A New Day for DRMC

Delta Regional Medical Center named J. Stansel Harvey as its new Chief Executive Officer and President Wednesday.

Stancil, who grew up in Ruleville, will assume his new post on Jan. 3, 2011.“It feels good,” said Harvey, who signed a two-year deal. “I’m coming back home.”

Harvey, who has a Master of Health Services Administration degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, is leaving his job as a healthcare consultant in Granbury, Texas. However, he has more than 28 years of hospital leadership experience, including nine years as president of Harris Methodist Southwest Hospital, a 229-bed facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

“We have the right man for the job,” said Billy Schultz, DRMC’s Board of Trustees chairman. “We looked at about 10 candidates and began to narrow our
search down from there. “The board of trustees unanimously selected him based on his proven leadership in hospital administration and positive track record in financial and operational accomplishments,” he said.

Harvey succeeds Mazie Whalen, who became interim CEO and president on April 15. She will return to her post as Senior Vice President of Nursing Services. “It was a good experience for me,” said Whalen. “It was a challenge but we have someone to take over.”

Schultz said he and the board were pleased with Whalen’s job. “She was fantastic,” said
Schultz. “This is nothing against her at all. In fact, she didn’t want the job. I can’t say enough praise about what she did.” Harvey and his wife, Lisa, have a son, Ben, who lives in Arkansas.

Welcome Mr. Harvey and your family. You have an incredible opportunity to provide DRMC with the leadership and integrity that has been lacking for many years. As the Delta's largest medical center, DRMC has some truly great employees who have long been hoping to have a leader who is both fair and honest.

Change comes slowly in the Delta, but it can come. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer... and always be sure that you can discern the difference between these groups.

Boards and doctors don't run a hospital, but they will if given half a chance. Trust your instincts and administrative knowledge to make needed changes. Listen to your employees. As Henry Ford once stated, "I never learned anything about car making sitting in a board room. Most of what I know today, I learned from listening to the men on the line."

Best of luck in your new position.

Forthright

Speak Up!

The news of my death has been greatly exaggerated! I am not dead, just bored. I maintained this site after its former owner became disenchanted with it. I saw the "Scoop" as a viable medium for us "Deltans" to express our views of what really concerns us... and for the most part, it has done just that.

My initial goal for the "Scoop" was to inform and raise awareness of local issues that "advertisers" will NOT allow to be printed in the local press. The "Scoop's" promise of anonymity has been strictly enforced and we have gained hundreds of loyal readers and contributors over the last 6 years. A blog is no better than its topics and its contributors. Lately, it seems that we have become somewhat complacent and rather stale.

Here's the challenge: Give us your opinion on any topic and let's get a lively debate going! Okay, it's a local blog about the Delta, but there are many national issues which will affect all of our lives in the future. Haley Barbour for President? "Don't ask, don't tell"... the "Tea Party"?

I love the "Scoop" and many other blogs, because they are open venues for expressing my likes, dislikes, opinions or just rants and raves. In my varied careers, I have been forced to say many things that were politically "correct", but basically contradicted my personal beliefs. When I discovered the "Delta Scoop" and several other good blogs, I felt liberated! Finally, I could say whatever the hell I wanted and simply not give a damn whether I got an "Amen" or a "F-U".

Someone provide me with their "argument" for or against any issue. I will give you front page coverage and let's see how you fair. It is your chance to be be heard and rally either support or disdain for your opinion. At the end of the day, the one trait that all "Deltans" possess is their opinion!

Forthright

County Taxes Short $10 Million!

Collection of county taxes is down — way down and county officials would like to know why.

Mark Seard, Washington County Tax Assessor delivered the news to the Washington County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Seard said. “I have compiled a yearly report of Ad Valorem Assessments of the county and from September of 2009 until September of this year we are down over $10 million dollars in taxes.”

Seard said $2.5 million was down in public taxes, another $2.2 million in realty and $5 million in personal taxes. “It’s hard to say what is the one factor why these numbers are so high,” Seard said. “These numbers are alarming.”

According to Seard more than $3 million of the $10 million shortage is in automobile taxes. “We have really seen a decrease in our car tags for the county,” said Seard. Paul Watson, board president, asked Seard to do a comparison of tax assessments to surrounding and neighboring sister counties.

Washington County Tax Collector, Patricia Lee said it’s not that county residents are not paying their taxes, it is that more people are not purchasing new cars.

“We have done more tag renewals this year than in years past,” Lee said. “If people do not purchase new cars then the value of that depreciates and goes down every year. We have not had as many new car tags purchases this year. We actually did an audit in June and everything was intact. We are in good standing.”

After speaking with sales representatives from local car dealerships, some said the Cash For Clunkers or now known as CARS (Community Assistance to Recycle and Save) gave the car industry a shot in the arm but hindered future potential car sales.

Seard said a combination of depreciation, non-collected taxes and fewer new auto sales are contributing factors to the county’s $10 million less in total taxes year to date. “Also we’ve been noticing a higher number of out-of-state tags in the county and around the city of Greenville,” Seard said. “Tags from Louisiana, Arkansas and a rising number of blue car dealer tags are all things we need to look at. These factors are just a percentage of the problem for the city.”

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors adopted a county budget of $29.5 million dollars, over the complaints of citizens who attended a budget hearing.

Walley Morse asked the board about the proposed budget and said that in the past five years the city has lost more than 10,000 people yet the budget for sheriffs department increased by 37 percent with the decrease in people.

Sheriff Milton Gaston Sr., acknowledged the lower population but said there has not been a drop in crimes being committed in the county.

Barbara W. Clark, a retired counselor/educator at Coleman Middle School, shared Morse’s sentiments and questioned the supervisors’ compassion on raising taxes on county residents. “I am retired, along with these other ladies who are here in attendance,” Clark said. “We didn’t retire as educators to pay you all, all of our money. People can’t afford this, already citizens are having trouble paying their water and electric bills.

