Charlie Kent

In a surprise announcement at the Meridian Public School District’s Central Office, Board of Trustees Vice-president Don Evans said District Superintendent Charlie Kent was fired. Evans said an emergency Board of Trustees meeting was called last night to evaluate Kent’s performance since Kent took over the position in July 2008. When contacted by phone, Kent had no comment.

Read the story by Brian Livingston in The Meridian Star here.

Music retail experts at the 2010 Winter NAMM convention have honored Peavey Electronics with the “NAMM Best In Show – Company to Watch” award.

Convened at the International Music Products Association’s 2010 winter expo, held January 14-17 in Anaheim, Calif., the panelists at NAMM University’s Best In Show offered their views on the industry’s best companies, products and services.

Mike Guillot, director of purchasing for Mississippi Music, a four-store retail chain based in Hattiesburg, Miss., named Peavey Electronics his top “Company to Watch” for its long-standing commitment to advancing the state of the art while providing dealers with highly saleable products.

“For Mississippi Music and a lot of other dealers out there, we consistently have Peavey in our top five companies,” said Guillot during the Best In Show presentation on January 17. “The Peavey IPR^™ power amplifiers are super-light, high-tech and low-priced, and now there’s the new Impulse^® 12D, a powered speaker that incorporates the IPR amplifier system. You’ve got to hear it.”

Peavey Electronics Corporation founder and CEO Hartley Peavey said, “For 45 years, we’ve worked hard to design products that enhance the creative process and the audio experience. We have concentrated our energies on developing new technologies to give dealers a full range of compelling, unique music and sound products. Mississippi Music is a longtime retail partner of ours, and we’re excited to have their endorsement of our innovative new product lines.”

Guillot also praised the Peavey Vypyr^® Series, which dramatically redefines the power and scope of modern guitar amplification with highly detailed, accurate modeling based on 32-bit digital signal processing, patented analog TransTube^® technology, and real tubes. The Vypyr Series has won prestigious awards for its tone and technology, including Product of the Year and Instrument Amp of the Year from the Music & Sound Retailer; the Gold Award for Overall Value from Guitar World; and Amp Line of the Year two years in a row from Musical Merchandise Review.

The groundbreaking Peavey IPR Series professional power amplifiers utilize an advanced design with a switch-mode power supply and a high-speed class D topology to dramatically reduce weight while increasing reliability, efficiency and power. The IPR 1600 won the Best New Power Amplifier award in the 2010 Music & Sound Awards, presented by the Music & Sound Retailer.

Peavey Electronics debuted more than 20 new products to an international audience of 87,569 music retailers, media and musicians at the Winter NAMM 2010 convention, including new the Impulse 12D powered enclosure, Nano Vypyr portable modeling guitar amp, new PXD^™ Series guitars and basses, the 6534^™ Plus guitar amp, and many more. Please visit www.peavey.com/namm for a full recap of the products and personalities at the Peavey exhibit during the convention.

2009 has already gone down in history as a hard year for businesses. What some may not realize is that the economy has been just as hard on non-profits. In Meridian, Best of Both Worlds, a non-profit addiction recovery center for women, is struggling to make ends meet. The center accepts patients whether or not they can pay, and over the past year they have had too many patients who can’t.

Read the article by Jennifer Jacob Brown in The Meridian Star here.

MEMA and state agencies are prepared for the winter weather moving into our state this morning.  Wednesday Governor Haley Barbour issued a state of emergency in advance of this wintery blast.

The current National Weather Service forecast calls for rain, sleet and snow with sub freezing temperatures moving into much of the state by this afternoon. Temperatures are forecast to remain below freezing through the weekend for much of the state.

The following is a list of actions and preparations being made by state agencies:

MEMA: Keeping in close contact with local emergency managers and state agencies to provide resources if necessary. For updates follow us on Facebook and twitter using MSEMA.

MS Dept. of Education: School closing can be found on the Mississippi Department of Education’s Web site at www.mde.k12.ms.us.

MS Dept. of Transportation: MDOT crews are reporting ice roads and bridges in Alcorn, Benton, Bolivar, Calhoun, Coahoma, Desoto, Lee, Marshall, Panola, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Quitman, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tippah, Tishomingo, Tunica, Union and Yalobusha counties.  MDOT crews are working to clear these roadways of ice.  All roads and bridges have been reported as passable.

MS State Dept. of Health: MSDH Emergency Response Coordinators across the state are continually checking on healthcare facilities licensed by MSDH to ensure they are prepared for impending winter weather and that they are able to continue all standard operations. The MSDH Bureau of Emergency Medical Services continues to remind State EMS of the immediate response necessary to residents exposed to extreme weather. More information on staying safe and healthy during severe winter weather is available on www.healthyms.com.  

MS Institutions of Higher Learning: Classes have been cancelled at MSU, MUW and UM today due to the developing weather situation. Please refer to university Web sites for more specific information. Questions for IHL can be sent to lrsmith@mississippi.edu.

MS Dept. of Public Safety: MDPS has an 800 number the public can call to get updated with the latest road and weather conditions for their area. That number is 800-843-5352.  Mississippians can also go to, www.dps.state.ms.us look under road conditions to find district by district information.

MS Attorney General:  “Consumer Tips for Storm Victims” guide can be found at www.agjimhood.com .  Many of these tips are applicable in winter/ice storms.  Consumers with concerns or any fraud related complaints can call the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-281-4418.

MS State Fire Marshal: Fire safety information and tips are available in the special Holiday and Heating Fire Safety Web page on www.mid.state.ms.us.

MS Department of Human Services: Marshall County DHS office is closed.  Currently all other county offices are open. Closings, if necessary, will be announced through MS Public Broadcasting and other local media sources as available.

MS Commission for Volunteer Service: MCVS has made initial preparations to manage a potential volunteer response, including placing two AmeriCorps NCCC Disaster Response Teams on standby and notifying Mississippi Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters to issue a tentative alert to affiliates.MCVS will work with local emergency managers to establish Volunteer Reception Centers as needed.

MS National Guard: The Mississippi National Guard is fully prepared to support state and local authorities with manpower and equipment statewide during and after this winter weather threat.

MS 211:  Hotline can be accessed from any phone around the state by simply dialing 211 just as you would 911 for an emergency.  Our call specialists can connect callers to the help they need–from shelter information to financial assistance with heating bills.

MS Public Broadcasting: Mississippians can stay informed of the latest weather updates, road conditions and shelter information across the state by tuning to Mississippi Public Broadcasting.  Starting today, MPB will increase its weather and emergency information reports.  Follow MPB weather updates on Twitter.

MS Forestry Commission: The Forestry Commission is prepared to provide wildfire protection in the event of any wildfire activity occurring during this period of severely cold weather. Also, the Forestry Commission stands ready to provide assistance to county emergency coordinators in response to damages caused by an ice storm event.

 For more information, contact Jeff Rent or Greg Flynn in MEMA External Affairs at 866-920-MEMA (6362), or visit us online at www.msema.org.