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Mississippians plead their case to Corps over Jackson flooding, One Lake

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Federal officials repeatedly reminded an emotional room of Jacksonians that they have yet to pick a flood control plan for the capital city. Still, nearly all the comments at Wednesday’s public meetings centered on one design.

As has been the case for over a decade now, One Lake dominated the discussion on curbing flooding from the Pearl River.

Staff from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spent about four hours on Wednesday on a stage at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson, listening to what flood victims, politicians, businessmen, and other concerned residents had to say about the controversial proposal.

The agency is starting a new environmental analysis of several options that include the One Lake proposal, voluntary buyouts, elevation or other floodproofing, a hybrid of those options, or an alternative that has yet to be presented to the public. Corps officials alluded to a proposal from the University of California Berkeley that they were looking into.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives Brandon Davis (left) with Christopher Klein (center) and Robyn Colosimo, discuss proposed Pearl River flood control options and field questions, during a public meeting held at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Sparkman Auditorium in Jackson, Wednesday, May 4, 2023. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

One Lake is the result of a decades-long effort among local officials to prevent flooding in Jackson like what happened in 1979 and, more recently, in 2020. The proposal would widen the Pearl River for several miles next to Jackson. Supporters say the plan would reduce flooding by giving the river more room to flow, and also point to business opportunities created within the plan’s footprint. Opponents argue it would threaten wetlands downstream, harm struggling species, and wouldn’t provide the flood protection that the $340 million project advertises.

According to its current timeline, the Corps will release a draft of the analysis in September, hold a 45-day public comment period, and then come out with a final proposal in December. Then, Assistant Secretary of the Army of Civil Works Michael Connor will make a final decision around January of next year. Corps representatives said that decision could include no action if none of the options meets their criteria.

Citizens and stakeholders have until June 30 to submit a comment, which they can do through the Corps’ website.

Many of the comments supporting One Lake focused on economic improvement just as much as they focused on flood control.

“It’s way past time for this project to come to action,” Tamika Jenkins, executive director of the Hinds County Economic Development Authority, said. “If we have national news about flooding, companies are not going to come here.”

Socrates Garrett, a contractor and well-known business figure in the city, said Jackson has limited opportunities such as One Lake for economic growth.

“The only potential that (Jackson) has is within the (Pearl River) footprint,” Garrett said. “The only opportunity that we have now is to make this river, that God blessed us with, be a blessing for the citizens of Jackson, and provide the economic opportunity that makes this place become a tourist attraction, makes us have a river beach front that we can walk on, that we have hotels in the middle of the river, that we have all these businesses that are surrounded. It’s the only chance Jackson has to grow and attract a new tax base.”

District 1 Supervisor Robert Graham questions U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reps, during a public meeting held regarding Pearl River flooding, at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Sparkman Auditorium in Jackson, Wednesday, May 24, 2023. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

Those sentiments echoed throughout the night, including from pastors in Jackson — including Greg Divinity of Vineyard Church, CJ Rhodes of Mount Helm Baptist Church, and Ronnie Crudup of New Horizon Church — other local business figures, such as restaurant owner Jeff Good and Visit Jackson CEO Rickey Thigpen, and education leaders as well, including Renee Cotton, Chief of Staff at Hinds County Community College.

A bipartisan group of local and state lawmakers also pledged their support.

“We believe that the proposed project provides protection, opportunity and extends benefits to minority and low-income households in Jackson,” said Rep. Zakiya Summers, D-Jackson, who said that One Lake would also help address a “chokepoint” that exists in between the city’s current levees, leading to worse flooding in certain areas.

Other political figures supporting the project included Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, Hinds County Supervisor Robert Graham, former Hinds County Republican Party Chairman Pete Perry, Richland Mayor Pat Sullivan, Jackson Councilman Ashby Foote, and Rep. Shanda Yates, I-Jackson. Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba has also given his backing to One Lake.

Several backers also pointed to the recent support from Jackson’s third-party water manager Ted Henifin. Henifin said in a press release that the plan would allow the city to build a new treatment plant at a more optimal location for distribution, and where it’d be less susceptible to flooding.

But while supporters zeroed in on the financial benefits of building the project, opponents of One Lake also latched onto that very point.

“The big picture is not being shown,” said Rep. Ken Morgan, R-Morgantown. “This thing is one of the biggest realty scams that ever took place in the state of Mississippi.”

Multiple opponents shared that view.

“One Lake is a private real estate development scheme masquerading as a flood control project,” Lea Campbell with Mississippi for a Green New Deal said.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ proposed flood control options are viewed during a public meeting held at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Sparkman Auditorium in Jackson, Wednesday, May 24, 2023. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

Elected leaders of downstream communities, including Monticello Mayor Martha Watts and Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven, said that creating a lake would disrupt the flow south of Jackson, including for large employers like Georgia Pacific that rely on water intake.

“Don’t come looking south of Jackson for a vote, let me assure you, because we’re all mad,” Currie said.

At a Tuesday meeting in Slidell, Louisiana, other downstream residents voiced similar concerns.

While most comments took a stance on One Lake, others simply urged the Corps to find the best solution.

“The main solution I want to see is what we can implement the fastest,” said Shawn Miller, who said flooding has already displaced him twice since moving to Jackson in 2018.

In addition to the Corps’ website, commenters can e-mail PearlRiverFRM@usace.army.mil, and or mail their feedback to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, CEMVK-PMP, 4155 Clay Street, Vicksburg, MS, 39183-3435.

