Announcements: Rehearsal – a retirement reception for Anita Webb, Scott County Extension/Family Consumer Science/4H Coordinator in recognition of more than 35 years (not 25 as reported last week) of service will be held on Tuesday June 28 at the Scott County Extension Service Establishment, 230 South Davis Street, Forest. Everyone is invited.
The last We Care Missions food distribution for June will be Friday, June 24 from 10 a.m. to noon at Morton United Methodist Church, 29 Church Street.
The Morton Public Library/Friends of Morton Library staff would like to express their gratitude to everyone who volunteered their time, monetary donations, silent auction items, gift certificates, bake sale items and any other fundraising support in May. The total raised for the new flooring has now reached $4,000.
Congratulations to: Isaiah Goss-Valedictorian and Skylar Miles-Salutatorian of Morton High School. Both have been outstanding representatives in academic and extracurricular activities throughout their years as students of the Morton school system. Also to honor graduates: Hannah Bane, Taylor Coward, Jonathan Edmond, Hope Grogan, Sergio Ramos Hernandez, Lizabeth Herrera, Amber Johnson, Victoria Johnson, Nataly Bonilla Lazo, Devin Lucas, Rocenda Luna, Migdaly Sontay Martin, Reese Myers, Christian Perez, Chloe Shoemaker, Anna Tadlock, Dylan Thompson, Cindy Vu, Jaydah Walton and Elena Saleem Zaynab.
To: Misty Grantham for winning a gold medal with her brother, Phillip, in Unified Bowling at the Mississippi Special Olympics held at Keesler Field and qualifying for the Special Olympics in Orlando, Florida , winning another gold medal. She also finished 7th overall in individual bowling. Misty and Phillip of Vicksburg are the niece and nephew of Pam Holman who coached the Boccio Ball Area 10 team. Pam’s sister Sandy Hearn coached the Vicksburg Mudbugs co-ed baseball team winning another medal Gold and Pauline Vessel served as Vicksburg’s Zone 10 Manager. Mississippi Special Olympics teams won 63 gold, 51 silver and 39 bronze medals at the 2022 event.
To: Pisgah High School student John Tyler Wells for being one of 12 students named to the AG Youth Council by Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson. Tyler is the son of Scotty and Misty Wells.
Prayers and Concern for: Richard Grant, Erma Sybil (Kyle Roland Sybil’s mother-in-law) and continued for Kim McLemore Stamper and Loretta Palmer.
Sympathy to the families of: Vernell Thomas, David Wayne Everett, Anna Belle Hall and Jonnie Sue Donald Sims.
Traveling, Visiting, and Others: This week provided some very enjoyable unexpected visits with friends while on the go. Brother. Earl Clark and Jane, former family pastors at Morton’s First Baptist Church, had overlapping appointments with Melvin’s Dr. Taylor Smith at the JEA Vision clinic. The opportunity to have a long conversation was uplifting.
Then on Sunday, while having dinner in the hospital cafeteria, we visited former Morton residents Janelle Laseter and were pleasantly surprised to find Sandra and Ina Jo Strahan who also grew up in Morton.
Sandra now lives in Mobile, Alabama and Ina Jo in Charlotte, North Carolina. They traveled to Scott County to visit family members at Simmons’ reunion. Their mother was the late Mavis Simmons Strahan.
Sitting and thinking: June, named after the Roman goddess Juno, patroness of marriage and the well-being of women. Also from the Latin word juvenis, “the young”. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed an executive order that Father’s Day be celebrated on the third Sunday in June. This followed many years of controversy to even recognize such a holiday. But the first known Father’s Day took place in Fairmont, West Virginia, on July 5, 1908, after hundreds of men died in the worst mining accident in US history.
On other occasions, some recognized the occasion to honor the fathers. Under President Richard Nixon, in 1972, Congress passed legislation officially making Father’s Day a national holiday. Regardless, our fathers/stepfathers/father figures are treasures to be held in the most revered love and respect. So… Happy Father’s Day to each of you and to the precious memories of those who are no longer with us.
