarville and Saucier. He was then spotted near Interstate 10 in the Pass.

Young said the bear is looking around a free meal.

"We don't want the bear hanging around residential areas. So we're encouraging people to take care, to not leave food out overnight, keep pet food indoors, things that like so the bear doesn't come snooping around looking for an easy meal," Young said.

Young said 90 percent of a bear's diet consists of plant materials like berries, acorns and grass. The other 10 percent is mostly insects.

www.wlox.com

Not a breeze

Florida is sure getting a soaking! They are still going to get a couple of days of rain before it moves out into the Atlantic where they say it will reform into a TS. The storm is keeping our weather very hot and VERY humid. The air is thick like soup. It is 7am and the temperature is 80^o already. It went to 99 yesterday. It is sunny and nothing is moving.

Latest track for Debby

What a difference a day makes. In fact, this track came out late afternoon yesterday. It might be 2-3 days before landfall so she still has time to move around.

We are supposed to get some rain from the out bands of Debby, the panhandle of Florida is getting heavy rains that they don't need.

tracking Debby

It is still uncertain where she is going but all the models are bringing it closer to South Mississippi. The lastest is it will land in Louisiana near New Orleans.

TS Debby

After a few days of wondering, the path of TS Debby will head west and hit Texas around mid week. It might get close enough to us to give us some badly needed rain.

THE GFS AND GFDL SHOWING AN EASTWARD MOTION ACROSS FLORIDA...AND THE REST OF THE MODELS BRINGING DEBBY WESTWARD ACROSS THE NORTHERN GULF TOWARDS TEXAS. EVEN THOUGH THE DETERMINISTIC GFS SHOWS AN EASTWARD TRACK...MORE THAN HALF OF THE GFS ENSEMBLE MEMBERS ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH THE WESTWARD-MOVING MODELS...MAKING THE WESTWARD SCENARIO SEEM MORE LIKELY. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE TOO THAT THE ECMWF MODEL SHOWS A FASTER WESTWARD MOTION THAN INDICATED IN THE NHC FORECAST...SO IT IS POSSIBLE THAT DEBBY COULD REACH THE COAST EARLIER THAN INDICATED.

Long Beach Live!

The City of Long Beach presents Long Beach Live! featuring Plan B on Thursday, June 21st at Harper McCaughan Town Green located on Jeff Davis Ave. in Long Beach with festivities beginning at 6:30 p.m.

“Long Beach Live!” is a concert series featuring a number of local musical artists. Admission is free to the public and the festivities are from 6:30 p.m. -8:30 p.m.

June’s Long Beach Live! will feature Plan B. Plan B is newly formed group whose popularity is growing with each performance. Their set list includes classic blues and rock and roll. James Johnson is lead vocals and guitar, Charles Mcginn on the slide guitar, Jay Patricks on bass and vocals, and Chris Negron on drums.

Opening performance by Wink & Masino beginning at 6:30.

Be Prepared

We are a few weeks into Hurricane Season. We have been soo lucky the last few years with nothing coming our way. But after Hurricane Katrina everyone here understands that you must be prepared for anything. Do nothing at your own risk.

I bought this solar powered emergency radio last week. It was the last one on the shelf so people are taking action. It is also a flash light and a phone charger.

It is solar and there is a crank in the back. I tried it today and it works great.

I also bought a small bettery operated fan that takes 2D batteries. We also have a bigger one that takes 4D batteries. We bought a big candle for our hurricane lamp and we have an oil lamp. We also have battery operated candles.

We have two coleman stoves too. I have a charger and plenty of AA and AAA batteries, but I will get more. I want to get some solar lights for the backyard.

Pray for the best

Prepare for the worst

Mockingbird

Mockingbirds are a group of New World passerine birds from the Mimidae family. They are best known for the habit of some species mimicking the songs of other birds and the sounds of insects and amphibians, often loudly and in rapid succession.

In our lemon tree a Mockingbird laid three eggs a little while back. Now the babies look like they are getting ready to fly soon. We see momma going in and out quite a few times a day. She must be exhausted. She will flutter around if you get too close to the tree. Here she is coming back with food for the babies.

Soupy air

It is so hot and humid. The air is like soup. Nothing is moving. Although it's cloudy on and off during the day, the storms and rain come at night. It is not a cooling rain. But it's June. This weather is not unusual in South Mississippi. It doesn't stop people from complaining about it.

Mississippi Morning

Morning mist rising. The sound of a neighbors automatic sprinklers. An early morning jogger. A slight breeze rustles the hedge. A gecko runs towards the green house. A mockingbird flies out of the lemon tree where it has a nest. Spike stretches and head towards the water bowl. And the day gets hotter...

USS Mississippi

PASCAGOULA, Miss. -

The USS Mississippi, a sophisticated attack Navy submarine, is going into active service.

The 377-foot Virginia-class submarine arrived last month in Pascagoula, Miss., and was commissioned Saturday. A commissioning places a ship into active service.

