Posted by NtzMom55 (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 3:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)

So, why are these kids out of their home at 3 in the morning on a school night? Apparently the parents do not have control of these boys so the justice system needs to make sure that proper action is taken. I do question, though, why the title of this newsarticle is "NHS athletes arrested, Natchez High powerlifters charged with grand larceny"? Yes, they may have been members of the power lifting team but the title of the article seems to insinuate that this crime happened during Power Lifting Time, which I doubt the power lifting team is in session at 3 a.m. And why is Powerlifting Team Coach Joseph Johnson's name mentined in this article? And why is superintendent Anthony Morris' name mentioned also? I'm sure all of these boys take an English class or a Math class in school in addition to Powerlifting so why did the article leave out their English and Math teachers names? What these boys did was on their own time, not on school time. They committed a crime, on their own time, away from school so I do not think it is at all appropriate to tie the school system, Coach Joseph Johnson or superintendent Anthony Morris' name to their crime. If any other names should have been mentioned in this artice it should be the parents of these teens. Put the blame where the blame needs to be and leave the school system out of it because the school system had nothing to do with their crime, which was committed at 3 a.m. away from any school campus. Natchez Democrat, quit trying to enhance your articles with unrelated embelishments just to try to get more negative attention. I believe Mary Hood and the Natchez Democrat owes Natchez High School, Coach Joseph Johnson and Dr. Anthony Morris an appology for including them in this article.

Posted by ntzmom (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 3:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I have to say I agree with you Ntzmom55.
This has nothing to do with the school.

Posted by bear45 (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 4:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I would think these 18 and 19 year olds should be out working somwhere instead of still being enrolled in school and maybe the only thing at the school they had in common was the powerlifting, maybe they didn't have any classes together. Still bothers me that 18 and 19 year olds are still in high school not in college or working....

Posted by Bozo (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 5:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Gives the term power lifting a new meaning.

Posted by the_dude (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 5:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)

there are multiple problems with this article.

a) two of these young men are not part of the powerlifting team.

b) why is the school even mentioned? if i remember correctly, when a certain superstar from one of the private schools (rhymes w/ bidley) was picked up for the same thing, it recieved no mention, much less written as trinity athlete arrested.

c) ask yourself would this have even been published if the young men had gone to one of the other schools in town?

I am beginning to wonder what kind of agenda the newspaper has. there has been an extremely negative tone to almost all articles involving the public schools (dont get me wrong they deserve a lot of criticism but there are positives in the district).

franklin county won district saturday in baseball. natchez high won state in powerlifting. which one was in the paper?
that in itself is a joke.

finally do any of these children go home to joe johnson or dr. morriss? then why are they being asked about something that occured outside of school? pointless!

Posted by sideline (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 5:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree with NtzMom55.Where were the parents. There was nothing to be doing that time of morning. They knew what they were doing. They are old enough now so throw the book at them. It was no prank. Time to suffer for their actions. Nothing good comes from a thief but a thief.

Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 6:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Morris said he does not want to make a formal statement until receiving all of the information.

Disciplinary action will be determined by the severity of the charges, he said.

I guess he will wait till they steal everything they get there hands on from Natchez High before he does anything about kicking there butts off the team.....

Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 6:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)

i guess the best thing that could happen is that they will get Judge Liilian Sanders...the one that let the other thug off that beat up the woman in her home last week. That will mean that these young thugs will be back on the streets in a few weeks working on getting better at their trade and stealing more before anybody does anything about the whole ordeal...

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!

Posted by LdyBreez (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 6:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Some schools have a policy in regards to their club and extra cricular activities classes. These students are seen as a role models and have rules that extend outside of the campus. If these rules are broken then the school can take some kind of action in regards to the extra cricular activity or club. I do not know if this is the case here but it might be why it was mentioned.

As for graduating at 19, thats a no brainer. If you are not born before Aug. 1 you have to wait another year to start school. If you fail a year, your 19 before you graduate. My own daughter will be 19 when she graduates and this was the case with her. I would rather her still be in high school at 19 than to become a drop out statistic.

Posted by GopherBaroque (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 6:41 a.m.

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Posted by marcuspi (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 6:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)

i have to agree with previous e mails..they are students first,, athletes second..i would not bet on the ethnic group but, would bet they do not attend cathedral or trinity..it would not have been in the paper..age, ehtnic group, or school affiliation does not matter--the actions they chose do..

Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 6:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)

While that comment was very unnecessary, I sense frustration in your tone. I feel you pain. I would be willing to back your bet if you were trying to say that they come from minority status households. I would believe that they come from the second largest minority group in America now. They are probably of African descent, but this would have nothing to do with the bad choices that they are making. The bad choices come from all environmental influences and from just a few genetic codes in them. The outside influences would include television and music. They see and hear it all the time and think that it is expected from them.

It could have been all white kids, had they had the same environmental influences in their lives from birth through teenage years. The genetic codes , or markers, that are present would tend to have white kids go on shooting sprees to show their frustrations, instead of stealing.

Had they been from the largest minority group in this country, they would have dropped the cars to the ground and had dingle-dangles on the rearview mirror and would have been asleep at 3:00 am because their dads made them leave school at 12 years old to get a job and bring their check home to him so he could drink till his brain was mush.

STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE COLOR OF THE SKIN. Every race has issues. Try to deal with them when they are 10 years old so we do not have to deal with them in our judicial system when they are 18 please!!!!!!

Posted by supermom (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 7:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Very well said redusmfan..............

Posted by LdyBreez (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 7:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Thank You redusmfan!!!! Why is it some people wake up looking for a fight?

Posted by triscuit (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 7:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I was surprised to see the name of the 17-year-old published.

