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Jackson gas explosions lead to federal probe, Rep. Thompson looking for answers

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The National Transportation Safety Board opened an investigation last into two natural gas-fueled explosions in Jackson that happened last month, one of which killed an older woman.

On Wednesday, Rep. Bennie Thompson released a statement asking for an in-person briefing to examine the cause of the two , which happened within four days and within a mile of each other.

“The safety and well-being of our communities are paramount, and it is imperative that we take these incidents seriously,” Thompson said. “The potential risks posed by natural gas cannot be understated, and we must ensure that all necessary measures are in place to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future.”

The NTSB, an independent federal investigative agency, is still looking into the incidents. Both homes, which are in the southwest corner of the below Interstate 20, were using gas connections from Atmos Energy Corp.

According to the NTSB's statement, its staff was already en route to the first scene when it found out about the second explosion.

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Remnants of a residence located at 1146 Shalimar Drive, destroyed by a gas leak this past January in South Jackson, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/

“On January 24, 2024, about 8:14 a.m., a home explosion and fire occurred at 185 Bristol Blvd. in Jackson, Mississippi, resulting in one fatality and one injury,” the statement reads. “While the National Transportation Safety Board investigative team was traveling to the scene, the NTSB learned of a second home explosion and fire.”

The second explosion happened just a few bocks south on Shalimar Drive around 4 a.m. on Jan. 27, and caused a fire that spread to a neighboring home. There were no injuries or deaths from the second , the NTSB said.

The person who died in the first explosion, according to local news reports from WLBT and others, was 82-year-old Clara Barbour.

The NTSB, which has yet to release a cause of the incidents, said that Atmos discovered two leaks near the sites of the explosions over a month before they occurred. The utility provider determined that the leaks, which it found on Nov. 11 and Dec. 1, respectively, were “nonhazardous.”Atmos didn't repair either leak prior to the explosions, the NTSB said.

Remnants of a residence located at 185 Bristol Blvd., destroyed by a gas leak this past January in South Jackson, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi

Once the agency analyzes evidence and determines a cause, it will compile a final and then make safety recommendations. The NTSB “tries to complete an investigation within 12 to 24 months,” according to its website. The agency, however, does not have any enforcement power.

“The NTSB is not a regulatory agency and therefore does not have any enforcement authority,” said Keith Holloway, a public affairs officer with the agency. “NTSB will issue safety recommendations during or as part of its final report at the end of an investigation to prevent a similar accident from reoccurring. NTSB recommendations are not geared towards recommending legal or enforcement action.”

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Earlier this week, WLBT reported, Central District Public Service Commissioner De'Keither Stamps and nonprofit Mississippi Move went to homes near the incidents to give out gas and carbon monoxide detectors.

Atmos, which serves gas to 274,000 customers in Mississippi, issued the statement on Thursday:

“The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a preliminary report for the January incidents that occurred in Jackson, Miss. The report is available here. The NTSB report confirms that the investigation is ongoing and future activity will focus on causal factors. The safety of our customers, employees, and communities is Atmos Energy's highest priority. We appreciate the NTSB's investigative efforts and will continue to work with their team, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and the as the investigation continues.”

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

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Mississippi Today

On this day in 1896

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MAY 18, 1896

The ruled 7-1 in Plessy v. Ferguson that racial segregation on railroads or similar public places was constitutional, forging the “separate but equal” doctrine that remained in place until 1954.

In his dissent that would foreshadow the ruling six decades later in Brown v. Board of Education, Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote that “separate but equal” rail cars were aimed at discriminating against Black Americans.

“In the view of the Constitution, in the eye of the , there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens,” he wrote. “Our Constitution in color-blind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of , all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law … takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the are involved.”

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

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Renada Stovall, chemist and entrepreneur

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mississippitoday.org – Vickie King – 2024-05-17 11:53:33

Renada Stovall sat on the back deck of her rural Arkansas home one evening, contemplating when she had a life-altering epiphany…

“I gotta get out of these woods.” 

She heard it as clear as lips to her ear and as deep as the trees surrounding her property. Stovall's job as a chemist had taken her all over the country. In addition to Arkansas, there were stints in Atlanta, Dallas and Reno. But she was missing home, her and friends. She also knew, she needed something else to do. 

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“I thought, what kind of business can I start for myself,” said Stovall, as she watered herbs growing in a garden behind her south home. Some of those herbs are used in her all-natural products. “I know when I lived in Reno, Nevada, where it's very hot and very dry, there really weren't products available that worked for me, my hair, and my skin suffered. I've got a chemistry degree from Spelman College. I took the plunge and decided to create products for myself.”

A variety of soaps created by Renada Stovall. Stovall is a chemist who creates all natural skin and hair care products using natural ingredients.

In 2018, Stovall's venture led to the creation of shea butter moisturizers and natural soaps. But she didn't stop there, and in December 2022, she moved home to Mississippi and got to work, expanding her product line to include body balms and butters, and shampoos infused with avocado and palm, mango butter, coconut and olive oils.

Nadabutter, which incorporates Renada's name, came to fruition.

Renada Stovall, owner of Nadabutter, selling her all-natural soaps and balms at the Clinton Main Street Market: Spring into Green, in April of this year.

Stovall sells her balms and moisturizers at what she calls, “pop-up markets,” across the during the summer. She's available via social and also creates products depending on what of her ingredients a customer chooses. “My turmeric and honey is really popular,” Stovall added.

“The all-natural ingredients I use are great for conditioning the skin and hair. All of my products make you feel soft and luscious. The shea butter I use from Africa. It's my way of networking and supporting other women. And it's my wish that other women can be inspired to be self-sufficient in starting their own businesses.”

Soap mixture is poured into a mold to cure. Once cured, the block with be cut into bars of soap.
Renada Stovall, making cold soap at her home.
Renada Stovall adds a vibrant gold to her soap mixture.
Tumeric soap created by Nadabutter owner, Renada Stovall.
Soap infused with honey. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi

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

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On this day in 1954

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-05-17 07:00:00

MAY 17, 1954

Ella J. Rice talks to one of her pupils, all of them white, in a third grade classroom of Draper Elementary School in Washington, D.C., on September 13, 1954. This was the first day of non-segregated schools for teachers and . Rice was the only Black teacher in the school. Credit: AP

In Brown v. Board of Education and Bolling v. Sharpe, the unanimously ruled that the “separate but equal” doctrine in Plessy v. Ferguson was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed equal treatment under the

The historic brought an end to federal tolerance of racial segregation, ruling in the case of student Linda Brown, who was denied admission to her local elementary school in Topeka, Kansas, because of the color of her skin. 

In Mississippi, segregationist called the day “Black Monday” and took up the charge of the just-created white Citizens' Council to preserve racial segregation at all costs.

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

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