The Clarion-Ledger reports that the USS Mississippi, which cost $2 billion to build, was delivered a year ahead of schedule and under budget.

This is the fifth Navy ship or boat to carry the Mississippi name. It is expected to remain in the fleet for about three decades.

The submarine was christened at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Conn., on Dec. 3, and has been through sea trials. The submarine will be assigned to Submarine Group Two.

With a crew of about 130 officer and sailors, the submarine carries torpedoes and Tomahawk missiles, and can be configured to carry Navy SEALs.

Electric Boat and its major subcontractor, Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News, have received contracts to build the first 18 submarines of a planned 30-ship Virginia Class.

"That is a very emotional part of the event," said Lauren Pitre, a 1995 graduate of West Point High School who serves as the Virginia class program office acquisition manager. "You then see the crew run on board. It definitely gives you chills."

Rear Adm. Michael Jabaley, a 1980 graduate of Murrah High School in Jackson, Miss., is manager of the Virginia fleet and he said having the commissioning happen in Mississippi was special to him.

My SIL and Grandson went to the ceremony today. It was a sunny warm day.
Everyone there received a nice book commemorating the event. It makes a nice keepsake.

A little rain!

It has been thundering for over an hour and there have been clouds to the west of us. They finally moved our way and we are getting a little rain. It's not much but every little bit will help. The chances of rain get better tomorrow. Today is SIL's 44th birthday!

Can you say HOT!

The temperature has been really hot for about a week now. There is no morning relief either. As soon as you open the door the heat just blasts you in the face and we have 5 or 6 months of this to go. The grass, that stayed green all winter has to be watered so it doesn't turn brown now. Everything droops.

A neighbor was putting a swing set together for her son and the poles were too hot to touch. I don't think you will find kids walking around barefoot either.

We have a chance of rain every day, areas around us got a little rain yesterday but we didn't get any. Melting....

30th annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Blow out -Gulfport

GULFPORT, MS - Bikers and motorcycle enthusiast visited the Coast for the 30th annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Memorial Day Blowout at the Gulfport drag way.

The Asgard Motorcycle Club hosts the event each year. Organizers said they plan the event nine months in advance, and this year they expect 5,000-10,000 people to pass through the gates for the three day event.

The event features drag racing, A, B and C class, eight classes within the bike shows, daisy duke contest, slow races, barrel race, tattoo contest, bikini and wet t-shirt contest, weenie bite contest and ring toss.

During Saturday's racing time trials, bikers hit speeds of almost 150 miles per hour.

Asgard Motorcycle Club spokesperson Asgard Smokey Alfred Stepputat said, the races, bike show and the wet t-shirt and bikini contests are some of the most popular competitions.

The Asgard Motorcycle Club is a non-profit organization, which offers funding to the Boys and Girls Club, Gulf Coast Multiple Sclerosis, St. Jude, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Sheriff's boys and girls ranchers and other charities.

With about 50 vendors selling food, jewelry, clothing, leather goods, and more, Stepputat said, the blowout brings dollars to the Gulf Coast and gives bikers a positive image.

"Hollywood paints a picture of bikers. Making us look like we are all criminals. Bikers are people from all walks of life, everyday people who just enjoy riding motorcycles and the freedom of the open road. This event shows that we are doing great things for the community and local charities," Stepputat said.

Placed on 100 acres, the blowout provided plenty of room for attendees to camp out.

"A lot of people stay on the grounds. Bikers put up tents. They bring their campers. It's a quarter mile drag way, but the drag itself is actually a mile long. Because they have three quarters of a mile to slow down after they pass the finish line," Stepputat explained.

On Sunday organizers held a flag raising ceremony on the drag way with the assistance of the Air Force, Army and the Armed Forces Motorcycle Club.

Train Service

BILOXI, MS

The Biloxi City Council will consider a resolution to bring passenger train service back to the Mississippi Coast. The idea is to bring the old Sunset Limited route back to South Mississippi.

Right now on the coast, train service is exclusively the transportation of freight. The city of Biloxi points out that the Gulf Coast is isolated from the nation's passenger train system. Until 2005, Amtrak's Sunset Limited rolled from Florida to Los Angeles. Then everyone east of New Orleans was taken off the track.

"Since Hurricane Katrina, they've repaired the tracks. You see freight service every day along the Coast. Our question is why not go ahead and restore Amtrak service?" said City Spokesman Vincent Creel.

Biloxi's transportation complex serves as a hub for Coast Transit Authority buses and Greyhound. Creel said passenger service could be good for tourism, including the casino industry and offer Coast residents another transportation option.

"This would be super, not only for our coast people, but it would be great for people coming from Florida or from the west of us."

The mayor of Tallahassee, Florida contacted Biloxi on the matter. He points out that there are 13 stranded train stations along the Gulf Coast. This concept is in the preliminary stage, but it could pick up steam and restore the old Sunset Limited route along the Gulf Coast.

