Hattiesburg American from Hattiesburg, Mississippi • 17

if ij f'ivmiw City editor: Tammie Chisholm, 584-3115 E-mail: TChisholmHattiesb.gannett.com Sunday, August 10, 2003 Online edition: www.hattiesburgamerican.com 1C Pirlmniairv otiioimiifooirs. mm IMh Around Mississippi Pass Christian FBI says bank other gubernatorial candidates combined Republican and Democratic had received about 298,000. That included GOP nominee Haley Barbour, a former Republican National Committee chairman who had defeated one opponent in his party primary. "Governor Musgrove Wins Primary, Defeats Barbour With 56 Percent of the Primary Vote," trumpeted a Musgrove news release. The Barbour people interpreted the numbers differently.

At a post-election news con- than 80 percent of the vote while Musgrove had received a smaller percentage in the Democratic contest. Barbour pointed to the last time a Mississippi governor sought re-election. It was 1995, and Republican Gov. Kirk Fordice received about 94 percent of the vote against one primary opponent "The fact that Musgrove, with unknown opposition, only got 76 percent of the vote speaks volumes about people who feel like they want to vote in their local Democratic primary but who chose to cast a vote against the incumbent," Barbour said. Later in the week, with all precincts reporting in the Democratic races and most reporting in Republican races, Musgrove had received 77 percent of the 504,319 Democratic gubernatorial votes and Barbour had received 83 percent of the 177,122 Republican votes.

A political expert said it's not surprising for campaigns to announce their own interpretations of primary numbers, but there's little value in doing so. Coast major loser in jobs since last year Candidates prepare for general election The Associated Press JACKSON After last week's party primaries, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove's camp declared victory. It wasn't because the incumbent had easily pushed aside four Democrats who had raised little money and made few campaign appearances. It was because at that point, with most precincts counted, Musgrove had raked in more than 382,000 votes while all A.

1 1 "1 -nnif i' 1 (., 1 1 I -1 r-n" i The Associated Press JACKSON Jobless rates can indicate how an area's economy is faring, but they can also be misleading. Looking just at unemployment, it appears that the Jackson metropolitan area -which includes Madison, Hinds and Rankin -had fared the worst. Its jobless rate rose in June over the year before. Meanwhile, Hattiesburg's jobless rate declined, and the Biloxi-Pascagoula-Gulfport area's jobless rate remained flat during the same period. But of the three areas, the Gulf Coast has actually fared the worst in the current soft economy.

The coast has lost 7,000 jobs since last year, more than the other two metropolitan areas put together. A weak economy has taken approximately 3,600 leisure and hospitality jobs, 1,400 construction jobs, 1,200 manufacturing jobs and 200 government jobs. The only categories showing gains on the coast were the Musgrove Barbour ference, Barbour touted gains in Republican primary voting and drops in Democratic participation over the past few Mississippi elections. Barbour noted that against one Republican primary opponent, he had received more -T 1 dents wear uniforms. But students have some flexibility because the school district is dictating styles and colors not specific uniforms.

"And when they buy uniforms, they're taking advantage of all those sales as well and spending on play and after-school wear," Williams said. With the exception of the high school, students at each of the Hattiesburg Public Schools, began wearing uniforms last August. McEachern said local shoppers are passing up trendy mall fashions for discount retail stores because of the mandate for school uniforms. Retailers may also be benefiting from the $400a-child tax credit checks that are being mailed to more than 25 million University of Southern Mississippi mascot Seymour stands behind the Farve family of Sumrall. John David, 13, left, Aaron, 9, Brittany, 4, and their mother, Kaye were waiting for Ole Miss' Colonel Rebel.

Turtle Creek Mall had several mascots appear as part of its Back To School Kids Expo on Saturday. "I doubt they actually believe what they're saying, putting the most positive spin on it. If either one of them does believe what they're saying, they're in trouble said Robert S. McElvaine, a Millsaps College history professor and longtime observer of Mississippi politics. McElvaine said as candidates map out their strategies to get from the primaries to the Nov.

4 general election, "the primary numbers don't matter." information industry, which added about 200 jobs, and education and health services, which added about 400 workers. But the big job losses didn't affect the unemployment rate, which remained unchanged at 6 percent making the coast's economy look in better shape than it really is. Part of the reason is that some of those lost jobs had been held by people who lived in other counties or out of state, economists say. A jobless rate reflects the number of unemployed workers who live in an area, not that necessarily work in that area. And some of the laid off workers who do live in the area may have just got tired of looking and dropped off the unemployment rolls, which only count those actively looking for work.

