Work begins on 11th Maroon Edition home
Once again, a member of the Starkville community will be getting a new home thanks to the efforts of Mississippi State University and Starkville Habitat for Humanity.
On Tuesday morning, ground was broken for the 11th Maroon Edition Habitat for Humanity house. The home will be built by MSU students, faculty, staff and retirees over the next few months. The house will be located on Azalea Lane off of Louisville Street in Starkville, and will go to Keyana Triplett. Triplett is a 41-year-old Aramark employee and mother of four children ages 21, 19, 17 and 14.
“I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to be a homeowner,” Triplett said. “I'm thankful that Habitat for Humanity and MSU have given me the opportunity to have a home for my children, so they can finish their growing up and have something to take down the line with us.”
Triplett was one of three people approved for a new home from Starkville Habitat for Humanity in the past year. Recipients are chosen through a selection process looking at their income, credit, family, need and other factors.
She is also expecting her first grandchild.
“By the time the house is done, my grandbaby will be here,” Triplett said.
MSU President Mark Keenum spoke to the importance of the university's involvement with Habitat for Humanity.
“I'm so proud that now for 11 years, Mississippi State has been a partner directly with Habitat for Humanity here in Starkville to build a home for a deserving family,” Keenum said. “It's important for us, because we're helping to improve our community, and also this project affords us an opportunity for us to allow our students, who will be out here building this home, a chance to understand the importance of service.”
Training never stops for the Starkville Fire Department, and even as temperatures climbed toward 113 degrees on the heat index Tuesday, firefighters suited up for a hands-on training session.
On what was likely to be the hottest day of the year Tuesday, the pops of a snare and beat of a bass drum echoed through the open air on Lynn Lane near Starkville Academy.
While musical street performers might be commonplace in destination cities like New Orleans and Memphis, the sight of a lone drummer banging away in the middle of a field is naturally not a common spectacle. That isn't stopping 20-year-old Tahj Mckey, though.
A lifelong drummer, Mckey has generated buzz in the community for playing his piecemeal kit in the field adjacent to Starkville Academy on Lynn Lane. With Tuesday's temperatures feeling in the triple digits, Mckey was undeterred.
“A lot of people come by and this has been the busiest day people have come out,” Mckey said. “I'll usually sit out here three to four hours.”
In front of his kit, a basket of loose $1 and $5 bills backed up his claim of folks stopping by to hear him play.
A graduate of Starkville High School, Mckey said he chose the location because he lives in an apartment, which isn't conducive to the loud nature of his instrument. Some drummers may play on electric kits with headphones to cancel out the noise, but Mckey doesn't have that luxury. And he doesn't need it.
“In my past, I've had a lot of noise complaints and this is the only place I've found where I haven't had the police called on me,” he said with a laugh.
Mckey said playing in the Mississippi summer heat has both given him the freedom to play as loud as he wants, in addition to helping build up his chops as a drummer.
“It's kind of an exercise and it's like stamina building,” he said. “Being a drummer, you can't just hop off the stage and get a drink and then come back. With the sun, if you can handle this, then a club or church setting is nothing.”
Drumming is woven into the fabric of Mckey's DNA, coming from a family of drummers and reflecting on his music as a lifelong obsession. He cited his aunt, uncle and father —all drummers — as his guiding lights.
While his drum kit isn't new or overly expensive, the dented cymbals and plastic bag sticking out of the snare drum tell the story of Mckey's passion. To him, it's not the equipment, but the musician playing it.
“It's a mixture of everything,” he said, looking over his gear. “I don't have a stable kit right now but this baby is doing me justice.”
His kit consists of a Ddrum bass, a Tama snare, and cymbals ranging in brands from Zildjian, Sabian and Soul Tone.
When the sound comes together, though, the brands being played lose relevance and Mckey's intensity is that of a pro