Oh, What a Week it Was! Lowndes County politics is often feast or famine, and this week was a prime example of the area at its crazy, busy best.  Starting with a school board meeting that went from boring to interesting in the span of sixty seconds to a city council meeting that ensured that [...]

Dr. Liddell Comments Candidly After School Board Meeting The funding appropriation, as signed by the Governor, provides Mississippi Adequate Education Funding (MAEP) that is “close to level”, except for the fact that the increases to the retirement system will be passed on to MS school districts. Also, overall funding for the state’s school districts has [...]

We have recently added the following articles to our website. These articles were originally published in the May 9, 2012 print edition of The Real Story. Simply click on the article title to be re-directed to the appropriate page on our website. America and the War on Women Ask Meagan!: Discrimination in the Workplace Consumer [...]

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in our website on April 27, 2012. The Columbus School Board contracted with the Mississippi School Boards Association to conduct a search for the superintendent of the Columbus Municipal District. The deadline to receive applications for the extended search was March 22, 2012. All completed applications that were [...]

There has been a lot of press, recently, about interest rates on federal student loans, currently pegged at 3.4 percent and proposed to be doubled to 6.8 percent.  While many lobbying groups and individuals are calling for keeping the rates where they are or even lowering them, the best path forward is increasing them to [...]

The Columbus School Board contracted with the Mississippi School Boards Association to conduct a search for the superintendent of the Columbus Municipal District. The deadline to receive applications for the extended search was March 22, 2012. All completed applications that were received, and which were postmarked on or before March 22, 2012, were accepted and [...]

The Columbus Lowndes Chapter of the NAACP will host their 6th Annual Community Health Fair on Saturday, April 21, at the Boys and Girls Club of Columbus/Lowndes County (1815 14th Avenue North). The event, which is scheduled for 8am-1pm, will feature blood pressure and blood sugar screenings, hearing tests, body mass index evaluations, bone density [...]

On April 28, the YMCA, The Columbus Kiwanis Club, Stark Aerospace, Carl Hogan Dodge and the City of Columbus are celebrating YMCA Healthy Kids Day® with a free, community event for kids and families. Healthy Kids Day, a national initiative of the Y to improve health and well-being of kids, will take place at the [...]

Wednesday, April 18th Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast with Entertainment by the Violin Students 8AM Cook Auditorium Lobby This is National Volunteer Appreciation Week, and Cook Elementary is hosting an appreciation breakfast for all the wonderful volunteers who give of their time and talents to work with their students.  Wednesday, April 18th ****Announcement of CMSD District Administrator [...]

In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, celebrated across the world, the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library will be hosting several events on April 16th from 4:00-5:30pm in the Meeting Room of the Chebie G. Bateman building. This year’s theme is Choosing to Act: Stories of Rescue. In keeping with this theme, the library’s events will include a [...]

The state Destination ImagiNation Tournament will take place this Saturday, April 14, from 10:30am to 3:00pm. The event will be held at Columbus High School, located at 215 Hemlock Street, in Columbus. Destination ImagiNation, a creative problem solving and critical thinking program that teaches teamwork and innovation, helps give students a competitive advantage in the [...]

The CHAMPS Project (Creating High Achievement in Mathematics, and Problem Solving) is looking for 50 teachers for its 2012-2013 class. The program, located at the Mississippi University for Women Center for Creative Learning, focuses on raising the achievement of economically disadvantaged students in mathematics, by providing an intensive, high quality professional development program to middle [...]

Mississippi University for Women will welcome alumni and guests back with a host of events, as part of its Homecoming celebration next weekend. A special event and professional development opportunity is planned for alumni education graduates on Thursday, April 19. All alumni who majored in elementary, secondary, K-12 and special education are invited to attend [...]

The House Education Committee voted, on Tuesday, April 3, 2012, to kill a charter school bill that would have brought public school choice to thousands of children across the state. After passing the Senate in February, the House Education Committee defeated Senate Bill 2401, by a vote of 15 to 16. Forest Thigpen, President of [...]

The Public Relations Association of Mississippi (PRAM) will hold its annual State Conference in Columbus, on April 12 and 13, 2012.  PRAM’s annual conference has become one of the premier networking and professional development events for communications professionals in the state.  PRAM offers its members numerous opportunities for professional growth, including conferences, workshops and other [...]