"There's something called the discouraged worker effect," said Paul Grimes, head of the Department of Finance and Economics at Mississippi State University. 0 Sv Gulf Coast has actually fared economy. The coast has lost there," he said. Some employees who are near retirement age will be offered enhanced pensions to encourage them to leave early. The job cuts mainly will occur among administrative and back office areas, Lagarde said.

No cuts were planned for customer service workers and field work crews that repair power lines and substations, he said. "This will not affect customer service and reliability," he said. The job cuts are part of an effort to rein in operating costs, Lagarde said. The company also is trying to lower its costs for purchasing supplies and fuel, and is working with state and local regulators to increase profits from regulated utilities by lowering operating costs, he said. Entergy has about 15,000 workers, mostly in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.

shoppers boost robberies may be related The FBI is investigating whether a man who held up a Pass Christian bank on Thursday is the same one who robbed three banks in Louisiana. FBI agents said Friday that the man who robbed the People's Bank in Pass Christian fits the same description and used the same method as a man who recently robbed banks in Monroe, Slidell and Lafayette. In all four robberies, the FBI said both men claimed they had a bomb and threatened to blow up the building if they didn't get money. Bomb squad agents detonated the devices used in each robbery and found they were fakes. Greenville Four campaign for mayor GREENVILLE Greenville Mayor Paul Artman Jr.

is seeking a third term in city elections this fall. Artman, a Democrat who has been mayor since 1996, was one of four people to qualify for the post. Artman succeeded Mayor Frank Self who did not see re-election in 1995. Candidates had to quality to run for mayor and city council seats on Thursday. Artman will be opposed in the Oct.

6 Democratic Party primary by Heather McTeer Hudson. The winner will face independents Douglas Winston and Dewitt "Buddy" Tucker in the Dec. 8 general election. Olive Branch Man charged in shooting death OLIVE BRANCH -An -s Olive Branch man has been charged with murder in a shooting death outside a local home, police say. Police Lt.

Kevin McKenzie said Bobby Joe Manning, 33, was shot to death Friday following an argument over money. The shooting oc- curred outside of Manning's home. McKenzie said Donnell K. Shipp, 24, also of Olive Branch, was charged with murder. Shipp remained in the DeSoto County jail without bond Saturday.

Pascaqoula Woman found guilty in death A Moss Point woman has been convicted of manslaughter in the shooting death of a man who died in the parking lot of a store in Pascagoula last summer. A Jackson County Circuit Court jury on Friday convicted 26-year-old LaTanya Dubose in the killing of Leonard Ray Harris, identified as her boyfriend. Dubose claimed Harris, 41, beat her and humiliated her. She had been charged with murder but the jury convicted her of the lesser charge of manslaughter. She faces a maximum of 20 years in prisoa From The Associated Press Let us hear from you Corrections: It is the policy of the Hattiesburg American to correct errors contained in its pages.

Corrections typically appear on the front of the section in which the error occurred. To report an error, contact Managing Editor Dan Davis at 584-3125 or Executive Editor Jon Broadbooks at 584-3127. News tips: Call the city desk at 584-31 1 5 to pass on news of interest. Our fax number is 584-3130. Letters to the editor Want to express an opinion? Write to Rich Campbell, opinion page editor, at P.O.

Box 1 1 1 1 Hattiesburg, MS 39401 or by email at: ruYors I In-Home iTWorlng "We've had a super back-to-school season and since it's always a good indication of how the Christmas season will be, we're real excited." Cindy Childs, marketing director for the Mall at Barnes Crossing in Tupelo ANNETTE KENNEDY Hattiesburg American retailers U.S. families. Many retailers have been allowing shoppers to cash these checks at stores and use them for purchases. Drew Spears, assistant store manager at Wal-Mart on US. 98, said offering check cashing services for the child tax credit checks allows for a more convenient way to shop for back to school items.