Prison Riot in Natchez, Mississippi

A prison guard was killed and several employees injured Sunday in a riot at the Adams County Correctional Facility in Natchez, Mississippi, officials said.

The 23-year-old guard appeared to suffer "blunt trauma to the head," said Adams County Coroner James Lee.

The riot, which began about 2:40 p.m., was still going on Sunday night, the facility's operator said in a statement. Local and state law enforcement officials as well as authorities from the Federal Bureau of Prisons were helping the facility quell the violence.

"The disturbance is contained within the secure perimeter of the facility, with no threat to public safety," the statement said.

Five employees and one inmate were taken to a hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries, while additional staff members were being treated at the prison.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.

Rusty Boyd, a spokesman with the Mississippi Highway Patrol, said Sunday evening that 45 to 55 units from that state agency are helping corrections officers deal with the situation.

The facility is a 2,567-bed prison that houses adult men who are in the United States illegally and charged with crimes. It is owned by the Tennessee-based Corrections Corporation of America.

Warden Vance Laughlin described the facility as quiet and with "few problems" in a March 2010 article in The Natchez Democrat, a few months after it opened to incarcerate illegal immigrants detained for mostly low-security crimes. At that point, it contained more than 2,000 inmates -- more than two-thirds of whom were of Mexican descent, although scores of nationalities were then represented.

Last day of School

It's the last day of school here in South Mississippi and it was only a half day. In 2014 the beginning and end of the school year will change. But I forget the exact dates since it won't affect us for awhile yet. It is partly cloudy, hot and humid with a warm breeze. The same weather we have had all week.

Rainbow

May 12th, 2012, we had a rainy day. Near sunset I went out back and saw a beautiful rainbow! I ran inside, grab my camera and ran out front. It was wonderful! A full rainbow and it was soo close!

It stayed for a long time, I took a lot of pictures none of which came out that great for some reason. The rainbow was in the eastern sky. At the same time the western sky was putting on a good show too!

A beautiful golden sunset.

Friday Morning

It is a nice morning, the sun is coming up to a morning in the 60s. But the day will warm up quickly and clouds will move in this afternoon along with rain and some storms.

The moon is also out so it got its picture taken too.

Hurricane Predictions

Hurricane season starts June 1st and ends Nov. 30th

Overall, the predictions are not dire for 2012. The season is being forecast to be relatively tame. Forecasters seem to agree mostly that there is a probability of 12 named storms and out of the 12 named storms, seven possibly will develop into hurricanes.

Out of the seven hurricanes, three of these are being predicted to be "major" hurricanes.

Most the landfall models are predicting fairly close or normal landfall of storms along the United States coastline. The Gulf of Mexico coastline and the coastline of Florida are being given an elevated chance of landfall over the East Coast in 2012.

Sunny days

We have had sunny weather since all the rain a few days ago. It has been high in the 80's and humid. There have been nice clouds in the sky during the day, so much better than plain old blue skies. Tonight the moon is going to be HUGE, I have to remember to check it out.

When it rains it pours

The rain started at 8am and it continued straight till 1pm. We have some wicked lightening too. We were going to go to Walmart but decided to just go the couple of blocks to the dollar store because of the weather. The drain ditches on either side of the road was full and very close to over flowing! I was very surprised our road did not flood with the amount of rain we had, but it didn't and what a happy surprise that is! The storms are going to continue the rest of the day and into the evening. There is only a 40% chance of rain tomorrow. We do need the rain. It has been hot, breezy and humid.

First Friday's

BILOXI, Mississippi -- Biloxi Main Street has begun a new event in downtown Biloxi called Finally Friday.

It will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. the first Friday of each month, featuring live music in changing downtown venues.

This Friday, May 4, will be Spectacular, Spectacular featuring Chuck Lofton and Johnnie Hosey at the Magnolia Hotel, across from Mary Mahoney’s.

Downtown businesses will expand their hours for these First Friday events. Event-goers will have an opportunity to win a $100 gift card for a downtown Biloxi restaurant. Entry cards will be available at the Magnolia Hotel or any participating location.

Confederate Memorial Day

Confederate Memorial Day, also known as Confederate Decoration Day (Tennessee) and Confederate Heroes Day (Texas), is an official holiday and/or observance day in parts of the U.S. south as a day to honor those who died fighting for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.

Nine states officially observe Confederate Memorial Day: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.

What do people do?

A range of events are organized on and around Confederate Memorial Day. The Main Library of the University of Georgia marks the occasion by publicly displaying the original Constitution of the Confederate States of America. Other observances include:

Ceremonies to place flags and wreaths on the graves of Confederate soldiers and memorials to them.

Church services.

Re-enactments (in historical costume) of battles and events from the Civil War.

Displays of Civil War relics.

However, this type of observance is controversial, as some see it as glorifying a culture and way of life that could only exist because of the work carried out by slaves.