Clark said being a retired educator after 28 1/2 years of service, to see her property taxes jump in 2009 from $1,200 to more than $1,600 is too expensive. “I’m being depleted,” said Clark. “The people remaining in the county are being taxed to death. Citizens like myself and others are hurting with this wasteful spending the county has put taxpayer’s dollars’ into like those casinos and title loan companies.”

Morse and Clark questioned the supervisors’ loyalty to citizens of the county — that sparked every county supervisor to speak.

Paul Watson, board president said, it is and always has been the boards’ responsibility to do what is best for citizens of the county. “We work hard to be impartial to everyone,” said Watson. “We don’t want to sit up here on this board like we’re some ‘fat cats’.”

Jesse Amos, District 4 supervisor spoke of how so many jobs that have left the county and country now are located oversees. “I am going to be honest, this city has turned into a service station,” Amos said. “With Wal-Mart and K-Mart being here it is hard to see jobs coming back to this area. The only way I see jobs coming back is if the ‘big people’ gotta go broke and come together as one group regardless of race; black, white blue or brown.”

Al Rankins, District 5 supervisor said he has been on the board for more than 20 years and has always tried to look out for the best interest of the people of this community. “We go into these budget hearings with no secrets,” Rankins said. “There are just some things, some essential services that we must provide to citizens of Washington County. We have cut this budget to the bare. I’m a conservative person and I spend this county’s money as if it were my own...

Ernest Holmes, District 5 Supervisor told the county residents that their voices can be heard and impacted next year being an election year.

Let’s see… property taxes just went up, car tags are the highest in the state, water and sewage rates are going up in October and real estate values are down 40% from where they were ten years ago. And we wonder why the Director of Economic Development just quit?

The last time I purchased my car tag, they wouldn’t even take a check… CASH only. As I counted out the $874.00, the worker stated, “I bet that’s the most money you ever paid for a little plastic sticker.” I replied, “Not really… I paid a lot more last year.” As I walked out of court house I thought to myself, “I wonder how much of that cash will ever make it to the county?”

Here’s an epiphany for Mark Seard… The reason tax collections are down by $10 million dollars is because tax payers are fleeing the area, leaving fewer and fewer to support the growing majority of residents who feed on our system and pay no taxes! Seard blames a combination of "depreciation, non-collected taxes and fewer new auto sales for the loss"!

What depreciation? The assessed value of my house for tax purposes went up this year! The only thing that depreciated was the appraised “value” of my house which is now less than I paid for it ten years ago.

As for non-collected taxes, whose problem is that? If paying county taxes has become an option, I would like to opt out. The simple truth is that our city and county “officials” can’t (or choose not to) enforce the tax laws. There are no consequences for some residents who don’t pay these taxes. We simply write off this revenue as “noncollectable” and then raise taxes on the remaining few who do pay.

And the “fewer new cars” ruse is the best! Who can afford a new car when they are paying for the most expensive car tags in the state… and driving on the worst roads? I am too busy keeping my tires aligned every three months from our dilapidated infrastructure!

As for our “Supervisors” comments, the only one who speaks even a word of truth is Ernest Holmes, who told the county residents “that their voices can be heard and impacted next year being an election year.”

While grammatically incorrect, the message is clear. Unfortunately for Ernest, he may have just sealed his own fate!

Forthright

From Dr. Laura to Chris Rock... Just Quit!

Ronnie Agnew of the Clarion Ledger offers this...

I was in high school when a man, a white man, stopped by to visit my parents, whom he had not seen since the years they had worked as sharecroppers. While my parents had left behind that life, he possessed a hardscrabble look, signifying he had not quite shaken tough times.

Unkempt and dirty, he reflected with great detail the backbreaking tedium of the cotton fields, where the rows stretched for miles, assuring the promise of a next day's work. He was comfortable that day, too comfortable in fact.

"You know what," he said to my parents with my brother and me sitting near, "y'all were the hardest-working niggers I have ever seen in my life." He said it without blinking an eye, without any sense of regret or shame. My brother and I sat there in shock, my parents embarrassed that a man would visit their home and use the most hateful word in the English language to describe them.

We later concluded that his ignorance was such that he didn't know any better. There have been plenty who do know better who have exercised the same ignorance - even greater because of the assumption that in their world travels, they should have learned something.

Radio talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger is the latest. When an African-American woman married to a white man called for advice on dealing with racist remarks by her husband's friends and family, Schlessinger gave insensitivity new meaning. Again and again she used the racial epithet to justify that since some black folks use the word nigger, why should the offending parties be held accountable.

There's a lofty doctor's degree in front of her name and a 40-year career indicating that she has reached some level of accomplishment. She proved, however, that classrooms and sheltered life experiences are incapable of conveying the hurt caused by that word. It doesn't matter who says it, black people or white. To this day, the words still sting from that day 30-plus years ago when the visitor disrespected people who would never have dishonored him.

There's the wrong-headed presumption Schlessinger and others make that black people are OK with the use of the word nigger because of its use among black rappers and comedians. It hurts just as much, in fact, when black entertainers and regular folk gratuitously use it.

Dr. Laura, who says she will end her show at the end of the year, could not be more wrong in defending her answer to the caller. If she's right, then the tears that well in my eyes when I hear the word nigger must not be real. Knowledgeable she may be on some subjects, but on this one, she knows nothing.

While most agree that there is no acceptable context in which this word should be used today, Agnew's parable demonstrates how the word has evolved from ignorance to hatred.

Thirty years ago, the term was used by a generation who inherited it from parents who simply knew no better. It was not so much a racial slur as it was an unfortunate slang term for "Negros", which is now considered offensive by many.