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the March 28, 2012 print edition.    Driving in Columbus, for the most part, makes me wonder how some individuals ever got a driver’s license. They’re driving either well under the speed limit or well over it.  They’ve never heard of a blinker, and they often dare you [...]

Mississippi University for Women student Sarah Donaldson of Starkville, back row, left, recently participated in Legislative Day at the Mississippi Capitol. This was part of a grant through the Mississippi Speech Language Hearing Association, with emphasis on training future professionals to be advocates for the profession and the people they serve. The Louisville native is [...]

Columbus Middle School SPIRIT Students recently competed in the regional Destination ImagiNation Tournament in Madison, MS. The competition was held on Saturday, March 24, 2012, at St. Anthony’s Catholic School, and Columbus Middle School teams won in four out of five divisions. Destination ImagiNation, Inc. is an extraordinary non-profit organization that provides educational programs for students [...]

Via: OnlineEducation.net Special to The Real Story

Dr. Phillip Cockrell, Director of Student Life at Mississippi University for Women, has been selected to present his research at two upcoming conferences. As a recipient of the 2012 Doctoral Student Conference Grant, Cockrell will present at the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education (AABHE) conference in Atlanta, GA, March 22-24. He will participate [...]

Editor’s Note: When a representative of The Real Story arrived on the scene, the staff of Fairview Elementary and emergency personnel had nearly completed an orderly evacuation. They are to be commended for the calm and professional manner in which they handled this stressful situation.  Fairview Aerospace & Sciences Magnet School received a bomb threat [...]

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in our February 29, 2012 print edition. Talking to Interim superintendent Dr. Martha Liddell on Friday, February 24, 2012, she appeared calm in the wake of meetings, controversy and bomb threats.  Her demeanor was upbeat, despite the fact that she has been tackling one of the greatest challenges to [...]

Thursday’s night special called meeting of the Columbus Municipal School District (CMSD) Board was a move to undo actions taken at the last school board meeting, held on February 13. Most of the action was expected, with the Board quickly getting to the main point of the meeting.  The “Approve Staff/Personnel Item” was brought back [...]

Education.  It has been a topic of great debate for the past several weeks, or ever since the community found out that the City of Columbus was going to cut 69 jobs from its work force.  The unfortunate problem is that no one ever says anything about education until there is trouble and, in the [...]

The Mississippi Association of Partners in Education recently announced the recipients of the 2012 Governor’s Awards. The Mississippi Association of Partners in Education (MAPE) will recognize Mississippi’s top school-community partnerships during the Governor’s Awards luncheon on Wednesday, March 21 at the Jackson Hilton. “Partnerships provide resources and funding for many innovative programs that would not [...]

According to the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, aluminum “is the third most abundant element (after oxygen and silicon), and the most abundant metal, in the Earth’s crust.” But, prior to 1886, when the smelting process of aluminum was discovered, this copious metal was somewhat of a rarity. In fact, there were probably a very small number [...]

Editor’s Note: As reported earlier by WCBI, a 17-year-old has been arrested in connection with the bomb threat that was called in to Columbus High School on Wednesday morning.  Moire details will be provided, as they become available. February 22, 2012 For Immediate Release Janet Lewis PIO, Columbus Municipal School District Columbus School District reported [...]

Interim Superintendent Dr. Martha Liddell gave a no-holds-barred speech at Thursday’s Exchange Club meeting at the Columbus Country Club.   Holding nothing back, she addressed what could be a pending emergency situation regarding the Columbus Municipal School District (CMSD).  Instead of the usual flowery speeches given by most department heads and politicians, she dove into the [...]

Date:    February 14, 2012 Subject:  Columbus Schools Emergency Measures Taken Improve District’s Financial Standing for FY 2012-2013 From: Dr. Martha Liddell, Interim Superintendent of Education                          MESSAGE TO COLUMBUS SCHOOLS’ STAFF Providing a Quality Education in Tough Economic Times – Is a District Priority As [...]

A passionate CMSD Interim Superintendent  Dr. Liddell spoke, alongside School Board President Glenn Lautzenhiser, at today’s Exchange Club meeting, at the Columbus Country Club. The content of this meeting will be the focus of tomorrow’s At the Week’s End.  In the meantime, it would be beneficial for everyone to review the The Budget Update for [...]