Recent editorials from Mississippi newspapers:
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May 19
The Clarion-Ledger on public information:
Why did it take so long for the Mississippi Highway Patrol to confirm what we knew all morning - that Sen. Terry Burton, R-Newton, was involved in a car accident and arrested for a DUI over the May 14 weekend?
We started asking for the information from Scott County and then the Highway Patrol at just before 8 a.m. We received an official statement from the Highway Patrol at 11:34 a.m. It’s not so much the time it took but the runaround that took place in between. Because of that, you will not convince us Burton wasn’t given special treatment.
A district public information officer, who we generally contact for such stories, told one of our reporters he was instructed to direct all inquiries on the matter to Capt. Johnny Poulos. That’s unusual but not necessarily unprecedented.
Poulos, who is always extremely helpful and easy to work with, took about three hours from our initial contact to finally confirm the information - not to answer us but to confirm the details about which we asked. We don’t place this at his feet; he probably was trying to get approval on the statement he released. And we can assure you Poulos is not required to get sign-off on every media inquiry he receives.
Then there was Scott County Sheriff Mike Lee. He would not confirm an arrest booked into his own jail. Instead, he said all inquiries had to go to the Highway Patrol. That’s not only unprecedented, it’s downright ludicrous. It was public information we sought, and the information we sought from Lee was his to give out.
We are not belittling the seriousness of a DUI, but let’s be real - what we were asking about wasn’t an extraordinary event. A man allegedly had too much to drink, got in his car, drove off the road and then was arrested for a DUI. (Thankfully he was safe, and he didn’t injure or kill another motorist.) This kind of incident happens far too often, and if we ask for details we usually get them immediately. Usually.
The Jackson Police Department was just as uncooperative when Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, was arrested for a DUI two years ago. You would have thought he committed some heinous crime against man or nature the way JPD responded to a simple inquiry. Again, special treatment was given to arrest information involving an elected official, and it shouldn’t have been.
When it was all over, most of the information we sought concerning Burton’s accident and arrest was released. That doesn’t excuse the fact authorities clearly took unusual measures, directing the flow of information and providing extra scrutiny than would have been required for most any other citizen.
We realize the Highway Patrol has new leadership. We believe the rigamarole to be law enforcement exercising extreme caution in an attempt to politically protect themselves and not some attempt to hide the truth. After all, the facts here are clear and routine.
Hopefully this is a learning experience. Public information is public. It shouldn’t be restricted, especially when a public official is involved, lest such a restriction give off the appearance of impropriety.
Online: https://www.clarionledger.com/
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May 20
The Commercial Dispatch on public education in Mississippi:
Much of the news we hear these days about public education in Mississippi has been discouraging.
Fights over school funding, policies, testing, even desegregation - just last week, a federal judge ruled that the schools in Cleveland, Mississippi, still haven’t complied with federal desegregation laws passed more than 60 years ago.
Teachers are asked to do more with less and when the Mississippi Department of Education releases its “report cards” on our schools each fall, our anticipation is more dread than excitement. And, of course, we are regularly reminded that our state falls well behind the others in educating our children.
Yet each spring, something remarkably encouraging happens. Our local high schools graduate hundreds of students, and many of those will now head to college where they will continue their education, some with great distinction.
This year, we are pleased to note that our area has produced some of the most promising young scholars in the nation. It seems to happen every year - when prestigious scholarships are awarded, there always seem to be some “homegrown” scholars on the list.
This year, three areas students were awarded prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarships. The Gates Millennium Scholars (GMS) Program, funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was established in 1999 to provide outstanding students of color with an opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education in any discipline area of interest. Continuing Gates Millennium Scholars may request funding for a graduate degree program in one of the following discipline areas: computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics, public health or science.
Earlier this month, two Columbus High seniors - Taylor Carter and Shelby Jones - were chosen as recipients for Gates Scholarship, joining West Lowndes High senior Jay Little in that distinction. Nation-wide, the scholarships were awarded to 1,000 students.
This week, the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selected Nathaniel Barlow, a senior at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science in Columbus. Barlow is among 160 high school seniors nationwide who were selected on the basis of their accomplishments in many areas - academic and artistic success, leadership, and involvement in school and the community - and represent excellence in education.
Created in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored close to 7,000 of the nation’s top-performing students with the prestigious award given to honorees during the annual ceremony in D.C.
Meanwhile, another former MSMS student, Ericka Wheeler, was named a Rhodes Scholar. The Millsaps College graduate is the first black woman from Mississippi to claim the prestigious honor and is one of one of just 32 U.S. men and women who will enter Oxford University next fall for postgraduate study.
Certainly, these young men and women have excelled, but they are hardly alone. This year, millions of dollars in scholarships will go to graduates from our schools throughout the Golden Triangle.
Hundreds of others will also pursue a college education.
They are reminders that, although serious challenges and obstacles remain, it is possible to achieve a quality education in our schools.
We should draw inspiration from these students and renew our commitment to making sure that a quality education is available for every student.
When the inevitable “bad news” about education resumes, we would do well to remember that so many of our young students have proven more than equal to the challenges.
Online: https://www.cdispatch.com/
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May 22
The Greenwood Commonwealth on private air ambulance services:
The for-profit air ambulance service is being scrutinized for what some claim is predatory pricing and overly aggressive collection tactics.
National news outlets have detailed stories all over the country of individuals and families getting socked with bills from $20,000 to $60,000 because the carrier used was not in the patient’s insurance network.
In a front-page story on May 22, the Commonwealth provides a local example of this unsettling experience.
Kathryn Green, a history professor at Mississippi Valley State University, is being told by a Colorado-based company that she owes it almost $51,000 for a trip her late husband took in February from Greenwood to a Jackson hospital after he suffered a head injury.
Green claims that neither she nor her husband authorized the helicopter trip, that an emergency responder made that decision, and that she had no way of knowing that the carrier selected was not an approved provider with their health insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi.
Blue Cross paid the company, Rocky Mountain Holdings LLC, the insurer’s allowable amount, about $7,200 if the initial $58,000 charge. Now Rocky Mountain is demanding the balance from Green.
Green has an attorney involved, and she may be able to work something out.
But her experience, like those of dozens of other cases reported around the country, indicate there’s a problem, in part because the air ambulance companies appear to be exempt from state regulation, falling currently only under federal law. A congressional effort to change this failed last month, but the issue is not going away.
In the meantime, though, hospitals and emergency medical personnel can help families avoid being victimized. Emergency responders can spell out to them what air ambulance carriers are available, how far away they are in flight time, what insurance networks they are in and what they charge. There’s not only a huge cost difference between in-network and out-of-network providers but also apparently between for-profit and nonprofit carriers. One case from Montana, reported on by The Associated Press, showed a for-profit carrier charging more than three times as much for the trip as a nonprofit carrier.
Sure, this will take a modest bit of research and some training of emergency room staffers and ground ambulance personnel. It is something, though, that they should do. Patients and their families are often not thinking straight in a medical emergency. They just want to get the sick or injured person quickly to the hospital best equipped to help. It’s precisely because they are distraught that they are easily preyed on.
Those who have clearer heads can help by laying out the options so the patients or their families can make a fast but informed decision - and hopefully save themselves a lot of money and heartache.
Online: https://www.gwcommonwealth.com/
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