The "N-word" evolved into the racial epithet that it has become today from the same ignorant culture that believes that when the term is used "inter-racially", that it is acceptable... and often humorous. The "N-word" will never go away as long as we deem it "acceptable" in ANY situation... from classrooms to comedy clubs!

It is hard to believe that anyone in 2010 does not realize that this word is offensive to the majority of our civilized world, but as long as we permit its use, by any race, in any context, for humor or hurt...it will not go away!

Forthright

Love Him or Hate Him... Pat's Opinion

BUCHANAN TO OBAMA

By Patrick J. Buchanan

Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America. Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation. White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to.... This time, the Silent Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard. And among them are these:

First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks. It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known... Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American.

Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the ' 60s on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.

Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks -- with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants. Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated their time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks.

We hear the grievances.

Where is the gratitude??

Barack talks about new 'ladders of opportunity' for blacks... Let him go to Altoona? And Johnstown, and ask the white kids in Catholic schools how many were visited lately by Ivy League recruiters handing out scholarships for 'deserving' white kids...? Is white America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of white America? Is it really white America’s fault that illegitimacy in the African-American community has hit 70 percent and the black dropout rate from high schools in some cities has reached 50 percent?

Is that the fault of white America or, first and foremost, a failure of the black community itself?

As for racism, its ugliest manifestation is in interracial crime, and especially interracial crimes of violence. Is Barrack Osama aware that while white criminals choose black victims 3 percent of the time, black criminals choose white victims 45 percent of the time?

Is Barack aware that black-on-white rapes are 100 times more common than the reverse, that black-on-white robberies were 139 times as common in the first three years of this decade as the reverse?

We have all heard ad nauseam from the Rev. Al about Taiwan Brawley, the Duke rape case and Jena. And all turned out to be hoaxes. But about the epidemic of black assaults on whites that are real, we hear nothing.

Sorry, Barrack, some of us have heard it all before, about 40 years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago.

Just like Dr. Laura, Pat always has an opinion! And just like Dr. Laura, he gets a lot of criticism for expressing it. President Obama does not speak for all black Americans, just as Pat Buchanan does not speak for all non-black Americans. What both are very good at is debating and it would make a great media event to see these two address this issue on live TV.

Don't race to your TV Guide to look for this show anytime soon... but you can express your views here on the "Scoop".

Forthright

"The Help" Filming in Greenwood

Going back...

Based on the beloved New York Times bestselling novel, "The Help," is the story of three extraordinary women in the deep South in 1962. Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but her mother will not be happy until Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid, Constantine, the woman who raised her, but she has disappeared, and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both hearts may be broken. Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job.

Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own. Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

	Emma Stone	...	Eugenia 'Skeeter' Phelan
	Bryce Dallas Howard	...	Hilly Holbrook
	Mike Vogel	...	Johnny Foote
	Allison Janney	...	Eugenia's Mom
	Jessica Chastain	...	Celia Foote
	Sissy Spacek	...	Missus Walters
	Anna Camp	...	Jolene French
	Viola Davis	...	Aibileen Clark
	Chris Lowell	...	Stuart Whitworth
	Octavia Spencer	...	Minny Jackson
	Ahna O'Reilly	...	Elizabeth Leefolt
	Brian Kerwin	...	Robert Phelan
	Aunjanue Ellis	...	Yule Mae
	Cicely Tyson	...	Constantine Jefferson
	Leslie Jordan	...	Mr. Blackly
	Harriet Sansom Harris	...	Grace Higginbotham
	Roslyn Ruff	...	Pascagoula
	Wes Chatham	...	Carlton Phelan
	Tiffany Brouwer	...	Rebecca
	Tarra Riggs	...	Gretchen
	Ritchie Montgomery	...	Bus Driver
	La Chanze	...	Rachel Jefferson
	Carol Sutton	...	Cora

If you haven't read this book, you should. There is something in it for everyone, regardless of where you were in the 1960's.

This is a major motion picture being filmed in the Delta... and we should be proud! It not only recognizes the literary achievement of Mississippians, but gives us a true snapshot of what life was like in the segregated south.

I was in Greenwood last week and met several of the cast and crew. All were quite delightful and complementary of the Delta. Aside from the 100 degree plus temperatures they were enduring in costume and make-up, they found Greenwood very "charming".

Filming will go on throughout October and the movie will be released in early 2011. This is a very positive happening for the Delta. Some good news at last!

Forthright

Barriers Between Us

GREENVILLE - The Rev. Frank Hall felt that the Delta Democrat Times’ recent community forum at the Washington County Convention Center, was good for Greenville. However, he was disappointed with the turnout of a segment of the city’s population.

The forum on home invasion was held May 20.

“I felt there should’ve been more African Americans there,” said Hall, pastor of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. “Many of the crimes that occur in the city, like it or not, happen to African Americans and, like it or not, happen in the African American community. It was disappointing to see the turnout didn’t have more African Americans, especially when you consider that the city is 70 percent African American.”

Because of the poor showing, Hall is hosting a community forum on crime at the church, 322 North Street, June 24, at 6 p.m.

“I want everyone to come out,” said Hall. “And I do mean everyone. It is open to everyone because the crime problem in this city is everyone’s problem.

“I’ve had whites at my church, and they have been welcomed and will most certainly be welcomed at the forum,” he said. “We need to hear from everyone.”

Hall decided to hold the forum because “perhaps people couldn’t get to the convention center for whatever reason,” he said. “By having it in the community, at a community church, we’ll be able to reach those people.

“A lot of good ideas and information was shared at the last forum,” said Hall. “ Many of the people in the African American community should’ve been there to hear what was said.”

