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Golf is an international affair in the Sun Belt and in NCAA Division I

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Golf is an international affair in the Sun Belt and in NCAA Division I

Southern Miss golfer Thongpipat”Pat” Rattanayanon hails from Bangkok, Thailand. He is one of dozens of foreign golfers in the Sun Belt Championship at Annandale Golf Club this week.

MADISON — So there was Thongpipat Rattanayan – not so easy for me to type – on the par-4 third hole at Jack Nicklaus-designed Annandale Golf Club Tuesday morning. He was exactly 82 yards from the hole and approximately 10,000 miles from his home in Bangkok, Thailand.

Rattanayan, who thankfully goes by Pat, took out his trusty lob wedge, took dead aim and took an easy, compact swing.

“I knew it was close,” he would say in perfectly good English about three and a half hours later. “I didn’t know how close because that big bunker in front of the green was blocking my view.”

Rick Cleveland

Somebody behind the green hollered, “It went in the hole!”

Said Rattanayan, “I said to myself, ‘What? It went in! Really?’”

Really. The resulting eagle deuce was easily the highlight of his day as Rattanayan, a senior at Southern Miss, shot a one-over-par 73 in the second round of the Sun Belt Conference Golf Championship.

And there was Robbie Latter, on the par-5 18th at Annandale nearly 200 yards from the hole and about 1,200 miles from his Canadian home in Missauga, Ontario, after his booming 345-yard drive. Latter, another 22-year-old USM senior, laced a 6-iron second shot that never left the pin. The ball bounced once, missed by perhaps three inches, and then trickled about 10 feet past the hole. Latter sank the eagle putt to finish a round of even-par 72.

Latter, even par after 36 holes, is tied for sixth place (of 70 golfers) individually going into Wednesday’s third and final stroke play round of the Sun Belt event. Southern Miss, the tournament host, is tied for fourth in the 14-team tournament. After Wednesday’s third round, the top four teams will enter match play to determine the conference champion on Thursday.

Southern Miss needs a strong finish in the conference championship to advance to the 64-team NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.

Said Golden Eagle coach Eddie Brescher, “We’re on the bubble now, but if we have a good showing tomorrow, I believe we’ll be in.”

Ole Miss and Mississippi State are both nationally ranked and already have punched their tickets into the NCAA Tournament. State’s roster includes players from Portugal, Switzerland, England, Poland and South Africa. Two Swedes and another player from Thailand play for Rebels. College golf in Mississippi, as well most everywhere else, is an international affair.

“My guess is that if you take the entirety of Division I golf, probably 50% of the players are foreign players,” Brescher said. “In the Sun Belt, I’m not sure it’s not more like two-thirds are imports.”

On the Sun Belt leaderboard, the top 10 and ties include two Swedes and also golfers from England, Canada, South Africa and Slovenia.

“If you’re going to be competitive, you gotta get the best players you can get wherever you can get them,” Brescher said. “Three of our five players here are international. Four of the eight on our roster are international, and I can promise you we have more on the way.”

So, you might ask, how does a player named Thongpipat Rattanyan from Bangkok find his way to Hattiesburg, Mississippi? 

“In Thailand, there is no college golf,” Rattanyan said. “You either turn pro after high school or you come to the U.S. to play college golf.”

When Rattanyan was 16, he decided he wanted to come to the U.S. He flew to San Diego to play in a big international junior tournament, which Brescher attended. Said Rattanyan, “I played terrible in that tournament, but I did talk to Coach Brescher.”

Canadian Robbie Latter eagled the 18th hole at Annandale Tuesday for Southern Miss.

Brescher liked what he heard from Rattanyan and did his homework to learn that the Bangkok teen was capable of playing much better golf than he had in San Diego. And “Pat” surely has. For four years, he has been one of USM’s steadiest players and also best students. He will graduate next month with a degree in marketing. His parents will attend his graduation, visiting Hattiesburg for the first time. Because of COVID, “Pat” has another year of eligibility, which he intends to use, and start work toward earning an MBA.

“Let me tell you something about Pat,” Brescher said. “He’s as good as gold. If you have a daughter, I promise you, you would be really happy if she were to marry Pat. He’s as solid as they come.”