Posted by SIOUXLADY (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 8:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

THESE YOUNGSTERS SHOULD BE PUNISHED.. NO SLAP ON THE WRIST.. SLAPPING ON THE WRIST ONLY SAYS IT IS OK.. WHAT WILL THEY STEAL NEXT.. They probably have stolen things before, just did not get caught.

PARENTS..... THE PARENTS COULD HAVE BEEN WORKING, BUT THAT IS NOT EXCUSE EITHER... CITY OF NATCHEZ... WHERE IS YOUR CURFEW FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN.
SOME Parents are not being parents, some parents are afraid of their own children..(NOT ME) My motto is "AS LONG AS YOU LIVE IN MY HOUSE, YOU DANCE BY MY MUSIC.. If you don't like it then get out. OUT OF CONTROL KIDS, I HAVE ZERO TOLERANCE FOR.
PARENTS GET A HOLD BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE, OR PRISON WILL CONTROL YOUR CHILDREN.

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 8:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)

When I was a child, there was a public service announcement (PSA) that aired every night at 10:00pm (I believe) right before the evening news. And it went like this:

"PARENTS, DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR CHILDREN ARE?"

Maybe we need to start that campaign again and run that PSA at 6:00pm and 10:00pm.

Posted by Syoung (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 8:49 a.m.

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Posted by eagle1 (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 8:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I can't tell you how many teachers and policemen tell me about how many incidents at NHS the public NEVER hears about and the Democrat never reports. It's scary. It's no wonder the private schools have swelled in attendance. And it's totally newsworthy that these kids were outstanding athletes only a month away from graduation at NHS. The Democrat has a duty to report that. At least that's what I'm assuming since one is 18 and the other is 19. Pathetic, just pathetic. I agree about getting quotes from NHS employees though, that is pointless. They had nothing to do with it. How about some quotes from the parents?? Anyway, at 18 and 19, they deserve the slammer.

Posted by DSGB (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)

First of all, let me begin by saying what these young men have done is absolutely wrong. I am truly saddened and shocked by this because I have had the chance to meet the young men on the powerlifting team and was impressed by them. I agree with what has been said in earlier posts that they should have been home because the only out in the streets that time of night or morning in trouble. This is not an issue of race, what school you attend, what sport you play but of young men making a bad choice and now having to live by their decisions. We have all made bad decisions or had family members that have done something serious like this, did we throw them away??? I am not saying don't punish them but lets not throw them in the prison system just yet!!!

Now the fact that the Democrat let this article hit the paper before mentioning that the NHS powerlifting team won a state title on Saturday is also disappointing. I must agree that interviewing Joe Johnson or Anthony Morris has no relevance to what these young men did on their personal time, so Democrat I ask you why??? Is this an attempt to give the public school system more of a black eye???? Joe Johnson and Anthony Morris are not the overseers of these young men and therefore should never have been mentioned in this article. I really don't understand the type of reporting that goes on at the Democrat. I bet tomorrows issue will have "NHS wins State Powerlifting" as one of its headlines...

Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Since when is a 19 year old still in high school (or able to be on a wrestling team)? He needs to be trying to graduate.

Had a 4 wheeler stolen a few months ago, it is not pleasant to walk outside and see it gone. These kids will probably just get a slap on the hand, but they should be made to do 1000 hrs of community service each. Their parents money shouldn't be the only thing that bails them out.

Posted by Negotiator (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Same song, different verse.

Posted by grrbrts (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

For those that missed my comment, in regards to statistical elements that relate to a crime, here they are again; most crimes happen at night, involve alcohol, are the abuse of drugs/medicines. Parents...do you know where your child(ren) are?

Posted by firered (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Personally I don't think they should be classified as young men. They are boys. They acted immaturely so they should be classified the same. You are all calling for where are the parents so don't give these boys any reason to think that they are grown.

Posted by grrbrts (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

An addition..."Peer pressure". Parents...do you still know where your child(ren) are?

Posted by fatherof4 (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Put them in the army, they will furnish them with an All Terrian Vehicle, and a place to ride.

Posted by retired (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)

WHY CAN'T HEADLINES FEATURE POWERLIFTING TEAM NHS WINS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP? WHY THE NEGATIVES MAKE FRONT PAGE NEWS? NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT/STAFF, IT IS NECESSARY THAT YOU EARN YOUR PAY REPORTING POSTIVE NEWS. HOW DO YOU THINK YOU MADE THOSE STUDENTS FEEL THAT BRAVED THE STORM THIS WEEKEND TO COMPETE IN THE POWERLIFTING COMPITION IN JACKSON AND TO WIN STATE. GET REAL DEMOCRAT. ONE OF MANY REASONS THAT I DISCONTINUED MY SUBSCRIPTION. NEGS ARE REALLY PULLING DOWN THE COMMUNITY. WE ARE DEALING WITH LIVES OF CHILDREN, SOME ARE TRYING TO MAKE THE BEST OF AN ALREADY CRUEL WORLD. IF MARY WOOD HAS NOTHING ELSE TO WRITE PERHAPS SHE NEEDS TO REDIRECT HER ENERGY SOMEWHERE ELSE. IT IS NEGATIVE ARTICLES OF THIS SORT THAT IS KILLING THE DEMOCRAT. THUMBS DOWN NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT. POOR JUDGEMENT. THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT IS THE CRIMINAL HERE FOR STEALING THE JOY OF THE YOUNG MEN WHO PARTICIPATED AND WON THIS WEEKEND. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE ALLOW TO HAPPEN. THINK ABOUT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

You have a valid point retired. Unfortunately all news is like this. Negativity is just more juicy.

Posted by Hardcorps (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:44 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Execute them now. That will save everyone a lot of pain, trouble, and money in the future.

Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)

In other news, look what's been occurring in Concordia Parish:

Reports — Monday

Borrowed but unreturned lawn mower on Skipper Drive.

Person behaving strangely near Foxfire Apartments.