If I am not mistaken, this forum was originally scheduled at a local high school. It was subsequently moved because of the concern that the "white" community would not venture into the location of that particular high school.

Now the African American community is claiming low participation at the forum because "people couldn't get to the convention center for whatever reason". I think this speaks volumes about the state of race relations in Greenville.

The truth is, that neither race wants to accept responsibility for what Greenville has become. Sure we can all gather at the convention center (or in a cotton field) to celebrate the blues... because it is the one remaining thing that is marketable about the Delta. The area that was once noted for its culture, art and literary figures is now touted as the "Crime Capitol of the State".

So, how did we get there? Was it "white flight" from integrated schools over the past 30 years, or was it the "entitlement mentality" of reparations that society still owes a great debt? The answer is both! It is quite clear by now that changing the "color" of our local leaders has had no effect on Greenville's spiraling demise.

With the race card out of the way, you have to look at cultural values to define Greenville... and that is where there is a great divide! You can not expect cultures to ever mesh when the two races work so hard to be separate. If the residents of Greenville can not even agree on a common location to discuss the fact that crime is ruining every one's lives, there is little hope left to turn Greenville around.

Forthright

Upping the "Ante"

If you are one of the lucky Mississippians who is required by law to contribute to "PERS" (Public Employees' Retirement System), your contribution is going up from 7.25% to 9.00% on July 1, 2010. On a salary of $30,000 per year, that translates into an additional $525 per year that comes out of your check.

Of course the reason for this increase is because the state of Mississippi is essentially "broke" and can't afford to pay those who are currently drawing state retirement. So, if you are ten years away from retirement... does PERS sound like a wise investment to you?

Anyone who works for the State (teachers and civil servants) knows that Mississippi salaries are among the lowest in the country. A 1.75% decrease in take-home pay is a significant hit to these employees, who have no option but to contribute to PERS.

In the private sector, where salaries are significantly higher, most employees can't afford to contribute more than 5% to an IRA or 401K... but at least they have the choice. The vesting schedule for the state is now 8 years! That's a long time to keep a job in a state that is essentially "broke".

Hold on employers... before you start smiling, YOUR contribution is also going up from 12.00% to 13.56%. However, because our Governor was worried about the economic "impact" this would have in our state, employers' rates won't go up until 2012. (It seems pretty clear that Haley is not too concerned about the "little" people.)

The legislature passed a number of other bills that restrict the benefits of PERS. If you are near retirement, you may want to check them out at www.pers.state.ms.us. It is always good to know what you won't be getting in the future!

Forthright

Health Care or Your Job?

A reader comments:

I know that many Americans are "giddy" over the passage of the president's health care bill. As an employer, I can tell you that my peers and I are anything but excited. All we can see is that we are now going to have an additional expense and liability regarding people that we hire.

Thus, what those who are employees need to understand is that they may well have health coverage, but there is a very good chance that they will not have a job.

In most businesses the three most expensive things to deal with are inventory, taxes and people. Very candidly, in most businesses people are the greatest expense; therefore, when one is trying to curtail costs, people are the first expense to go. Many of my peers will spend the next several months figuring out how to begin downsizing ether through eliminating jobs that are not essential, or not replacing workers who leave because of attrition.

Employers also don't know what the playing field is yet, only that we now have an additional expense. The president's jobs bill is less than no incentive; thus, it will make absolutely no difference in the unemployment rate going down in the future.

So, please remain giddy that we have now surrendered one-seventh of the U.S. economy to the federal government. Keep in mind that the federal government runs the Veterans Administration, Medicare, Medicaid and the bulk of the U.S. rail service. Coincidentally, all of them are broke and can't pay their bills.

H. Barnes

Some large employers may consider lay-offs in dealing with the new health care reform bill, but the Delta has few large employers. A more realistic threat is that employers may decide to pay the $175 fine per employee for NOT offering health care and let the employees go find their own.

If you currently have employer funded health care, you know that it costs your employer significantly more than $175 to provide you with health coverage. Actually, other than salaries, it is the second largest expense that employers currently face.

Insurance costs will continue to rise for all of us, including employers. You can't add 750,000 people to Mississippi's insured roll without someone having to pay for it... and that will continue to be the taxpayers!

These newly insured will continue to use our hospital ERs like primary care clinics, running up exorbitant bills for their convenience. ER Docs in this state are already practicing "defensive" medicine by over utilization of expensive tests and procedures to keep them out of our "Jackpot Justice" courtrooms. Insurance costs for the newly covered will continue to be passed on to those currently insured (just as it has been for the past 75 years!)

Will we have enough primary care physicians? No. There are currently so many disincentives for doctors to practice in Mississippi that taxing the system further will only add to that list. We didn't need health care reform, we need "system" reform! Clean up the waste and abuses in our Medicaid system; quit paying people to invent "disabilities" that don't exist; stop those who have made welfare a "way of life" as an option to employment!

Once again, in our democratic rush to "fix" something, we have missed the mark. Nothing in this reform package does anything about stopping the waste and abuse in our system; nothing addresses the spiraling costs of pharmaceuticals or hospital stays.

In essence, we have "fixed" nothing that was broken! All this reform bill will do is increase the current costs of health care, while reducing its availability and quality. We should all be proud.

Forthright

The Next Great Hospital...

Take off those blinders!

All that has been said it absolutely true! He was ran out of Hattiesburg, for misappropriations of funds. The Doctors were not getting paid! He was out of work for nearly two years before Greenville Board of DRMC hired him. I personally saw his resume online and when trying to make people aware, it was mysteriously removed.

The DRMC Board did not connect the dots to the time line of when he left and how long he had been out of work or apparently care to investigate why!

