I’m ready for spring!
We got a taste of it this week and I want more. It’s hard to believe just a short time ago we had nine-inches of snow on the ground and single digit temperatures.
Weather is always news.
Let’s enjoy good weather as long as it lasts.
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I want to take a photo of jonquils coming up out of the ground.
If you have those pretty yellow flowers bloom in your yard, give your Clarksdale Press Register a call at 627-2201 and let’s set up a time for a picture.
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I also want to re-start an old Delta tradition in Clarksdale.
In days gone by, folks in these parts brought the first cotton bloom in the county and a pretty girl to the paper office to get her picture taken and run in the paper.
We want to do that this year.
When harvest comes, I want a photo of a local boy sitting on the first bale of cotton ginned in the county.
It’s the same drill and the same phone number: 627-2201. Ask for Floyd.
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Have you noticed all the advertising in your Clarksdale Press Register recently?
Advertising is a strong economic indicator of the vigor of a business or community.
The logic is businesses that are thriving are seeking to keep the momentum going. Sadly, one of the first places a business cuts when they hit a bump in the road is advertising. It would seem if you wanted more sales or needed more business you would advertise more.
I have been part of economic development and specifically retail development in several communities. I have repeatedly heard businessmen say they look at advertising in a community to determine its economic health.
Maybe the cold, gray clouds of COVID are fading away.
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It seem all the COVID restrictions are off on the number of people that can now be seated at local restaurants.
Some places never really slowed down and I never saw any news story anywhere in this state where someone was arrested, fined or just firmly told to follow COVID regulations handed down by city and state government.
Now let me be the first to say, if I make you uncomfortable by not wearing a mask, please tell me.
It’s more about being a polite Southern Gentleman than stopping a disease.
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I said I’m ready for spring and in Clarksdale that mean the Juke Joint Festival.
We’ve still got a month to go, but I’m already looking forward to it. I know most of Clarksdale is, too.
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It was good to see Dr. Joe Nelson get a three-year extension on his contract with the Clarksdale Municipal School District.
Dr. Nelson has worked hard to bring about a culture of excellence, improvement and change at this community’s largest school district.
And in the Mississippi Delta some people are fine with the way things are and don’t want to change.
Nelson will be the first to admit he still has a long way to go with CMSD.
I hope his staff, his teachers and this community get behind him and help him push.
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How can someone steal a million dollars and no one catch them sooner?
It happened in Tunica last week and I got to meet with State Auditor Shad White for about 30 minutes as he explained the pattern.
• There is no oversight and there are no separation of duties.
• Longtime officials and employees find a way to beat the system and just help themselves to government funds.
• There is no city, county or state official or agency that monitors this person or their department.
• Someone quietly picks up the phone and calls the Audit Department. He also pointed out newspapers often sound the alarm by writing a simple story that lands on his desk.
Floyd Ingram is the Editor of your Clarksdale Press Register. He is glad to talk about the weather, festivals, schools, crops, COVID or crooks if you call him at 627-2201.
