Mississippi Today

Court of Appeals hears dispute over proposed military site in North Gulfport

Published

1 year ago

November 2, 2023

North Gulfport residents came to Jackson on Wednesday as part of a years-long effort to block the building of a military storage facility that would require construction on contaminated property and filling in wetlands that protect nearby homes from flooding.

The case goes back to 2019, when the state’s environmental permit board signed off on a Mississippi State Port Authority proposal for the project. The Port Authority wants to use its land in North Gulfport, near the historic Black community of Turkey Creek, to build a storage facility for the U.S. Department of Defense that would act as a link between the state ports and Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg.

After multiple failed attempts to appeal the permit board’s decision, the residents — along with a local church and nonprofit — have brought the case to the Mississippi Court of Appeals, which heard oral arguments on Wednesday afternoon.

The appellants, represented by ACLU-MS and Earthjustice, are arguing that the Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board failed to consider whether the storage facility would be used to keep explosive ammunition, which they say would pose a contamination risk to nearby public waters. Attorneys working with the residents only learned of the potential to store ammunition through a records request after the permit board approved the project.

Monique Harden, director of Law and Public Policy for Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, speaks with media Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023, before Turkey Creek/North Gulfport residents and their legal representatives present oral arguments before the Court of Appeals regarding the Department of Defense’s plans to build on wetlands in their area. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today

Residents also oppose the project because of its potential to increase flooding, as construction would require filling in over three acres of wetlands.

The proposed property for the facility is the former home of a fertilizer company that operated in the early 1900s. In 2009, the state ordered a remediation plan for the property after finding illegal levels of arsenic and lead. As part of the plan, the contaminated area has been capped off with a 10-inch layer of clay and a 4-inch layer of topsoil.

During Wednesday’s arguments, Earthjustice attorney Rodrigo Cantu stressed that while the permit board issued a public notice before approving the project, the notice did not mention the facility could be used to hold explosive ammunition. The ammunition, Cantu said, could contaminate state waters through leaking or explosions.

The appellants argued that, if the permit board didn’t consider the ammunition storage in its approval of the project, then the board couldn’t have properly assessed the project’s environmental risks.

Judge David Neil McCarty, one of three judges hearing the case, questioned whether the concern was too theoretical, given that the proposed project only said it could hold ammunition, not that it necessarily would.

On the other side, permit board attorney Scott Johnson argued that the initial advertisement of the project — which said that the facility would be used to store cargo and equipment shipments — implied that weapons and ammunition could be included.

The property of the proposed military storage site in North Gulfport. Credit: Monique Harden

Other environmental concerns in North Gulfport

Even years before the military site proposal, North Gulfport residents have fought with the Port Authority over how it wants to use the contaminated land where the fertilizer company used to be.

In 2013, the Port Authority attempted to move freezers used to store chickens to the property, after the port’s storage area was wrecked by Hurricane Katrina. Some of the same residents pushed back then as well, before the Port Authority eventually abandoned the idea.

Then last year, Gulf Coast advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation over a proposed connector road, saying the project would threaten wetlands and worsen flooding in the Forest Heights, North Gulfport and Turkey Creek communities.

“All of these are tied together, and all of it affects the minority community,” said John Johnson, one of the appellants and a North Gulfport resident for the last 52 years. “(The permit board) and the Port Authority have not been considerate to the people in that community.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

UMMC holds free cancer screenings

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @EricJShelton – 2025-04-30 12:00:00

by Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Resident physician Claire Babin, right, performs an oral cancer screening on Ella Holmes during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Physicians prepare for oral, head and neck cancer screenings during a free screening event at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin, center, screens Diane Carter for oral cancer as medical students Mason Nodurft, left, and Eva Kiparizoska observe during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Educational giveaways advocating against smoking are available during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Sharon Terry, senior tobacco treatment specialist, waits for patients during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Skylar Robinson, medical office assistant, left, and Kiandria Bruce, registered nurse, review materials at the patient sign-in table during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Head and neck cancer literature is available during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Dr. Alex Brooks and registered nurse Angela Noble talk during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Nina Brown, clinical manager, helps Ned Bostic with paperwork during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin performs an oral cancer screening on Ned Bostic at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Ned Bostic receives a neck cancer screening during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
Resident physician Brooks Lampkin, center, and medical student Hanna Watson examine Ned Bostic during a free oral, head and neck cancer screening at the Jackson Medical Mall on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery hosted a free oral, head, and neck cancer screening Wednesday at the Jackson Medical Mall as part of Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week.

The event featured quick, noninvasive screenings aimed at catching cancer early — when treatment is most effective. Onyx Care provided free HPV vaccinations, while the ACT Center for Tobacco Treatment, Education, and Research offered resources on smoking cessation and free services.

“These screenings take about 10 minutes and can save lives,” said Dr. Gina Jefferson, head and neck surgical oncologist at UMMC. “The earlier a cancer is diagnosed, the better chance we have of curing it.”

Tobacco and alcohol use remain major risk factors for these cancers. However, physicians say an increasing number of cases are linked to HPV, especially among younger adults with no history of smoking or drinking. Dentists are often the first to spot early signs, which can include persistent sores, lumps in the neck, or difficulty swallowing.

Oral, head and neck cancers are among the most common globally. When found early, survival rates can exceed 80 percent.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post UMMC holds free cancer screenings appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article presents factual information about a free cancer screening event without showing a clear ideological stance. It primarily focuses on the health benefits of early cancer detection and the availability of free resources, such as HPV vaccinations and smoking cessation support. The language used is neutral and the content is centered around public health education rather than promoting a political viewpoint. The inclusion of factual statistics, such as survival rates and risk factors, adds to its informative and objective tone. There are no signs of bias or advocacy for a particular political agenda, making this a centrist piece.

Crooked Letter Sports Podcast

Podcast: What next for Mississippi State baseball?

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @rick_cleveland – 2025-04-30 10:46:00

by Rick Cleveland and Tyler Cleveland, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Mississippi State didn’t even wait until the end of the season to fire Chris Lemonis, who brought the national championship to Starkville not quite four years ago. Where do the Bulldogs go from here. Robbie Faulk who covers the Bulldogs more closely than anyone else joins the podcast to discuss the situation.

Stream all episodes here.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Podcast: What next for Mississippi State baseball? appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Mississippi Today

Mobile sports betting users: We want to hear from you

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2025

Staff Editor

mississippitoday.org – @MSTODAYnews – 2025-04-30 10:21:00

by Mississippi Today, Mississippi Today
April 30, 2025

Mississippi Today is looking to speak with current and former mobile sports betting users. We’d like to speak with people who spend considerable amounts of time and money betting on sports through online gambling sites.

We’re interested in hearing the experience of people who have suffered from gambling addiction or problems, or friends and family members of people who have. We also would like to talk with people who believe legalizing mobile sports betting would benefit Mississippi and its residents.

We want to hear from you. Please take the survey below or contact Political Reporter Michael Goldberg by email at mgoldberg@mississippitoday.org

TAKE THE SURVEY:

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This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The post Mobile sports betting users: We want to hear from you appeared first on mississippitoday.org

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article from Mississippi Today appears to present a neutral stance, focusing on gathering input from various groups of mobile sports betting users, including those who may have experienced addiction issues. The content does not advocate for or against the legalization of mobile sports betting but instead seeks to gather diverse perspectives, including those of individuals who may support or oppose it. The language used is objective and does not suggest a particular ideological perspective, allowing for a balanced exploration of the issue at hand.