The man is insane. I personally had a conference with him in 2005 in complaints of patient care for my loved one. During this conversation, he told me all about his dreams of a third hospital. I looked at him like he had three heads. DRMC had only months before purchased KD and had all; but vacated it with bare minimum staff left behind. When I asked him why he wanted this and what his intentions were to do with DRMC building, if it were to happen, his response was to "rent" it out!! He has two vacant hospitals and built a third and he thinks that someone, some business, would want to rent one or either of them??? For what??? He said the new hospital was needed because the old one did not meet code!!!!!

I responded, "First, we, Greenville, can not afford a new hospital bill on our taxes, if the old one doesn't meet code, then why all the remodels, year after year, for as far back as I can remember. If it doesn't meet code that is the your fault and the Board's faults for wasting money all these many, many years!!!"

Then I explained that if his goal was accomplished, as was happening to the KD area as we spoke, businesses would close, the abandoned hospital would be an albatross and those who now live around the hospital for the convenience and "free" medical care would have to move to south Greenville. Those moves would close more businesses in the neighborhood, the Health Dept. would move and all of the clinics would either shut down or move.

He did not care about any of that, just his mission to build this hospital in south Greenville. Already money has been spent in anticipation of this move and now he is leaving town????

What happened? No kickbacks coming through?? Funny business with the funding?? There must be a BIG reason for this action, cause he has been working on this for all these years. Makes no sense for him to walk away now.....unless....hmmmmm...very interesting! Time will tell what the real reason is. Either way, as a citizen and potential patient, glad to see him go. I just hope his pockets are not lined with our dollars as he goes!

9:28 PM

Anonymous said...

Ok, board of supervisors...now it's time to start cutting the extra top heavy management team Ray has compiled during his reign. I say take the senior leadership team and get rid of all of them except for Mr. Phillips. Does Meridian need a new human resource director? We all hope!!! Wonder what Allyson Williams is thinking about Ray's exit? And for the writer who thinks Ray has done an "extraordinary job", you must be on his 6 figure payroll ledger.

Get a grip and join the rest of us who actually work and care for patients all day. This is a good day, lots of smiles at DRMC after the news was out!

Well, it looks like the votes are in... and there won't be a big "going-away" party for Ray-Ray. Personally, I view this as a very positive change for Greenville and DRMC. As I previously predicted back in 2005, Ray's empire has finally crumbled... and yes, an immediate outside audit is what the public should demand! As one contributor stated... "Nobody leaves a good job."

According to Ray, he is going to Meridian to be near his mother who is in a nursing home. Commendable if it is true, but Greenville also has nursing homes. It seems a rather drastic move for such a dedicated servant of the people.

As for the anonymity of Scoop writers, I can assure you it is very much intact, as is the first Amendment of the Constitution. Years ago, I received letters from Ray and DRMC attorneys threatening to sue the Delta Scoop for derogatory comments being made about Ray.

The problem then, as it is today, is that not even Ray could find out who hosted this blog... nor the identities of those who contributed. Sure, he threatened all DRMC employees with termination if they read, discussed, contributed or even mentioned the "Delta Scoop" at work. This was the action of a paranoid dictator whose world was being gradually destroyed... by the truth!

In fairness to all readers, I offer the following post:

Regardless of what you think; Ray Humphreys is a fine man. While his "vision" may not be justified by some or many on here, 11:34 is correct in saying that the grass is not always greener. I do not know him personally, but have met him; unlike 9:28 said I had a very productive meeting with Ray about a family member complaint. He was very sincere regarding our issue and made sure that it was attended to. He didn't mention anything about the new hospital or what he was planning. He just simply took care of our complaint and I've never had better service. To each his own, but I for one just hope that the next guy or gal is as attentive as he was with me. I wish him the best.

No, you obviously do no know Ray personally, but we will all miss Ray when he is gone. He alone generated the greatest readership and response that the Delta Scoop has ever experienced! Other than Heather, who is running a close second, Ray still takes the "Gold"... (pun intended!) Time will tell...

Forthright

Humphreys Resigns!

According to the local news, Ray Humphreys is resigning from DRMC. No details have been released yet. Let's follow this story as it breaks...

Forthright

Why Ask, Why Tell?

The gay rights debate and in particular the controversy over “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has reached the boiling point.

In his State of the Union speech, President Obama repeated a promise he made during his campaign to dismantle the military’s current policy allowing gay men and lesbians to serve their country only if they don’t reveal their sexual orientation to anyone. The president — like many people today — apparently realizes that trying to hide such an intrinsic part of someone’s life is next to impossible, particularly when military officials are attempting to flush the information out in the open so they can discharge gay personnel.

In response to the president’s declaration, opponents of repealing the policy are battling to persuade the public it would be unwise. The centerpiece of their argument is that it is not a good time for the policy to be repealed when the country is at war, even though polls show that most Americans today support the planned repeal. Opponents claim it would be “divisive.” undermining the morale of the military.

“Put this on the back burner,” the opponents say. “Don’t selfishly sacrifice the country’s security to accomplish your goals of equality.”

In response, gay rights leaders and supporters of repealing the policy reply that opponents are attempting to stall the inevitable by creating a smokescreen. They respond that more than ever before, the country’s military needs every able-bodied individual on board who is willing to risk a life for the country.“The time has come,” they say. “We’ve waited long enough.”

The truth is that gay men and lesbians have always served in the military, and it generally did not cause a problem until the self-righteous decided to make an issue of it — either by tormenting them with verbal and physical attacks or trying to run them out of the service through legal channels.

Conservative commentators argue that sexual orientation should not be a legally-protected class in discrimination law because it is different from being black, or Jewish or female. That’s true. It is different, no matter whether you believe homosexuality is a matter of choice or of genetics.

But there are no differences between the motives of people who would discriminate or physically attack someone because of their race, religion or sex, than from those who discriminate against gay men and lesbians. They are attempting to suppress another group of people because they are different from them.