Complaint (subject throwing rocks at complainant) at Roy Kemp Landing.

Complaint (two subjects fighting with shovels) on Railroad Drive.

I sure hate I missed out on that shovel fight!

Posted by c_8512 (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Since these fine young scholar atheletes were on the powerlifting team, shouldn't they have been able to lift the machines they (allegedly) stole over the fence instead of cutting it?

Posted by triscuit (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Each school in the NASD should have someone in charge of getting news briefs to the newspaper concerning honors and awards of students as well as teachers. If I was the principal, for that matter, I'd make sure I was doing it, if no one else was. What would it take, five minutes a day? Ten? I think I could fit it in.

But the absence of the positive reporting didn't cause the kids to commit crimes. They made that choice on their own. We need to quit giving kids excuses and make them own their actions.

Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 10:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Or we can go see the shovel fight on Railroad Drive! Better yet, we can get these kids involved in a National Championship Shovel Fighting Contest. This will sure keep them out of trouble.

Posted by DSGB (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 10:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)

To further clarify the Rice and Kelly kids are not members of the NHS powerlifting team and are no longer students in the school system...

Posted by retired (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 10:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)

If this had been one of the other schools, a reporter would have been present for the event. I think coaches, teachers, and principals have their hands full dealing with everyday activities. Reporters from other cities hunt down events checking in with coaches to see what events are coming up so that they can be available to report good news. Perhaps, Mary Hood would make a good reporter for the Enquirer, since negs are her speciality. Yes, Negativity is juicey gossip, but not at the expense of our good students. Why must coaches, teachers, principals be the ones to find postive news for reporters. Why should their job be made easier. Why cant they get up off of their behinds and search for postive events rather than jump on negs when someone call them at their desk in an air condition office, somewhere in between coffeebreak #4?

Posted by Roy (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 10:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I only have one would for these children, IDIOTS.

Posted by matt_burrowes (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 10:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The article you've written is not accurate. Where did you get the facts? Please find something positive to write about our school sometimes. Why was the article made to appear that all the members of the Powerlifting team were involved when that is not the case. What did the situation have to do with the high school? They don't teach classes on how to steal ATVs.

Eagle1 we hear the same thing about private schools. Stuff happens but somehow the public doesn't hear about it. Let's be fair. The same incident happened at a private school but was never made public because the athlete was needed to win championship games. Now that's a known fact!

Posted by retired (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 10:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

It obvious that , rather than searching down good news these reporters are to busy responding to blogs sent in on an article that carried their by line. For her moment of glory mary hood deflated the esteem of the current powerlifting team. Shame on you Mary Hood. Obviously the community is dissapointed with you. The bus leaves at 5:45.

Posted by Syoung (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 10:41 a.m.

(This comment was removed by the site staff.)

Posted by silverfox54 (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 10:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Mary Hood and Sgt Godbold should get their facts correct before they print information that is harmful to individuals. Charges against two of the young men have been dropped because they were not involved. One of the two is the first name mentioned in the article.

Posted by itsawounderfullife (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 10:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)

If I were a coach of a team that won a STATE Championship you beter believe that my team would have their picture in the paper!! And if I were a princaple of a school that had a team that won a STATE Championship I would be shure that it was in the papers!! Its not that it is their responsibility its that they should have enough pride in their team to make an effort to see that they are noticed for their hard work and effort. retired I can see why you are mad at the ND for useing poor taste in nameing this article and including such personal info as to what school they attended and what sport they played not a smart move ND. But it is the actions of these boys that have brought all of this to light, we cant forget about that.

Posted by Swapmeet (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)

There are things that happen at NHS that never go reported so it is not like they grabbed the first thing that happened there and reported it. I know of a young boy who was (how should I put this) taken advantage of in a painful way by other boys in a bathroom and had to go to the emergency room. That was never reported because of privacy laws. It is sad.

Also, would Michael Vick or Britney Spears had ever gotten the public attention they did if they weren't stars. Michael Vick would never have got the attention he did if he wasn't a role model for many kids by being a professional athlete. These kids, especially the ones on the power lifting team, were role models by being athletes on the campus. They are going to be held to a higher standard like anyone else.

And yes, if someone from one of the private schools involves themselves in this type of behavior, they should be reported just as strongly as these NHS students were. Anything less would be a double standard by the ND.

Posted by Yeahuhuh (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 11:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Honestly I thought from the headline that the team situation was more involved, or that somehow it was related to a team-oriented opportunistic theft.

I think justice should be even-handed relative to reporting about high-school athletic stars as if they should be made examples because they are involved in competitive sports. That rings of the sort of sensationalism that seems to be used in journalism far too much nowadays -- on the high school level at least it is the edge of propriety.

I scratched my head and it occurred to me that aside from the ethic that hangs public figures as fair game to make examples of, the one use of the headline is to say the perpetrators were black by association with their school.

Just some constructive criticism ......

Posted by tcauthen (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 11:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

obama you crack me up. I'd buy a ticket to that!!!!

Posted by mztbaby (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 11:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

if i was these boys i be ashamed of it because then they go 2 school and people talk about it ......... but then they going to have to go to court

Posted by kcooper (Kevin Cooper) on April 10, 2008 at 11:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

All,

Several online readers have flagged a number of comments posted on this article and a few have been removed. To clarify, we're not going to let users accuse someone of a crime who has not been formally charged. Period. If it continues, we'll begin revoking comment-writing privileges, and block comments from the story.

On a couple of specific points raised in some comments, several of you are missing an important fact by criticizing the newspaper and/or the reporter who wrote this article.

First, we didn't create the crime; we simply reported it. Throwing stones at the messenger is missing the point.

These young men are facing serious charges for allegedly committing serious crimes. It's an unfortunate situation.