Latter, one of the longest hitters in college golf, plans to play a fifth season at USM as well. “I love Hattiesburg, love everything about it,” Latter said.

He loves it so much, he enticed his younger, 6-foot-7-inch brother, Tommy Latter, a freshman, to follow him to Southern Miss. “Tommy hits is farther than I do,” he said.

And that’s not all. The Latters’ parents, Rob and Ann Latter, plan to retire to Hattiesburg in the near future. Said Robbie Latter, “My parents had always planned to retire to Florida, but that’s changed after they have been to Hattiesburg. They love the place.”

Meanwhile, Robbie Latter may well have a future in golf beyond college. Again, he hits it a mile. He finished runner-up last summer in the Canadian Amateur championship. If he can fine-tune his iron game and his putting – to go with his monster drives – he could make a living in golf.

That’s to be determined. A nice first step toward all that could come Wednesday, and perhaps Thursday, at Annandale, where golfers from all over the globe are making their mark.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi Today

1964: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was formed

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-26 07:00:00

April 26, 1964

Aaron Henry testifies before the Credentials Committee at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

Civil rights activists started the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the state’s all-white regular delegation to the Democratic National Convention. 

The regulars had already adopted this resolution: “We oppose, condemn and deplore the Civil Rights Act of 1964 … We believe in separation of the races in all phases of our society. It is our belief that the separation of the races is necessary for the peace and tranquility of all the people of Mississippi, and the continuing good relationship which has existed over the years.” 

In reality, Black Mississippians had been victims of intimidation, harassment and violence for daring to try and vote as well as laws passed to disenfranchise them. As a result, by 1964, only 6% of Black Mississippians were permitted to vote. A year earlier, activists had run a mock election in which thousands of Black Mississippians showed they would vote if given an opportunity. 

In August 1964, the Freedom Party decided to challenge the all-white delegation, saying they had been illegally elected in a segregated process and had no intention of supporting President Lyndon B. Johnson in the November election. 

The prediction proved true, with white Mississippi Democrats overwhelmingly supporting Republican candidate Barry Goldwater, who opposed the Civil Rights Act. While the activists fell short of replacing the regulars, their courageous stand led to changes in both parties.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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Mississippi River flooding Vicksburg, expected to crest on Monday

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mississippitoday.org – @alxrzr – 2025-04-25 16:04:00

Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said Friday floodwaters from the Mississippi River, which have reached homes in and around Vicksburg, will likely persist until early May. Elfer estimated there areabout 15 to 20 roads underwater in the area.

A truck sits in high water after the owner parked, then boated to his residence on Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg as a rising Mississippi River causes backwater flooding, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“We’re about half a foot (on the river gauge) from a major flood,” he said. “But we don’t think it’s going to be like in 2011, so we can kind of manage this.”

The National Weather projects the river to crest at 49.5 feet on Monday, making it the highest peak at the Vicksburg gauge since 2020. Elfer said some residents in north Vicksburg — including at the Ford Subdivision as well as near Chickasaw Road and Hutson Street — are having to take boats to get home, adding that those who live on the unprotected side of the levee are generally prepared for flooding.

A rising Mississippi River causing backwater flooding near Chickasaw Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.
Old tires aligned a backyard as a deterrent to rising water north of Vicksburg along U.S. 61, Friday, April 25, 2025.
As the Mississippi River rises, backwater flooding creeps towards a home located on Falk Steel Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

“There are a few (inundated homes), but we’ve mitigated a lot of them,” he said. “Some of the structures have been torn down or raised. There are a few people that still live on the wet side of the levee, but they kind of know what to expect. So we’re not too concerned with that.”

The river first reached flood stage in the city — 43 feet — on April 14. State officials closed Highway 465, which connects the Eagle Lake community just north of Vicksburg to Highway 61, last Friday.

Flood waters along Kings Point Road in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

Elfer said the areas impacted are mostly residential and he didn’t believe any businesses have been affected, emphasizing that downtown Vicksburg is still safe for visitors. He said Warren County has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to secure pumps and barriers.

“Everybody thus far has been very cooperative,” he said. “We continue to tell people stay out of the flood areas, don’t drive around barricades and don’t drive around road close signs. Not only is it illegal, it’s dangerous.”

NWS projects the river to stay at flood stage in Vicksburg until May 6. The river reached its record crest of 57.1 feet in 2011.

