Mississippi in Brief

Posted on Sep 17 2015 - 10:16pm by Lizzie McIntosh

Screen Shot 2015-09-17 at 10.13.07 PM

THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER

Or so the Humane Society of the United States hopes. According to the Clarion Ledger, members of the HSUS investigated a flea market in Ripley this week. The HSUS is investigating multiple flea markets in the state in order to determine if the puppies sold there are linked to inhumane puppy mills. According to the HSUS, flea markets are commonly used as a way to sell animals from puppy mills without speculation. A Ripley’s flea market employee told one of the investigators that none of its workers had licenses or health certificates to sell the animals. HSUS is continuing their investigation in other Mississippi markets and hopes to start a conversation about animal cruelty in the state.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR IN MISSISSIPPI…

And there’s proof on our windshields. Mississippians experience lovebug season twice a year. The black flies emerge from the soil and plague car headlights, bumpers and shiny paint. According to The Sun Herald, the bugs swarm in the spring with the warmer temperatures and reemerge in September with the cooler temperatures. The season is supposed to end in late October. In order to avoid the dreaded love bug residue on your car, scientists recommend drivers to wash their car on a regular basis. Soap softens the residue and prevents the insects from eating away at the paint on the vehicles.

LAPTOPGATE

Louisiana State University’s medical school reported this week that a laptop stolen from an assistant professor’s car contains health information of around 5,000 patients. A large majority of the students were from Mississippi and Louisiana. According to MS News Now, the laptop did not include any billing or insurance information. There has been no report of date misuse thus far, but the computer holds birthdates, diagnoses, test results, and medical record numbers. The University is offering a one-year subscription to a credit monitoring service for the patients whose information is on the laptop. Rumor is the laptop smelled like corndogs.

WHAT DO EGGS AND A REALITY SHOW HAVE IN COMMON?

Poaching. A group of Mississippians, including a reality show host from Hazelhurst, was arrested this week in an Alaskan poaching investigation. And I bet that was the last sentence you were expecting to read today. This is not the first time Clark Dixon, the host of hunting show “The Syndicate” has faced such charges. In 2010, he allegedly took a black bear without a license. His most recent charge was for claiming false residency in the state and then taking advantage of Alaska residency hunting privileges. Terry Goza of Hazlehurst; Clarence Michael Osborne of Madison; Shannon Dale Hooks of Mendenhall; and Robert Scott Viner of Ridgeland were also charged in connection to the poaching investigation.