The bottom line is that gay men and lesbians are a well-established community in our society, and the trend is toward greater acceptance in the military and everywhere else — no matter how hard that will be for some.

Well, here is a new topic! Who among us does not know someone who is gay or lesbian... most likely someone in our own extended family! In our current society, we boast about being non-discriminatory about all issues of race, gender, religion, ethnicity, etc. But, how do we really feel about homosexuality?

For those of you who still consider it an individuals free "choice", please leave this blog and search for a Billy Graham re-run on TV.

To those who understand the actual issues involved in this "genetically predisposed lifestyle", let's talk.

Dismissing the bible-thumping BS that is taught in organized religions, personally, we all know gay and lesbian people who are good and talented friends. Who could possibly believe that a human being would wake up one day and say, "Damn, I don't have enough stress, drama and hardship in my life, I think I will turn GAY"?

The truth is that if we can obliterate the "N" word, the "Q" word should be next. Quit judging people by whom they love or how they live... focus on the psychopaths, sociopaths and evil people in our society... those who are totally against our cultural mores... and their numbers are enormous!

Let's hear from some of you who have gay/lesbian family members or friends. How do you feel about them... or judge them?

Forthright

What's the Scoop Delta?

Okay Delta... let's move on! This blog depends on its contributors to provide a "scoop" that can be discussed... your opinions, compliments or complaints about local issues. Sometimes we get a bit "blogged down" on one issue so we need to move on!

Someone give us new fodder for discussion. I need a new "front page" and I know there are many issues in Greenville and the Delta that need to be debated.

This is a great format for discussion and debate. Tell me your issues and I will put you on the front page!

Forthright

Separate, but "Unequal"

GREENVILLE — A rally is planned for 10 a.m. Thursday in the rotunda of the state Capitol to protest two controversial bills calling for the merger of Mississippi Valley State University and Alcorn State from merging with Jackson State.

At a town meeting Sunday at the Elks Lodge, 1818 East Alexander St., State Senators David Jordan and Willie Simmons and state Rep. John Hines and Historically Black Colleges and Universities alliance chairman Othor Cain called for the rally.

“It’s time that we show up and show support for our historically black schools,” said Cain. “If we don’t, then we have no one to blame but ourselves. We can’t sit back and not do anything to prevent this from happening.”Recently, Jackson State University President Dr. Ronald Mason, Jr. has voiced approval of the merger. He reportedly cited Hines as one of his backers but the District 50 representative said that is not true.

“I don’t know where he came up with that, but I want to make this perfectly clear so that everyone will understand,” said Hines. “In no way do I support this merger. I have met with Dr. Mason, and we have talked, but never have I voiced being in agreement with him on this.”

Jordan and Simmons talked about past struggles and victories during the Civil Rights Era. They feel the time for protesting has returned.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” said the fiery Jordan, who received a standing ovation during his address before the packed audience. “We’ve been through this before. We know what to do.”

Simmons says the problem is not the schools but inadequate government funding. “They would never think about merging Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss so why should they consider merging Jackson State, Alcorn and Valley? Those three schools have a tradition and a need.

“The problem has been that Jackson State, Alcorn and Valley haven’t received the funding that the other three have. That needs to change.”

Maybe the problem is that these schools are "degree factories" which are cranking out illiterate graduates by the hundreds? I have a problem with "black", "white", or "women's" colleges in the 21st century!

I personally know several people who teach at the Valley and JSU . They all state that these "black" schools have very low standards and expectations. Basically, they sell "degrees" to improve the socio-economic status of their students. The English language is optional to most graduates, who expect a "degree" after completing (paying for) so many hours.

These schools do a disservice to their students.... a "degreed" idiot is still an idiot in our competitive work world. Skills and performance will get you a job these days... not a worthless diploma that only proves that your checks cleared!

Forthright

New Restaurant!

Okay, enough with the racial rants and raves! I hear a bit of good news for Greenville. The former Fermo's Restaurant will soon be re-opened by another party. They have much restaurant experience and plan to bring it back to its once noted venue!

Greenville has a lot of opportunity for new and experienced entrepreneurs! Sure it is a bit gamble, but so is life. I wish them well as all of Greenville should do also. The economy is difficult and Greeville is a "hard" market! I hear the opening will be in April. Get out and support these new owners' efforts... or shut up and keep waiting in the "drive-thru" lanes!

PS... Scammers, get off of this website... I will delete you every day!

Forthright

2010: Time for a Change!

Transplanted Midwesterner said...

I don't feel like the amount of property tax is really the issue here. The value and return those dollars fail to generate should be the focus of our ire, not the actual dollar amounts. I did a little research and found that the Mississippi Delta counties containing larger towns (Washington, Bolivar, Coahoma, Sunflower, and Leflore) do tend to have higher tax rates in comparison to other Mississippi counties. Tunica County is the exception, but I think we all know why. Yazoo County is a little lower as well, and I haven't quite figured that one out.

Nevertheless, the "high" tax rates in these Mississippi Delta counties pale in comparison to many across the country. I checked my native county in the Midwest, and its tax rate is just shy of double that of Washington County. However, they have usable roads, storm sewers that function, an effective police force and sheriff's deputies, and a variety of city and county services that bring value into the equation.

Herein lies the problem with property taxes in Greenville and Washington County, the value proposition is just not there. The tax issues are most certainly enhanced by the ineptitude of our local leaders and a huge disparity of wealth found in the county, and I really don't have a hard line solution for these problems. As has been discussed in this forum ad nauseum, the entitlement masses far outweigh the taxpaying minority when it comes to the polls.