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

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Mississippi Today

On this day in 1946

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-12-23 07:00:00

Dec. 23, 1946

Chuck Cooper Credit: Wikipedia

University of Tennessee refused to play a basketball game with Duquesne University, because they had a Black player, Chuck Cooper. Despite their refusal, the all-American player and U.S. Navy veteran went on to become the first Black player to participate in a college basketball game south of the Mason-Dixon line. Cooper became the first Black player ever drafted in the NBA — drafted by the Boston Celtics. He went on to be admitted to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

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

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Podcast: Ray Higgins: PERS needs both extra cash and benefit changes for future employees

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mississippitoday.org – Bobby Harrison – 2024-12-23 06:30:00

Mississippi Today’s Bobby Harrison talks with Ray Higgins, executive director of the Mississippi Public Employees Retirement System, about proposed changes in pension benefits for future employees and what is needed to protect the system for current employees and retirees. Higgins also stresses the importance of the massive system to the Mississippi economy.

READ MORE: As lawmakers look to cut taxes, Mississippi mayors and county leaders outline infrastructure needs

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

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‘Bringing mental health into the spaces where moms already are’: UMMC program takes off

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mississippitoday.org – Sophia Paffenroth – 2024-12-23 06:00:00

A program aimed at increasing access to mental health services for mothers has taken off at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. 

The program, called CHAMP4Moms, is an extension of an existing program called CHAMP – which stands for Child Access to Mental Health and Psychiatry. The goal is to make it easier for moms to reach mental health resources during a phase when some may need it the most and have the least time. 

CHAMP4Moms offers a direct phone line that health providers can call if they are caring for a pregnant woman or new mother they believe may have unaddressed mental health issues. On the line, health providers can speak directly to a reproductive psychiatrist who can guide them on how to screen, diagnose and treat mothers. That means that moms don’t have to go out of their way to find a psychiatrist, and health care providers who don’t have extensive training in psychiatry can still help these women. 

“Basically, we’re trying to bring mental health into the spaces where moms already are,” explained Calandrea Taylor, the program manager. “Because of the low workforce that we have in the state, it’s a lot to try to fill the state with mental health providers. But what we do is bring the mental health practice to you and where mothers are. And we’re hoping that that reduces stigma.”

Launched in 2023, the program has had a slow lift off, Taylor said. But the phone line is up and running, as the team continues to make additions to the program – including a website with resources that Taylor expects will go live next year. 

To fill the role of medical director, UMMC brought in a California-based reproductive psychiatrist, Dr. Emily Dossett. Dossett, who grew up in Mississippi and still has family in the state, says it has been rewarding to come full circle and serve her home state – which suffers a dearth of mental health providers and has no reproductive psychiatrists

“I love it. It’s really satisfying to take the experience I’ve been able to pull together over the past 20 years practicing medicine and then apply it to a place I love,” Dossett said. “I feel like I understand the people I work with, I relate to them, I like hearing where they’re from and being able to picture it … That piece of it has really been very much a joy.”

As medical director, Dossett is able to educate maternal health providers on mental health issues. But she’s also an affiliate professor at UMMC, which she says allows her to train up the next generation of psychiatrists on the importance of maternal and reproductive psychiatry – an often-overlooked aspect in the field. 

If people think of reproductive mental health at all, they likely think of postpartum depression, Dossett said. But reproductive psychiatry is far more encompassing than just the postpartum time period – and includes many more conditions than just depression. 

“Most reproductive psychiatrists work with pregnant and postpartum people, but there’s also work to be done around people who have issues connected to their menstrual cycle or perimenopause,” she explained. “… There’s depression, certainly. But we actually see more anxiety, which comes in lots of different forms – it can be panic disorder, general anxiety, OCD.”

Tackling mental health in this population doesn’t just improve people’s quality of life. It can be lifesaving – and has the potential to mitigate some of the state’s worst health metrics.

Mental health disorders are the leading cause of pregnancy-related death, which is defined by the Centers for Disease Control as any death up to a year postpartum that is caused by or worsened by pregnancy. 

In Mississippi, 80% of pregnancy-related deaths between 2016 and 2020 were deemed preventable, according to the latest Mississippi Maternal Mortality Report.

Mississippi is not alone in this, Dossett said. Historically, mental health has not been taken seriously in the western world, for a number of reasons – including stigma and a somewhat arbitrary division between mind and body, Dossett explained.

“You see commercials on TV of happy pregnant ladies. You see magazines of celebrities and their baby bumps, and everybody is super happy. And so, if you don’t feel that way, there’s this tremendous amount of shame … But another part of it is medicine and the way that our health system is set up, it’s just classically divided between physical and mental health.”

Dossett encourages women to tell their doctor about any challenges they’re facing – even if they seem normal.

“There are a lot of people who have significant symptoms, but they think it’s normal,” Dossett said. “They don’t know that there’s a difference between the sort of normal adjustment that people have after having a baby – and it is a huge adjustment – and symptoms that get in the way of their ability to connect or bond with the baby, or their ability to eat or sleep, or take care of their other children or eventually go to work.”

She also encourages health care providers to develop a basic understanding of mental health issues and to ask patients questions about their mood, thoughts and feelings. 

CHAMP4Moms is a resource Dossett hopes providers will take advantage of – but she also hopes they will shape and inform the program in its inaugural year. 

“We’re available, we’re open for calls, we’re open for feedback and suggestions, we’re open for collaboration,” she said. “We want this to be something that can hopefully really move the needle on perinatal mental health and substance use in the state – and I think it can.”

Providers can call the CHAMP main line at 601-984-2080 for resources and referral options throughout the state. 

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

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