Believe me that no one in our building enjoys reporting on such things. We don't get any kind of thrill out of reporting hard news. We're human and we realize that such crimes wreck lives and careers.

But it's our job to report the news. Readers can make an instant decision about whether to read an article based on the headline. If the headline seems to indicate what's considered a "negative" story and you don't want to read such, then move on to something "positive." We had several of those in today's edition, too.

We do so as fairly and without bias as is possible. To infer that we'd somehow hide an arrest from the public because someone attends a private school or is somehow related to a community official is ludicrous. If someone has evidence that one of our staff members has knowingly done so is asked to call me at 601-445-3539.

In years past, we've published a number of stories, arrest reports, etc., about all sorts of people, including our own employees. If my mother came to town and was arrested, we would publish it in the newspaper. I may not like it, but I and other here have the integrity and ethics to do what's right.

In my opinion, the fact that a significant number of Natchez High powerlifting team members were simultaneously charged makes the school connection germane to the article.

Again, your comments are welcome, but let's discuss the story, not speculation and rumor.

Thanks.
Kevin.

Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 11:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The only reason i think morris or johnson was mentioned was to see what the school was going to do if anything to these kids....

As stated above if they get Lillian Sanders they have no worries....A little slap and on there way they will be.....

Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 11:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Very good post Kevin.....

Posted by matt_burrowes (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 12:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree with you Kevin crime should be reported. I still wonder how a crime committed away from NHS has anything to do with the school. NHS has some outstanding young men and women enrolled there and an article like this only serves to further tarnish the entire school and not just these young men who've made a stupid decision to do something wrong. They should be punished not the entire school. There are other members on the powerlifting team who've done well but they get punished because of this article and the stupid irresponsible behavior of a few classmates.

Posted by fightingthebattle (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 12:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Title should have read "Teenagers arrested for ......

KCooper my question is why did it take 5 days now to run the story about the State Champions, is that now news?I do understand that you only have 1 reporter and a high school kid(which does an outstanding job). Your paper should be called the MissLou Democrat cause school wise the most of the stuff printed is neg about "Natchez"

Personally i'm tired of all the whats wrong with our school, if you have answers come to the school and help i'm sure you will not be turned away if you are serious...
but most of you will probaly say you are scared to be shot or something dumb like that.

Posted by retired (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 12:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Kevin, I am not a reporter but I do know that reporters should be accurate in the what, when, why and how of an article, facts should be a proven before printing. The Democrat is so desparate for news they will print anything, just to bed the paper. Again I say the real team was in Jackson competintg for State Championship. Where was the Natchez Democrat? Just because six boys who were at one time part of the team committed a crime does not mean that the article should have been titled NHS Powerlifting Team. Are you and the Democrat staff writer oblivious to what has happen to the young men who competed. Can the Democrat not admit that they made a mistake in reporting information that was not true. Information that tarnishes the members that are trying to do well for their school.

Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 1:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It must really stink to be a reporter for the Natchez Democrat. Not only do you have a limited amount of news to report (within the area), you also have to deal with unsatisfied people, such as retired, who just want to sit back and criticize the work the ND has done.

Seems to me if retired is "retired", maybe they have more time on their hands to sit back and ridicule. Meanwhile, us workin folks have jobs to do.

Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey retired, if you don't like what the ND is about, go find something else to do with all that time on your hands. Don't most retired people travel?

Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 1:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I know, I have a great job. I get my work done quick so I can leave comments here. However, today sure is a boring day on here.

Posted by retired (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 1:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If you are working, why are you responding to blogs? WOW!!!!

Posted by NatchezEnema (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 1:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Why are some people calling these thugs children? Let me tell you, this isn't the first time they have stolen, it just may be the first time they got caught. What would everybody be calling them if they shot or beat the hell out of someone who caught them in the act? What would everybody be saying if someone shot them in the act? 18 and 19 year olds know what they are doing. The headline should have been High School Thugs arrested for stealing. I agree that the school should not have been mentioned it should have just said high school. Remember we are not talking about stealing a candy bar (bet they did enough of that when they were younger). I have no respect or tolerance for a theif. I could live with a murderer easier than a theif!

Posted by kcooper (Kevin Cooper) on April 10, 2008 at 1:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Burrowes: As a former employee of ours (and I believe still a hopeful young journalist), I would hope that you can see that there is, in fact, a good reason to mention the connection between the accused and their relationship to the school team.

What we do for a living (or in the case of students, where we go to school and what we do at that school) is often how we relate to one another, especially when the person's occupation/hobby/etc. propels them into the public.

If an off-duty police officer robbed a liquor store, his/her occupation would be part of a news story about the robbery. If the accused were just a guy who worked as a bookkeeper and thus not in the public, perhaps his occupation wouldn't be as newsworthy.

I will, however, agree with you that Natchez High has some amazingly talented and gifted students.

Posted by kcooper (Kevin Cooper) on April 10, 2008 at 1:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Retired: Please re-read the original article. In it you'll noticed the time elements involved. The police have charged the young with stealing multiple four-wheelers -- some allegedly on Friday (just before the state championships which were on Saturday) and some the following day (Sunday).

Also, note, that two of the names of the accused were also listed in Tuesday's print edition listed among those who competed at the state championships. The coach confirmed to our reporter that all were members of the team.

We'd planned a feature story on the team's accomplishments for today's edition, but opted to hold it momentarily so as to avoid having the crime story and the feature story on the team appear in the same edition. Our editorial folks made that decision. I happen to agree with it.

Also, if you see something that's factually inaccurate in the story, please call me 601-445-3539 or e-mail me directly kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.

I likely will not be reading much more of these posts today as I'm not yet in a position to change my login to read "retired" ... I've got some work to do. :)

Posted by USMBOY (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 1:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Their parents were probably sleep. Houses do have windows you know.

