Heda visits Aberdeen High to assist dual-enrollment students
COLUMBUS – Demeia Pulliam considered quitting. The junior at Aberdeen High School knew it would be a challenge to take the Human Anatomy & Physiology I (HUA&P) course in the dual-enrollment program at the Mississippi University for Women. Taking the class and the lab online added to the anxiety Pulliam faced.
“Many times I thought about giving up because I didn’t believe in myself,” Pulliam said.
Dr. Ghanshyam Heda wouldn’t let Pulliam or any of the other 18 students give up. The W’s veteran professor of biology recognized students had trouble with a couple of his first tests and the virtual instruction, so he decided for a new approach. On Sept. 24, Heda visited the students at Aberdeen High to encourage them and to develop strategies for improving their performances.
“We discussed various course-related topics such as how to obtain and extract the key information from my Powerpoint lectures, where and how to obtain the additional help when needed, how to create a schedule and manage their time in preparing for the tests, grading policies, how to obtain additional help from The W’s peer-mentoring program as well as enjoying and appreciating this course and other topics,” said Heda, who acknowledged HUA&P is a relatively tough course and is primarily taken by students who pursue a major in health-related science such as nursing. “I hope my visit will help students to get more engaged with this and other college-level courses. I also hope this will boost their confidence in taking a college-level course.”
Bonnie Oppenheimer, the chair of The W’s Department of Sciences & Mathematics, credited Heda and Dr. Robert Sample, who is teaching the lab portion of the class, for their work with the Aberdeen High students.
City to replace deteriorating bridge in Meridian
MERIDIAN — A deteriorating bridge in south Mississippi will soon be replaced.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation is providing the City of Meridian with $3.5 million to replace the Old Highway 80 bridge, The Meridian Star reported.
Hugh Smith, director of the city’s public works department, said MDOT has approved plans for the project that he hopes will be completed as quickly as possible.
The existing bridge has several points of deterioration and does not meet safety guidelines, Smith told officials in February. Smith said the city is in the process of acquiring additional property, as the new bridge has a different footprint than the existing one and will be a little bit longer than the original one.
Smith said the project ran into delays because the design had to be approved by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. The bridge — a metal truss structure — is historic because of the time it was built and its design, he said.
“If you look at the bridge itself, you don’t see many of those today from that era of construction,” Smith noted.
He said that when construction starts, traffic on U.S. Route 80, will be re-routed.
Auburn to study pandemic in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi
AUBURN — A new study will look at how the pandemic is affecting poor communities in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.
An announcement from Auburn University said the yearlong research will examine how leaders can get people in low-income, vulnerable communities to take collective action during a crisis.
The study will look at how health messages are received in such places in the three states, said research team leader Kelly Dunning.
“Specifically, we will analyze the effectiveness of science-based messages, how influential various sources of the messages were and the perceived trustworthiness of the institutions delivering COVID-19 information in low-income communities, compared to their wealthier counterparts,” she said.
The work was proposed because Black people, Native Americans and other minorities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. The findings could help by showing how to encourage larger numbers of people to lessen the effects of a crisis.
The study is funded by a $150,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.
Mississippi county debris removal from Easter tornado ends
BAY SPRINGS — People in Mississippi’s Pine Belt are still recovering from tornadoes that swept through the area on Easter Sunday. But after six months, Jasper County emergency management officials say their cleanup is almost finished.
Jasper County Emergency Management Director Mike Lucas told WDAM-TV it was a long process to get to this point.
“The state has to declare an emergency and then FEMA has to recognize it,” Lucas said. “For us, it was about 45 or 48 days before FEMA ever declared us. And once they declared us, then you have to go through the process of getting someone to pick up the debris, so you have your bid process.”
The tornado hit on April 12 and debris removal began in July.
“The county cannot go on private property and cleanup, so everything had to be moved to the roadside,” Lucas said. “It cost the county about $1.8 million. Hopefully, we turned in invoices to FEMA and they will pay 75%.”
Sen. Cindy Hyde-smith and Sen. Roger Wicker announced last week that FEMA will be paying Jasper County $1,291,028 to offset the cost of removing more than 197,285 cubic yards (150,835 cubic meters) of vegetative and construction/demolition debris.
And while the county is finishing up debris removal, many residents continue to repair homes and businesses in the area.