The Sun from Biloxi, Mississippi • 14

rfr r'Wfr -ft VmA -qVV-VtiVfrt VV fyyrf VUVy W-W1 VVV-w IV'VhV a a lf 1( a (t a -r'- a 's'1'''- TIicSiiiiThe Daily Herald it Sunday September 29 1985 A 14 ZZ3 ASDanmi's new aide is Buomnie grown JACKSON Miss There's a widely held perception that politics is a dirty business which attracts only stumble-bums dim-wits or those seeking to make a fast buck In the case of some politicians I must admit that is true But once in a while there comes along an outstanding example which helps restore your confidence that politics can attract some of the ablest people in the state Such is the case of Brad Chism a 25-year-old native of Tunica County who has been hired by Gov Bill Allaln to become an administrative assistant on the governor's staff starting this month Chism graduated magna cum laude in political science from Millsaps and in 1982 was the first native Mississippian in some years selected for a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University in England Being a Rhodes Scholar is almost like naming your own ticket to any sort of choice professional spot anywhere in the country Instead of finding greener fields elsewhere the tall raw-boned Chism after Oxford chose to come back to Mississippi to help make the state's political system work for the betterment of society Unlike so many young white upwardly mobile recent college graduates Chism was not attracted to the Republican Party He is a Democratic activist one of a handful of eager bright young people who hope to rebuild the Mississippi Democratic Party into a viable bi-racial institution For the past year or so Chism has been utilizing his special abilities in the field of economics (his major at Oxford) by doing research for Deposit Guaranty National Bank on the Mississippi economy On the side he developed his own lawn maintenance service and often when his college-student hired hands failed to show up Chism did SYNDICATED COLUMNIST to join Wayne Dowdy's successful campaign for Congress In 1982 Chism helped manage Dowdy's re-election campaign before taking off on his study at Oxford In between times he did volunteer work around the state Democratic headquarters Allain's hiring of Chism as an administrative assistant is apparently not just to have a young intellectual around the governor's office but to put him to work on what now is the legacy Allain hopes to leave as governor: a new state constitution Chism's job evidently will be to devote the major part of his time working on constitutional reform and as liaison with the constitutional commission headed by former Gov JP Coleman a commission Allain has yet to appoint The young ex-Tunica Countian is expected to be given broad leeway in identifying areas which need immediate revision in the existing constitution and finding major points of agreement with traditional foes of constitutional overhaul in the Legislature This will no doubt put Chism in a role of becoming an administration lobbyist with the Legislature a spot which can test his ability in the art of political persuasion an experience valuable to a political career But as one political observer remarked it may take up a good bit of Chism's time teaching some lawmakers that Magna Carta wasn't Jimmy Carter's mother Chism's philosophy is that the political system can be used to improve society rather than reward your friends and punish your enemies Besides he says is the most exciting period in the history of Mississippi and I wouldn't want to be any other place" the grass mowing himself That led some wag to observe that while young Republicans clip coupons to contribute to the GOP Chism clipped lawns to give money to the Democratic Party Chism is not your button-down shirt pin-stripe suit young executive type He's still very much a country boy in dress and manner not too far removed from hia Tunica County upbringing of which he proudly says "I was a cracker's son" His folks were not of the plantation gentry which exists in Tunica County even though in total population it is the poorest county in America Chism's father who was killed in an auto crash when Brad was a youth had a job as a farm manager His mother also killed in an auto accident four years ago worked in a supermark et to help send her son to college In summers Brad hired out as a cotton chopper presaging his lawn-mowing career of later years His great fascination for the political arena had led Chism as a 20-year-old college student to become finance chairman of Britt Singletary's 4th District congressional race in 1981 then later Editorial Sun Herald will change this week i Three days shy of a hundred and one years after Vol 1 Nol of The Biloxi Herald came off the hand-operated press its successor newspapers will undergo another major change On Tuesday The Sun and The Daily Herald will merge into The Sun Herald an allday newspaper Some things will be different Some things will not change One thing that will be the same is the time of publication The morning edition will be published at 1 am as The Sun now is the afternoon edition will be published at noon as The Daily Herald now is Subscribers of the morning paper will continue to receive a morning paper other subscribers will continue to receive their paper with updated news and sports stories in the afternoon But the paper they get will be better than either The Sun or The Daily Herald It will contain more news and features Subscribers who want to change from afternoon to morning delivery or vice versa may do so by calling the circulation department The most notable improvement will be that the newspaper will have four sections Monday through Friday Its content will include most of the features and comics of both papers We aspire to give Herald readers the best of the Sun and Sun readers the best of the Herald The Sun Herald will resemble the current Sunday paper with graphic modifications designed to improve appearance and readability Next year when new computer and typesetting equipment is installed in our plant a major graphic re-design will be undertaken We have a custom each year of recalling our history remembering our I roots our beginning and our growth George Wilkes and MB Richmond started The Biloxi Herald Oct 4 1884 Mr Richmond left within a year Mr Wilkes and his family owned and operated the paper until 1968 when the State-Record Company of South Carolina purchased it A subsidiary company Gulf Publishing Co now publishes the papers The little weekly continued until 1898 when it changed to daily publication In 1909 The Daily Herald established an office in Gulfport and began circulation there Three years later most of the printing plant was moved to Gulfport In 1969 the Saturday paper was changed from afternoon to morning publication in preparation for launching the Sunday paper in January 1970 After Hurricane Camille Gulf Publishing advanced its plans for a new plant and moved into the present facility on DeBuys road in October 1970 Gulf Publishing most ambitious undertaking was the launching of The Sun in October 1973 offering Coastians a choice of newspapers There have been