The boat launch area is closed and shored up on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The boat launch area (right) is closed and under water on Levee Street in Vicksburg as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
City of Vicksburg workers shore up the bank along Levee Street as the Mississippi River rises, Friday, April 25, 2025.
The old pedestrian bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Friday, April 25, 2025.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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With domestic violence law, victims ‘will be a number with a purpose,’ mother says

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mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-25 15:07:00

Joslin Napier. Carlos Collins. Bailey Mae Reed. 

They are among Mississippi domestic violence homicide victims whose family members carried their photos as the governor signed a bill that will establish a board to study such deaths and how to prevent them. 

Tara Gandy, who lost her daughter Napier in Waynesboro in 2022, said it’s a moment she plans to tell her 5-year-old grandson about when he is old enough. Napier’s presence, in spirit, at the bill signing can be another way for her grandson to feel proud of his mother. 

“(The board) will allow for my daughter and those who have already lost their lives to domestic violence … to no longer be just a number,” Gandy said. “They will be a number with a purpose.” 

Family members at the April 15 private bill signing included Ashla Hudson, whose son Collins, died last year in Jackson. Grandparents Mary and Charles Reed and brother Colby Kernell attended the event in honor of Bailey Mae Reed, who died in Oxford in 2023. 

Joining them were staff and board members from the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the statewide group that supports shelters and advocated for the passage of Senate Bill 2886 to form a Domestic Violence Facility Review Board. 

The law will go into effect July 1, and the coalition hopes to partner with elected officials who will make recommendations for members to serve on the board. The coalition wants to see appointees who have frontline experience with domestic violence survivors, said Luis Montgomery, public policy specialist for the coalition. 

A spokesperson from Gov. Tate Reeves’ office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Establishment of the board would make Mississippi the 45th state to review domestic violence fatalities. 

Montgomery has worked on passing a review board bill since December 2023. After an unsuccessful effort in 2024, the coalition worked to build support and educate people about the need for such a board. 

In the recent legislative session, there were House and Senate versions of the bill that unanimously passed their respective chambers. Authors of the bills are from both political parties. 

The review board is tasked with reviewing a variety of documents to learn about the lead up and circumstances in which people died in domestic violence-related fatalities, near fatalities and suicides – records that can include police records, court documents, medical records and more. 

From each review, trends will emerge and that information can be used for the board to make recommendations to lawmakers about how to prevent domestic violence deaths. 

“This is coming at a really great time because we can really get proactive,” Montgomery said. 

Without a board and data collection, advocates say it is difficult to know how many people have died or been injured in domestic-violence related incidents.

A Mississippi Today analysis found at least 300 people, including victims, abusers and collateral victims, died from domestic violence between 2020 and 2024. That analysis came from reviewing local news stories, the Gun Violence Archive, the National Gun Violence Memorial, law enforcement reports and court documents. 

Some recent cases the board could review are the deaths of Collins, Napier and Reed. 

In court records, prosecutors wrote that Napier, 24, faced increased violence after ending a relationship with Chance Fabian Jones. She took action, including purchasing a firearm and filing for a protective order against Jones.

Jones’s trial is set for May 12 in Wayne County. His indictment for capital murder came on the first anniversary of her death, according to court records. 

Collins, 25, worked as a nurse and was from Yazoo City. His ex-boyfriend Marcus Johnson has been indicted for capital murder and shooting into Collins’ apartment. Family members say Collins had filed several restraining orders against Johnson. 

Johnson was denied bond and remains in jail. His trial is scheduled for July 28 in Hinds County.  

He was a Jackson police officer for eight months in 2013. Johnson was separated from the department pending disciplinary action leading up to immediate termination, but he resigned before he was fired, Jackson police confirmed to local media. 

Reed, 21, was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Water Valley to live with her grandparents and help care for her cousin, according to her obituary. 

Kylan Jacques Phillips was charged with first degree murder for beating Reed, according to court records. In February, the court ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial, according to court documents. 

At the bill signing, Gandy said it was bittersweet and an honor to meet the families of other domestic violence homicide victims.

“We were there knowing we are not alone, we can travel this road together and hopefully find ways to prevent and bring more awareness about domestic violence,” she said.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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