Posted by firered (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 2:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Kevin,
Don't you think it may have been better to publish the article about the accomplishments first and the article about the theft later? They both happened at around the same time so it wouldn't make a difference in the timing. If you can put one off you can surely put the other off. Your logic does not make sense to me and I'm trying really hard to grasp your point.

Posted by retired (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 2:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Kevin,
This article took priority over the other article because of negative nature. Questions unanswered, why frontpage, why not criminal section, why NHS Powerlifting?. You know just as I know that editorial folks don't make the final decision.

Posted by jack (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 2:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)

jsut tell it like it is kevin you all do a good job its just us crazy people that have nothing els to do except complain

Posted by goodwitch2008 (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 4:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Its so hilariously sad how everyone quickly comments on anything negative in this newspaper especially if it involves NHS. I'm not suprised anymore at people on here..I'm so tired of the yellow journalism as well. Its hilaroius to me that they would put something so unecsary in the title. It was not at all necessary to put that they were NHS students or that they were powerlifters in here. They talk about all the little things that might happen involving students that go to my school but they hardly ever talk about all of the amazing things we do. And when it is mentioned in the paper, it is not even on the front page, or its not recognized by all of you negative and prejudiced people. I am so sick of this.
I think its weird how no one bothered to hardly comment on the positive article about Darryl Dade's art being shown at the upcoming Braves game and he's a NHS student. But if Darryl had robbed a bank or something I'm sure there would have been dozens of comments. Or what about the article that was about all of those NHS students with honors? Hardly two comments were even posted on the site. What's that about?
Its really sad..really really sad. You people need to reevaluate yourselves.

And no I'm not condoning someone stealing some dangerous all terrian vehicles, I'm disgusted at how it was presented in the paper. This is clearly being done on purpose.

Posted by aesa (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 4:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I don't get this attempt to make the news "politically correct". Yes it is unfortunate these kids screwed up, but it has very little to do with where they attend high school.

Any intelligent news reader would be able to discern the total disconnect between the school and the bad judgement of the students.

At best this is a life lesson for these kids and they will never ever get in trouble again. At best the team members that are not involved will still carry the honor of winning state. At best this is not perceived by anyone over the age of 12 as a school, parent, race, or indicator of a life-long transgression.

It was simply a few kids doing something very stupid one weekend of their lives.

We "posters" tend to over rationalize and under analyze.

If anything the only ones tainted are the ones posting these
silly thoughts.

Do you realize that college plans have been seriously threatened by this silly act? Do you realize how many parents and family members are shocked and ashamed of this act? Do you realize that if they did do it...the long-term consequences of this insane act?

They are kids...they screwed up. They will either get their life straight, or they will move into that new facility out on Highway 84.

Either way...NHS is not indicted, neither held responsible, nor promoting silliness such as this.

But NHS and all that work and attend there...ARE HURT BY THIS!!!
All the parents of NHS (black, white and brown) ARE HURT BY THIS!!!

I hope those harmed will not hold NHS responsible in any way.
I hope you readers of this will see this is just kids being stupid kids...no one died (Thank God!), and no one was hurt (physically).

Posted by obamayamama (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 4:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

These are 18 and 19 year old adults. Perhaps the paper was documenting that they attend NHS to prove that they ARE still high school students and not adults. I do not look at NHS any differently because some wrestling team students stole (or tried to steal) ATVs. When I was in high school, I did stupid crap too (just didn't get caught) :)

Posted by the_dude (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 6:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

kevin,

tell me how these powerlifters did this on friday night if they were in jackson? weigh in was friday afternoon, and they then spent the night. i personally talked to joe johnson today and he told me that he told ms wood that rice and kelly were not on the team. does any one have any facts other than these young men were arrested?

Posted by the_dude (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 7:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

for those wondering here is the report from saturdays powerlifting meet.

natchez high won a state championship saturday in exciting fashion. natchez's score of 32 led the way among 11 5A teams, madison central was second with 28.

highlights included

first place finishes by callon green and johnny griffin.
second place finishes by willie newman, danny thompson and keith dee.

thompson set the state record for his weight class by squatting 705 pounds.

griffin produced an amazing performance by deadlifting 40 pounds more than the previous state record and his own personal best, by pulling 680 pounds. prior to the lift griffin was behind the leader by 60 pounds, this record setting lift assured him first place in the 242 weight class. this lift was probably the difference in first and second place for the team.

natchez took a class high 9 lifters to state.

coach joe johnson was named state coach of the week by the clarion ledger.

congrats to coach and team!

Posted by shedevil (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 7:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

they were just confused...

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 7:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

So, the Clarion Ledger ran the story about NHS's win but The Natchez Democrat did not!?!?!?! What a shame!!! This should have been front-page news in Sunday's edition. There's no excuse for this blatant oversight. No excuse whatsoever.

Let's be mindful of the fact that these young people need a show of appreciation and lots of positive reinforcement for the good things they do -- otherwise, they may act out and do the type of things they are accused of doing. They are human; they may lack judgment, may even be lacking proper parenting but that does not justify the comments posted on here to execute them or throw them in prison with hardcore criminals. This isn't a joke. These kids are our future and they are someone's child. Show the same compassion for these young men that you want shown for yours!

Yes, they allegedly stole some ATVs, however, they didn't kill or maim anyone, they didn't kick in anyone's front door and they were'nt driving drunk! Give them a break . . . especially if they are first-time offenders. They are still kids with developing brains with the "risk-taking, immortal" mindset. They are expected to make dumb mistakes that they would, hopefully, recover from and learn a valuable lesson that would deter them from any future criminal activity. Just reflect back to your own adolescent years and I'm sure you will find a few things you did that may have been questionable or against the law. Now, when you look back on it, you think, "Man, I sure was stupid to do that! What was I thinking!!!!!

Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 8 p.m. (Suggest removal)

ijohnson i may have done some things that was dumb no doubt but, surely wasn't stealing atv's or anything as far as that goes my momma would have beat my butt to no end just for me thinking of stealing something......

ijohnson you say give them a break...Can you tell me why??

That's what is wrong now giving breaks...they aren't children they are 18 and 19 years old.....

Seems like everyone wants to say scholl had nothing to do with it why was it even mentiooned ok school didn't but they did commit a crime....that is what this artical was about the CRIME!!!

Posted by ijohnson (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 8:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

((fire39212)) I didn't steal anything either, as a matter of fact, I didn't do anything I would consider stupid except drive the family car around town when I was supposed to go to the store and back home. However, we know that there are some folks, especially our male counterparts, who are not as level-headed and rational as us females. No offense to any other males out there but that's just my humble opinion, okay!?!?!?!

I say give a break to any of them who have not committed a crime before. Prison is not the answer for everybody who commits a crime. The major question I have is "Why?" Why did they steal them? Then take it from there.

Yes, the young men named above did allegedly commit a crime. However, it was not on "school" time or while participating in a school function. The school should have gone unnamed. I also think that it was improper for the Natchez Democrat to contact the school's principal and coach. That should have been the job of law enforcement if it was necessary.

I would like to hear from Coach Johnson, though. I would like to know if The Natchez Democrat interviewed him and any of his team members after they won the state championship in Jackson. Were there any ND reporters and photographers there developing a story about their win??? If not, that sheds a whole new light on what has been presented here and the manner in which it has been presented.

Posted by shedevil (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 8:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)

sure give them a break since they are so young...give them 25 yrs instead of 50 yrs in prison

Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 8:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

lol@ijohnson..Guess you have a point there...

I feel like the only reason the coach and superintended was contacted was to see if they would be kicked out of school or off of the team.....

If the ND would not have told what school someone on here would have....

I also agree that the state championship should have been covered.....Like my mom use to always say give pats where pats are due and spanking where spankings are due( to put it nicely lol)

Posted by the_dude (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 8:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)

ijohnson,

i was at the championship, the democrat had no one there.

Posted by the_dude (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)

the comments about sending these young men away for a substantial amount of time is ridiculous. absolutely pointless. what if your son had done the same thing, would you still say give him 25 years.

Posted by Swapmeet (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 9:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"I think its weird how no one bothered to hardly comment on the positive article about Darryl Dade's art being shown at the upcoming Braves game and he's a NHS student. But if Darryl had robbed a bank or something I'm sure there would have been dozens of comments." (gw2008)

I have to agree with gw2008 on this one. I think it is horrible what these young men did, but I think it is almost as sad that no one left hardly a word about Darryl Dade winning that contest. I was so proud for him and I have never met him. I just wish as many people would pop in for a sec and say "congratulations" if nothing else. These young people read these articles, and if they only see us commenting on the bad stuff and not the good stuff, then they might think that all this hard work they are doing is all for naught.

Posted by hitormiss (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 10:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Kevin Cooper,
These folks are just following your example. Your statement “To clarify, we're not going to let users accuse someone of a crime who has not been formally charged. Period.” is confusing.
If you follow your own rules shouldn’t you be removed for your previous statements about the Mayor and others?

Posted by maryhelpme (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 11:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

From my understanding two of the young men mention in the article, are no longer in NASD. The Natchez Democrat should be more accurate when reporting things....oh I forgot they are talking about the public school system. Did you ever think about how you have made the rest of the powerlifting team feel in reguards to this situation. NO is the answer!!! The Democrat took a positive element from the school and flushed it down the toilet. The Democrat need to apologize for such poor taste in handling this article. Be Blessed!

Posted by maryhelpme (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 11:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

By the way congratulations to Darryl Dade for a job well done with the ART display. That's my church member. Hats off to you and your accomplishments. Make your MOM proud. Be Blessed!

Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on April 10, 2008 at 11:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

what a bunch of liberal sissies

ND, you did a good job reporting the arrest of the CRIMINALS.

If I had caught them stealing my 4wheeler, there would be no need for the jail as I would have attempted to stop them and I have little doubt they would have fought to escape causing me great fear for my life..............

These are young adults, 17 and above is old enough to know better. YOu bunch of liberal sissies. The reason these guys did this is because they thought they wouldn't receive much punishment even if they got caught. They need county jail time and plenty of humiliation wearing stripes to learn their lesson.

Morrison and JOhnson should have said right off that if they are guilty they'll be kicked out of school and off the powerlifting team. I"m glad ND asked them what their opinion of the situation was, and the response was typical - noncommital and evasive. The public school system has no backbone and will not properly punish immoral, unethical, illegal, or disrespectful behavior in the classroom or on the campus. The attitude of the public school superintendent to not comment is a clear example of his lack of ability to draw the line on bad behaviors. As if the NPD got the wrong guys or something, give me a break, these thugs have not been convicted yet, but I'm certain Godbold got the right guys.

You people that are soft on criminals, are the reason we have so much crime. The only thing evil needs to flourish is for good people to do nothing.

Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 1:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Maybe sometimes it,s not about the minorities,it,s about just plain lazy people,working the system,babies having babies. Like the fellow that spread my concrete,they want to be paid in cash. He said he was tired of supporting Jody.
Jody gets up late, rambles from house to house,seeing his women,working the systems,just like them. They have friends that just come by regular,never get married and take all the freebies they can haul in.We have too many freebie getters,non productive people who wouldn,t bend over to pick up a check if it fell out of the mailbox.

Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 1:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Too many to list on one page
NATCHEZ HIGH SCHOOL
319 SEARGENT PRENTISS DRIVE

# Students 1310
# Full-time Teachers 50.2
Student/Teacher Ratio 26.1
Student Demographics
Hispanic 2 0.2%
White 99 7.6%
Black 1207 92.1%
Native American 0 0%
Asian 2 0.2%
Special Programs
Migrant Students 0 0%
Free Lunch 1079 82.4%
Reduced Lunch 74 5.6%
Free or Reduced Lunch 1153 88%

ROBERT LEWIS MIDDLE SCHOOL
1221 MARTIN LUTHER KING STREET

# Students 821
# Full-time Teachers 37.4
Student/Teacher Ratio 22
Student Demographics
Hispanic 1 0.1%
White 87 10.6%
Black 733 89.3%
Native American 0 0%
Asian 0 0%
Special Programs
Migrant Students 0 0%
Free Lunch 739 90%
Reduced Lunch 42 5.1%
Free or Reduced Lunch 781 95.1

Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 1:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Source: 2005 data from U.S. Dept. of Education



MORGANTOWN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
101 COTTAGE HOME DRIVE
NATCHEZ, MS 39120

# Students 773
# Full-time Teachers 39
Student/Teacher Ratio 19.8
Student Demographics
Hispanic 5 0.6%
White 53 6.9%
Black 712 92.1%
Native American 0 0%
Asian 3 0.4%
Special Programs
Migrant Students 0 0%
Free Lunch 709 91.7%
Reduced Lunch 36 4.7%
Free or Reduced Lunch 745 96.4%

MC LAURIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Type: Primary School
# Students 717
# Full-time Teachers 40.9
Student/Teacher Ratio 17.5
Student Demographics
Hispanic 5 0.7%
White 84 11.7%
Black 626 87.3%
Native American 0 0%
Asian 2 0.3%
Special Programs
Migrant Students 0 0%
Free Lunch 659 91.9%
Reduced Lunch 27 3.8%
Free or Reduced Lunch 686 95.7%

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JOSEPH L FRAZIER PRIMARY SCHOOL

# Students 755
# Full-time Teachers 36
Student/Teacher Ratio 21
Student Demographics
Hispanic 6 0.8%
White 92 12.2%
Black 655 86.8%
Native American 0 0%
Asian 2 0.3%
Special Programs
Migrant Students 0 0%
Free Lunch 693 91.8%
Reduced Lunch 35 4.6%
Free or Reduced Lunch 728 96.4%

SUSIE B WEST PRIMARY SCHOOL


# Students 427
# Full-time Teachers 19.9
Student/Teacher Ratio 21.5
Student Demographics
Hispanic 3 0.7%
White 56 13.1%
Black 368 86.2%
Native American 0 0%
Asian 0 0%
Special Programs
Migrant Students 0 0%
Free Lunch 390 91.3%
Reduced Lunch 18 4.2%
Free or Reduced Lunch 408 95.6%
Why are we paying so much in taxes,this is one of them.
Too many freebies,A lot of times people are rewarded for not working,so they chose the freebies, Why work when you can stay home and let somebody else pay?Why do we reward people who have kids that we have to support?

Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 1:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

They didn,t just turn into thugs or thieves in the last couple of weeks,they are many walking these streets that would shoot you and laugh,aka one Jarvious Cotten years ago shoot an unarmed teenage after he robbed him at gunpoint.Jarvious escaped and didn,t do any time as far as i know. This place is gonna get rough real quick,trust me.
If your traveling or at home you need some form of self defense protection. Whatever is legal,soon we,ll be walking to our cars looking over our shoulders,running into walls and posts,afraid to move freely in our own town.It,s coming,you can bet your sweet bippie.

Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 1:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

It,s negative because when you pull up to a redlight before long and somebody hijacks your car,and sticks a icepick in your ribcage,you will worry more about that than who let the air out of the basketball.America is far,far too easy on young and old men,women, whoever terrozies honest,hardworking productive citizens who tote the load and don,t feed off the system.

Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 1:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)

A friend of mine called who lives in Cranfield in Adams county,2 or 3 deputies were chasing someone on a 4 wheeler that had been involved in some type of disturbance or altercation. He said he sits in his chair with a loaded pistol on his side table and a defender pump shotgun within hand reach,I personally saw a car stop one day in front of his house,one man got out and starting firing a automatic pistol down the side of his house,he emptied the clip of the pistol towards the side of the house,got in his car and drove off. We couldn,t get a license number. Never saw him again, We both stood behind his brick chimney watching as he fired 8 or 10 rounds down the side of my friends house. He says it,s like a warzone out their sometimes. Negative is good,if it wakes up the lullabyes that walk around Adams county with never a thought of harm coming to them and their families. Just stopped in the middle of the neighborhood and starting firing ...hmmmmm...kinda makes you wonder a little,high on drugs?? Shooting at somebody? who knows..???

Posted by kpage (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 7:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)

OMG texas ranger!!!! I was so engrossed in your story and it really affected me this morning. What has our beautiful country come to? Country living...you expect it to be completely opposite from the downtown area, but no. It's proving to be just as dangerous. Pretty soon, we'll have a war zone in the most remote places. Nowhere to hide.
Texasranger...thanks for the post. I'm sending a few more prayers upstairs this morning.

I reread what I wrote about nowhere to hide. Why should I have to hide from our country's own terrorists? Why should I have to tell my kids to lock the car doors at a certain part of town? Why do I have to go to sleep every night of my life, scanning in my head where the pistol is and awaiting the certain bark from my dogs indicating that something's amiss? Why are we prisoners in our own homes? Because of thugs like the Powerlifter guys. They had a wonderful future ahead of them and decided to instead make someone's life miserable. That'll tell you something about some of today's youth. Goooodness...they're our future!!! I gotta go hit my knees...I'm sad.

