Educational workshops on Neighbors First Program planned

 

The city of Jackson has launched the educational campaign for the Neighbors First program.

The program is designed to address blight and revitalize underutilized residential properties in the city by allowing the city to transfer city-owned lots in a pre-determined planning area to the neighbors of those properties for a designated amount that starts at $10. The program requires the resident to own property in the neighborhood, street or block.

The educational campaign consists of a series of workshops across the community to show residents how to navigate land rolls and inform them of what is expected of those who purchase the property. The informational workshops will be held:

• March 19 from 2-4 p.m. at the Medgar Evers Library, 4215 Medgar Evers Blvd.

• April 2 from 9-11 a.m. at the Metrocenter Mall Event Room, 3645 U.S. 80.

• April 16 from 9-11 a.m. at the Jackson Police Training Academy, 3000 St. Charles St.

• April 23 from 9-11 a.m. at the Jackson Police Training Academy, 3000 St. Charles St.

The program supports city efforts to help citizens reclaim their communities. For more information, visit www.jacksonms.gov.

 

Mississippi College plans Preview Day

 

Mississippi College leaders are inviting prospective students to tour MC’s cadaver lab, learn about scholarships and cheer the Choctaws in a baseball doubleheader with Delta State.

It’s all part of the Christian university’s 2016 Spring Preview Day on March 19. The free event begins at 9 a.m. with check-in at the B.C. Rogers Student Center.

High school students and their parents will be traveling to the Clinton campus from all over the South as well as coming from states like Indiana, Missouri and Washington.

So far, 180 students registered as of early March and more are expected to sign up, says MC admissions director Kyle Brantley.

There will be time to tailgate on the Quad before MC baseball contests on Frierson Field with rival Delta State beginning at 2 p.m.

Mississippi College visitors will hear remarks from a variety of speakers, including President Lee Royce, history professor Otis Pickett, and Jim Turcotte, vice president for enrollment services and dean of students. MC freshman Kelley Wood will speak to the group from a student’s point of view at Anderson Hall.

For more information, call the Mississippi College admissions office at (601) 925-3800 or go to mc.edu/previewday

 

Spring turkey season opens March 15

 

Turkey season opens on  March 15 and ends May 1.

For hunters age 15 and younger, the youth season begins a week earlier on March 8. Bag limits for the spring season are one adult gobbler or one gobbler with at least a 6-inch beard per day, not to exceed three per spring season. Youth hunters 15 years of age and younger may harvest one gobbler of choice per day, not to exceed three per spring season.

Spring turkey season is closed in the following counties or parts thereof: Coahoma, Quitman, and Sunflower.

After a slow 2015 spring, expectations are better for the upcoming season. Observations of jakes (1-year-old gobblers) were plentiful throughout the state last year. Those birds will be legal for harvest this spring and should provide action-packed mornings for Mississippi’s nearly 50,000 turkey hunters.

“Anytime we see jake observations go up, we usually see an increase in harvest the following year,” said Adam Butler, Wild Turkey Program Coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. “On top of the numbers of jakes seen last spring, most of the state had an average to good hatch last summer, so overall turkey numbers should be steady or on the uptick,” Butler continued.

Hunters who wish to hunt on Wildlife Management Areas should check the area-specific regulations before going afield, because season dates and bag limits on WMAs can differ from the statewide season structure. Hunters must purchase a WMA User Permit in addition to the required hunting license prior to hunting on any WMA.

For more information regarding wild turkeys in Mississippi and turkey hunting opportunities, visit us at www.mdwfp.com/turkey or call us at (601) 432-2199.