I don't have a smooth segue into this next point but here goes. In my mind, the major problem in Greenville can be summarized into a relatively simple statement. Greenville is a micropolitan area with metropolitan problems. Based on Greenville's small size and rural nature, we have a limited ability to generate the funds needed to offset the costs of the more traditionally urban problems and programs that are needed to provide for all of its residents. Granted, the state and federal governments provide the lion's share of the funds required to support the personal needs our impoverished masses, but there is still a sizeable load to bear for the local government.

Think about the cost of infrastructure maintenance alone for those areas of Greenville that do not generate or generate a minimum number of tax dollars.

Obviously, the lack of industry in Greenville is at the root of the issue for generating tax dollars. Individuals and retail businesses can only be taxed to a certain point before they flee or close their doors, respectively. We have read many times on the Delta Scoop about people pining for our local officials to "bring in" industry. In my mind, this is no different than the welfare mentality criticized by those same individuals that want an industry "brought in."

What we need to do is build industry in Greenville. We need to utilize what resources we have, however minimal, to their fullest potential. The biggest example of this, likely, is the port of Greenville. Hopefully, the forthcoming expansions of the port are a step in the right direction for the port and Greenville.

I often hear people in Greenville state that the biggest problem in Greenville is a lack of jobs. I have to disagree. Gone are the days of unskilled and semi-skilled labor in the United States being overcompensated for their toils. Unskilled and semi-skilled labor is largely what Greenville can provide, as can China, Mexico, India, and a host of other Asian and Central American countries. We simply cannot be competitive in the global marketplace due to our higher cost of living and their willingness to use suspect governmental and business tactics.

The problem for Greenville, in my mind, is a lack of businesses and/or industry that can generate tax dollars for Greenville’s coffers. These businesses do not have to employ scores of people to generate the dollars needed to make progress toward the ultimate goal of a better Greenville. As far as I’m concerned, there are few basic tenets that can be applied to building industry in Greenville:

1. Scalability – We need to be building businesses that can employ 3-5 people, then maybe 30-50, and ultimately 300-500.

2. Independence – We need an industry not connected to those already prevalent in the Delta. Specifically, we are talking about businesses not solely dependent on agriculture, aquaculture, or forestry. These types of industry are already present in the Delta and would easily be transplanted into Greenville as other industry begins to take a foothold.

3. Minimal start-up cost – The matter of fact is that it’s a lot easier to get someone or some entity to invest $500,000 in an enterprise than $5,000,000.Of course, the best laid plans can be thrown out the window when personal responsibility is replaced with entitlement, and that is the first major hurdle we must overcome. If we can find a way to eliminate gettin’ by on the government dole for a large number of our residents, without being called racists, then many other things can fall in place. Any suggestions?

"Transplanted" makes some very valid points about Greenville. Compared to other similar sized communities throughout the country, our taxes are relatively low... but as he also points out, these communities get certain services for their tax dollars, such as roads, sewers, police, garbage pick-up, and education. Here is where Greenville differs. All of these services are "substandard" at best in Greevillie and yet our taxes continue to rise.

Why? Well, in the past 20 years, Greenville has shrunk from a population of almost 55,000 to its current 42,000, and with them went the tax base.

Most residents have lost hope and trust in our leaders! In one fell swoop, Heather broke through the age, gender and race "glass ceilings"; however, today, we are none the better for her pioneering efforts. Have we learned anything from this experience?

"Gettin' by" on the government dole is a way of life in the Delta, proudly transferred from one generation to another. The stereo-typical image of a welfare recipient as being poor, starving and destitute, simply doesn't exist here. The system works to their advantage and they know how to work it well!

We are losing the battle of "Entitlement v. Work" by mere numbers. We all agree that there is corruption and waste at every level of government... so why don't WE do something about it?

How about a bill that limits the number of illegitimate children a person can have that the state will support? How about mandatory monthly drug screens for all public welfare and Medicaid recipients? How about mandatory prison sentences for first time drug and weapon convictions?

Why have we not demanded any of these things? Because, as "Transplanted" states above, we would all be called "racists". We continue to "fold" every time the race card is played, so there is no way we will ever win the game. Until we change the laws that support and promote "Gettin' by" we will continue to pay the price as taxpayers.

Greenville doesn't need another city election. It needs a revolution!

Forthright

Hope for Downtown Greenville

Just take a look at paducah, ky, startkville, ms. oxford, ms. thomasville, ga., several small cities in North Carolina and many many more small cities I have traveled through have made a big turn around by shutting down building more and more strip malls.

G'ville must stop the movement to the south if we want to begin to grow the downtown area. The city needs to call or visit these places or ones like the cities mentioned above. It works and they can help us to jumpstart our city by learning from them.

It's not by steadily fleeing south but improving the downtown area. Whatever it takes it must be done to save G'ville. The downtown committee and the chamber of commerce need to work together along with the commercial real estate people. They are the first to know who is looking for a place to open a business. They should recommend the downtown area first and foremost. Then have grants and incentives for them so good it would be impossible for them to turn down.

The writer speaks the truth... for most small communities, but the one thing lacking for Greenville is hope. Most residents have totally given up on the belief that our downtown will ever come back. Much of that belief has to do with our downtown's proximity to major crime, drug dealers and the poverty that surrounds it.

Casinos only made it worse by attracting alcoholics and drug users to their "domain". The few establishments that remain are churches, banks, Jim's Cafe and Mr. Nelkin's Greenville Museum, which is a wonderful treasure... that most Greenvillians have probably never seen.

When the Greenville Mall closes, and it will soon, perhaps we will reconsider that we have failed as a "metropolis", but may have hope to once again become a charming community. If it takes three guards on every block of Main and Washington, it will still be cheaper than Mall rent!

Greenville is on life-support... but to abandon the downtown area as our future is simply pulling the plug on our last hope.

Forthright

Say What?

GREENVILLE — The phones will soon be ringing at one new business, after all, that is its business.