Posted by DSGB (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 8:28 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Why do we have to call everyone that make a mistake in judgement a "thug?" If that is the case the Enron people, Whitewater cohorts and all other crimes in this country have been committed by thugs. The kids that ran from the police that night from the bar fight and got killed, they were breaking the law are they thugs??? Once again I say these young adults must be punished for their "STUPIDITY" but before all of the facts are presented before a court lets not label them as thugs--they have not murdered, assaulted, or done anything to phyically harm any one. We have not consistently seen their names in police records or heard that they have a criminal background and already you people want them executed, put in jail for life, and labeled as thugs, degenerates, and public enemies. I agree that each of us have the right to protect our properties and families and I will continue to do so by whatever means it takes to ensure my family and property is protected.

The people on this board have gone from 6 young men stealing ATV's to drug use, to guns, and the one that shows that Natchez is still operating in 1908 and not 2008 RACE!!!! I am tired as hell of everything being race related, socioeconomic related, or some other demographic related. PEOPLE SOMETIMES ITS JUST ABOUT PEOPLE MAKING IGNORANT AND STUPID JUDGEMENTS IN LIFE AND THATS THE ONLY FACTOR!!!!

.

Posted by texasranger (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 8:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

These youth of today bump into folks at Wal-mart,cut in line at movies,slam into you going in and out of the bathroom at convience stores and don,t care if they break your neck or slam you into a wall or a glass door or bust your brains out.
They are rude,non-caring, i see a lot of them walking around in Wal-mart without buggies,running the aisles,and leave without a buggy. What do you think their doing in there? Helping to put up stock? Wal-mart would be closed now if Katrina hadn,t hit New Orleans or so i hear. We live in a violent town,but the only ones that seem to care or notice are the ones that get beat with a baseball bat in a Wal-mart parking lot or shot at. We need to put ALL lawbreakers away for a long,long time. ALL of them,or they don,t get the message,they laugh it off,shrug their shoulders and tell each other how weak and stupid the system is today. A lot of them have no feelings for anyone,not even themselves. They could care less if you bleed to death in front of them, and show no or little respect. They curse obsencites in stores and say words that would make a sailor turn his head, and they do it in resturants and public places. If you say anything or complain to manangement, then your picking on them or they always scream racists or any bull that will supposedly make them seem innocent. Does anyone ever get tired of it??? I say lock all of them up and throw away the key. First time offenders,all offenders. Then they might change a little bit for a little while,maybe, but i doubt it.

Posted by rocketman (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 9:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)

When ANYONE steals high-dollar property from me, then YES they are THUGS.....PERIOD!!!

Posted by rocketman (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 9:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)

RIGHT ON texasranger and Kroger!

Posted by trulyblessed (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 9:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)

PLease please people. What is wrong with children receiving free lunch? There are not many high paying jobs in this area. The finger is always pointed at the minority wanting hand-outs and receiving freebies. There are just as many whites on welfare and receiving free lunch as there are blacks. The people posting these types of comments are probably some of those recipients.

As for the Natchez Democrat, the paper hardly ever recognizes the positive aspects of the students attending NASD. It is always something negative. I don't feel that mentioning that the students attended NHS had anything to do with the situation. Talking to Mr. Johnson nor Dr. Morris had anything to do with the incident. The incident did not occur on school property nor on school time. Two of studnets had graduated from NHS already and not even affiliated with the powerlifting team. If you are going to report news, please sure that it is accurate.

Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 10:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Texasranger and kpage love the post....Sure makes you think huh....

Just think we moved from Jackson due to the crime to Natchez...at least with the crime in Jackson there are jobs there..Here well there is crime....

I'm not sure where the race thing trulyblessed is talking about...Unless he is talking about all races....I haven't read where anyone has blamed whites,mexicans,blacks,asians etc......All i have read is about thugs lord knows they come in all color and size...

I tell you it is the LAVENDER people i warned y'all months and months ago about them...

Posted by babev1 (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 12:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)

At 18 and 19 these are not children they should not even be in High School They should be in College or working. You can't blame the panrents because these are not children.

Posted by firered (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 1:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

LOL i'm with you fire.. I'm starting to think its those sneaky LAVENDER people too.

Posted by drawpaintsing (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 2:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Children need to be taught not only the values of living a good life, but they also need to know that the bad decisions they make will have consequences. They need to know that they are not invisible. The fear of God need to be instilled in them. I don't see anything wrong letting them know "The Ten Commandments" and why they should try to live by them. But how will that be done when they have parents who don't live by good values? That's a problem to me. Children live by example. Officials should also be fair, and punish the popular wealthy man's child as well as the common man's child. The list goes on an on. I just decided to throw in a few.

Fire39212, who are the LAVENDER people? I'm a little slow today, beacuse I'm tired. I had a long hard week.

Posted by firered (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 2:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Don't feel bad drawpaintsing. One day we were having one of our engrossing conversations on here and someone (buttercup26 i believe) brought up Lavender people. I don't know if you were commenting back then or not!!!! I'm sorry your week has been long and hard! Mine has been rough too! I'll say a little prayer for you that next week will be better for you! :)

Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 4:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Speaking of buttercup - where is she? I haven't seen her posting in quite awhile. Something like the cows should have her stirred up but good!

Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 8:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The Lavender people are the ones who seems to always start trouble and do crazy things....You ever know a lavander person???

Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on April 11, 2008 at 11:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Hey Texas,

don't get too paranoid, just be ready to give them what they want, a way out on a quick hellbound train.

there are a lot of good kids around be friendly to them

But the few bad apples, well you have to put them in their place. When the obvious punk comes in my place of business, I tell him to pull up his pants, he cusses me and I'm ready to fight, he gets his butt whipped and goes to jail, or he leaves, it's his choice. You have to call their bluff and let the thugs know you won't put up with their nonsense. When it gets tough is when you're off your homeground and subject to false witness. So try to hold back and wait. We're just going to have to thin them out when the time is right.