"They can cash their check with or without making a purchase," he said. "We're kind of acting like a bank. Ifs up to them if they want to spend it here." While the back-to-school season isn't as big as the Christmas period for retailers, some retailers see it as a barometer of what's ahead for the falL "We've had a super back-to-school season and since it's always a good indication of how the Christmas season will be, we're real excited," said Cindy Childs, marketing director at the Mall at Barnes Crossing in Tupelo. "The Area Education Foundation is a wonderful resource for our school district and others in the area. They are helping our children out by having resources and programs available to ensure they do the best they can in school We hope to help put some money into the pots to raise money for the very foundation these kids need." Among the programs offered by the foundation is a free four-day workshop to help local students prepare for the ACT test The ACT is one of the tests colleges and universities use to determine college entrance.

"Our goal is to help these students be ready so that when they take the test, they know what to expect," Lott said. School From staff and wire reports Children may not be thrilled that school is starting next week, but retailers certainly are. The back-to-school shopping season is a critical one for retailers and particularly so this year. A soft economy and high unemployment have forced retailers into early discounting to lure reluctant consumers. "Unfortunately, retailers are training their customers to shop for sales," said David Meadows, general manager of Turtle Creek Mall in Hattiesburg.

But there are positive signs that the back-to-school season will be a strong one for retailers. Nationally, sales at stores open at least a year rose 4 percent in July over the previous year, better than the 3.1 percent forecast. Department store sales, generally weaker, rose a modest 1.4 percent. The strong showing has major retailers and malls expecting a strong August "We've definitely seen an in- The Associated Press Casinos and hotels in South Mississippi, including the Isle of Capri, Casino Magic and Grand Casino in Biloxi. Jobless rates can indicate how an area's economy is far ing, but they can also be misleading.

While the Biloxi-Pascagoula-Gulfport area's jobless rate remained flat during the same period, the the worst in the current soft 7,000 jobs since last year. Entergy to layoff 1,000 employees Foundation to raise money, awareness crease in sales since last year," said Tim McEachern, assistant store manager at TJ. Maxx in Hattiesburg. "In the last two weeks in Jury we really saw an increase in customer traffic," he said. Most students return to school in Mississippi beginning Monday and retailers have already seen strong sales the past few weeks compared to the same period last year.

At Pemberton Square Mall in Vicksburg, general manger Renee Williams said some retailers report sales are up as much as 17 percent over last year. Clothing retailers do have a challenge in Vicksburg, however, because the elementary and junior high schools in Warren County have mandated that stu Lott Phillips tal campaign is to help provide funds for our operation and programming." Lott said his goal is to have residents donate $5 a month through bank drafts. "They can give us a voided check and it will go through the bank system," he said. "It would be deducted from their checking account. If they don't want it to go through their checking account we are also offering enrollments where Would vou like to earn A -sTi Li The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS Entergy Corp.

intends to eliminate 1,000 jobs, or 7 percent of its work force, by offering employees voluntary severance packages this year, the power utility's officials said. Most of the reductions will come trom bntergys Jackson, nuclear power plant division, which operates eight stations in the South and Northeast, spokesman Chanel Lagarde said. The company did not give firm numbers on how many jobs would be cut in Jackson or at its corporate headquarters in New Orleans. The company might lay some workers off if fewer than 1,000 people accept voluntary severance packages, Lagarde said. 'At that point, we would review our options and de cide where we go from they can give a yearly or onetime amount" Lott said he wants to involve area Parent Organizations in the campaign.

"If a PTO gets people enrolled, we will give them $1 out of the $5 to go toward their organization," he said. "We want the community to be involved more with the education of its students," he said. "Education is the key to a trained workforce and an important part of the economic system. Without education the job market can't be the best it can be. We want people to feel they have a part in making public schools the best they can be." "The backbone of our community is our school system," said Petal Mayor Tony Phillips.

By Antoinette Konz American Staff Writer akonzhattiesb.gannett.com The director of the Area Education Foundation will use back-to-school time as an opportunity to raise money and awareness for the non-profit program that promotes education in the Pine Belt. Foundation director Mike Lott said he has been working with all the mayors and boards of supervisors in Forrest and Lamar counties, hoping it makes them more aware of the non-profit organization that is funded by donations and gifts. Vith school starting back up, we are going to the public to secure enrollments in a bank draft plan and also ask businesses for their support," Lott said. "The purpose of this capi- additional income using your skills while being treated like the professional you are? Hjtors2U, a local, innovative and exdting new in-home tutoring service seeking additional tutor to loin their licensed and certified professional staff. Hours are flexible to meet your personal or famfly schedule and service is Twtroin jhe tocal a for Ages 4 to Adult..