internal changes through the years as well The newspaper industry has been going through an explosion of technological wizardry discarding hot-metal type for the faster cleaner photographic type utilizing computers instead of typewriters and linotype machines and installing satellite dish antennas to snatch words and photographs from space Gulf Publishing Co has stayed abreast of these developments Throughout the changes of the years this newspaper has maintained a constancy of purpose to serve our readers and our advertisers We strive to be a community newspaper reporting on the happenings of the Coast communities while being a vehicle for merchants to tell prospective customers about their wares With The Sun Herald we will endeavor to maintain our position as an integral part of this Gulf Coast serving residents with news and advertising providing leadership through our editorial voice and growing with the Coast They said it have a problem with babies having babies and as long as we have that problem we ought to be flexible enough to deal with it" William Farrow vice president of the Chicago school board which gave conditional approval to a family planning clinic at a high school "Instead of sending a loud roar to our trading partners it sends nothing more than a whimper" House Speaker Thomas referring to President Reagan's plan to boost trade help that the children who deserve our help have benefitted" Secretary of Education William Bennett lalieling the government's bilingual education program a failure "Given the limited number of health-care dollars we have money might be better spent on research into finding a cure for the disease rather than on needlessly cruel and expensive treatment" Colorado Gov Richard I) Lamm saying that giving heroic medical treatment to AIDS victims is inappropriate By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 17 years of federal involvement and after $17 billion of federal funding we have no evidence that the children whom we sought to Watson is rocking some boats a few cars Robert McHugh EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR Between selling all of the Ford automobiles he can and straightening out the state Motor Vehicle Commission Bill Watson is very busy which is probably why it took me three daya to get him on the telephone in his Jackson office Watson is one of the few boat rockers in state government That sets him apart from other state agency chiefs and makes him an interesting person to interview He is chairman of the commission which has been something of a battleground for almost the entire year-and-a-half Watson has been on the job Gene McKey the commission's executive director worked only two hours a day in the office until Watson came along and launched adetermined assault on the practice He insisted that McKey put in a full day to earn his $25000 a year but other commission members dragged their feet about going along with this unusual boat rocking in such a quiet agency Besides McKey had told them that he did some commission work while tending to his used car business in the city McKey was eventually driven to resign after State Auditor Ray Mabus said he would not sign that all-important paycheck unless he had proof that McKey was putting in as much time on the job as other state employees This was a victory for Watson He wanted an executive director who would work in the office a full day and make sure that all laws the commission is responsible for are complied with "You have to understand that the Motor Vehicle Commission has responsibilities in three areas" Watson said "Our job is to see that dealers manufacturers and consumers all get fair and equal treatment" I figured dealers and manufacturers would be getting good treatment because five of the seven commissioners are dealers as was McKey So I asked Watson what the commission has the laws are upheld "I am tired of the aggravation and frustration of this job and I haven't got a bit of credit for what I've tried to do" Watson said Certainly he has received no plaudits from the Mississippi Automobile Dealers Association which last February approved a resolution calling upon McKey to stay in the job and Watson to resign Watson sdld he doesn't understand the support other commissioners gave to McKey after they had been told by the attorney general that McKey has been violating a law that says his job is full time Watson was also motor vehicle commission chairman in Louisiana under the Treen administration "I know this business" he said "because the Mississippi law is fashioned after the Louisiana IftWa "But I've got to say I'm so frustrated with this job that I intend to resign after this mess has been straightened out and I'm satisfied that the law is being followed" The Mississippi Motor Vehicle Commission is in a sense self-supporting Its funds come from license fees and other assessments levied against dealers salesmen and manufacturers That may be saving taxpayers money but any time the people being regulated pay for their own regulation they understandably develop a proprietary interest in the way they are regulated That Is just one of the factors that makes the boat Watson is in particularly difficult to rock On the other hand Watson the only one likely to get sea sick Others in that rocking boat may find themselves sharing his mal de mer because only Gov Bill Allain can remove Watson from his post Allain is not likely to do that Watson contributed at least $37000 to the Allain campaign and even signed a $250000 letter of credit later satisfied through post-campaign fund-raising events been doing for consumers "I haven't seen the first consumer complaint in all the time I've been here" Watson said That's strange because as he noted there isn't an agency of state government that has as much power to protect the consumer as the Motor Vehicle Commission And automobile owners are known to complain The MVC has powers of subpoena and can require a dealer to reply to any valid complaint that has been properly filed Dealers found to be in violation of the law can be fined If there has been little action in behalf of consumers by the commission in the past that may change soon Watson is rewriting policies that have been in effect for 11 years jr "I want some changes in the budget" Watson said "The money's there I want two investigators to ensure that the laws are being complied with more money for the girls in the office a better director's salary and a little more office space" McKey was apparently horrified at the thought of investigators checking to see if dealers are complying with the law He was quoted as saying on the day he resigned that he would never be a party "to the embarrassment of fellow automobile dealers" Watson's response was that he had no intention of harassing dealers but he did intend to see that Tin Sun The Daily Herald Publidied by GuK Publishing Co Inc ROLAND WEEKS JR esident Associate Publisher PIC FIRMIN Executive Editor LLOYD GRAY Managing Editor 4 5 i I BEN MORRIS Publisher JAMES LUND Herald Editorial Page Editor ROBERT McHUGH Sun Editorial Page Editor a Mi A ArWfcHA A.