Call Center Outsourcing Solutions, 747 W. Alexander, is scheduled to hold its grand opening 4:30 p.m. Tuesday,

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is scheduled to be on hand for the ribbon cutting; entertainment will be provided Eden Brent and Mississippi Slim.

“I’m extremely excited,” said Regina Luke, CEO, Call Center Outsourcing Solutions. “It has finally come together after three months of lots of hard work.”Call Center Outsourcing Solutions will be a fully operational call center taking inbound and placing outbound customer service calls. Luke said the business currently holds contracts with 28 Fortune 500 companies.

“We recently went to the Global Outsourcing Expo in New York City and we were the only English speaking call center there,” Luke said. “We had people lined up at our booth wanting to speak with us and to see what we could do for their business.”

One of Luke’s clients is happy to have made the move because according to Luke, the company was losing eight percent of its customers monthly due to language barriers.

“More and more of these jobs are coming back to America because of language barriers,” she said. “Customers get fed up with dealing with someone who they can’t understand, and this is good news for us.”

The call center will open their lines for business with 15 new employees and will add an additional 10 new employees each month until they’re up to 50, said Luke.

“We’ve had to temporarily outsource some of our contracts to other centers because of the delay in being able to open,” Luke said. “But we’re ready now and our business will increase over the next few months and we’re still actively seeking new clients.”

According to Luke, a positive for attracting new clients is that the business is a minority-owned American company, Luke said.

“We’re getting lots of positive feedback from the clients we already have and even potential ones,” she said. “The clients love the fact that we’re in an area that so desperately needs jobs. They like us because we’re an American owned company and that our customer service representatives are native English speakers.”

The public is invited to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Language barriers? I am a native Deltan and I can barely understand our "native" language! "Let me axked you a nudda querstion bout dat"?

Who in the hell is going to use this service? Okay, I get pissed when I call Dell Computer Service center and get someone from India with a heavy accent, but they are generally polite, patient, articulate and educated, so you get the job done.

Physically, this new "business" still looks like a deserted building. "Call Center" is a generic word for everything from credit card scams to porn! They are generally a venue for businesses to disguise their identity from both the customer and the IRS.

Does anyone know what the actual "business" of this call center will be? It's not that I don't trust our city council to have done "due diligence" regarding this enterprise, but as P.T. Barnum once noted... there is one born every second!

Forthright

The Truth Hurts!

Gov. Haley Barbour didn't just present his annual executive budget Monday: He proposed remaking state government with what he termed "very significant, major, dramatic ways to reduce spending."

"What I propose is to change the way we do a lot of things," he said.

That might be an understatement. His proposals would include:

• Merging Mississippi University for Women into Mississippi State University.


• Merging Mississippi Valley State University and Alcorn State University into Jackson State University.


• Reducing the number of school districts from 152 to about 100 districts.


• Closing mental heath crisis centers and four Department of Mental Health facilities.


• Cutting state agencies an average 12 percent.


• Changing community college governance.

These are just a few of the proposals. Politically, any one of the proposals on Barbour's budget list would create a political firestorm. Proposals to close or merge MUW and Valley in the past left legislators bloodied and bowed. Reducing the number of school districts involves community pride, sports not to mention politics.

But while the proposed cuts are dramatic, the budget situation facing the state is dramatic as well.

Revenue for this fiscal year that began July 1 is $371 million below estimates.

That deficiency for the next budget year is expected to be $715.5 million.
The 2012 budget, which will be written in an election year, will be more difficult, Barbour warns.

For 2012, the gap could grow to $1.2 billion.

The options?

There are no good ones for lawmakers.

It means Barbour's cuts, their own cuts or finding new revenue. New revenue can only come from new taxes or fees, raiding special funds, using all of the state's "rainy-day" funds or a combination of all of those. None is politically popular.

Barbour has done lawmakers a favor by proposing politically unpopular cuts. That could make whatever they do more acceptable. The alumni of schools and other affected constituencies now will begin intense lobbying. But all Mississippians will be affected by this budget.

Lawmakers should not dismiss this executive budget. Some of these proposals - such as school district consolidation - make sense despite the budget problems. But, they also must not allow budget problems to reverse decades of progress in areas of education, health and public services.
Any course taken will be painful. It's time for ideas, innovation and political courage.
The governor's budget offers a starting point.

Like him or not, the Governor's budget is probably very conservative. No one likes to talk about cuts and consolidations, particularly when they directly impact your life and income, but it's time for us to pay the fiddler!

School consolidations are long overdue. Why pay Presidents and Superintendents hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to do what? Consolidate public school districts and universities and get rid of the top heavy administrative costs... we can no longer afford them.

Health care... get ready to pony up also! Mississippi's Crisis Centers have become holding tanks for the few state hospital beds. There will always be a need for inpatient mental health facilities, but most patients could be treated more efficiently at community out-patient facilities. Crisis centers are a luxury that we can no longer afford!

And for those hospitals who feed at the Medicaid trough... guess what, it's dry! Obama-care or not, cost-containment and accountability are the new buzz-words for 2010.

For the last 20 years, Mississippi politicians have spent like drunken sailors, funding pork barrel projects that keep them in office and their "friends" employed. Well, that era is over. With taxpayers and jobs fleeing Mississippi on a daily basis, dark clouds are gathering over that "rainy day" fund that provides us with such false security.

I am not a fan of Haley Barbour, but his figures are correct! The only option we have is to cut spending drastically in this state, or suffer the consequences. There is waste in every public department of this state and most of us know it. In 2010, we will barely keep our heads above water due to millions in stimulus dollars. In 2011, they will remove our "life preservers" and see if we will sink or swim.

If we do not make significant cuts now, we will all be visiting the Titanic!

Forthright