Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
OUR OPINION: Good news aplenty throughout region
From a generous anonymous donation to help a family in need to critical grant funding being awarded for Mississippi, there was plenty of good news to share last week throughout the region.
Before we prepare for the week ahead, let’s take a look back at some of the highlights from last week:
Teetta Vasser and her son Keshun received an unexpected and incredibly generous outpouring of support from an anonymous citizen. Last week a $50,000 check was presented to Keshun, who has been paralyzed since he was shot in the neck in September. The family will use the money to purchase a wheelchair accessible van. In addition to the freedom to drive around town, the new van will also mean that the Vassers no longer have to rely on Medicaid transportation. Next on their list is a wheelchair accessible apartment. For now, a new van will help 12-year-old Keshun experience more of life outside of physical therapy facilities and doctor’s offices. The family said the anonymous donation was more than they ever expected. We thank the generous person who made such a significant effort to help Keshun and his family.
The State of Mississippi has been awarded a $3.58 million grant to fight the opioid crisis. U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith announced the grant Thursday in Washington. The Mississippi Department of Mental Health Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services will use the Opioid State Targeted Response grant to build on prevention and recovery strategies to reduce opioid abuse. The state received an initial $3.58 million STR grant in April 2017. The grants are intended to increase access to treatment, reduce unmet treatment needs and support recovery activities in order to reduce opioid overdose-related deaths. President Donald Trump in October declared opioid misuse a national emergency. We applaud the efforts of our leaders in Washington for helping secure this funding to combat such a serious and prevalent issue in our region and state.
Tupelo’s Shane Hooper was handed the gavel to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning last week. Hooper, who serves as director of Tupelo’s Development Services, has been serving as vice president and will convene his first meeting as president on May 8 of the board that oversees the state’s eight public universities. He is a graduate of Itawamba Agriculture High School and David Lipscomb University in Nashville and also served in the U.S. Marines before returning to Northeast Mississippi. He was appointed to the 12-member Board by Gov. Phil Bryant in May 2012. Hooper’s tenure as College Board president will be for one year. We congratulate Hooper and know he will represent Tupelo and Northeast Mississippi well during his tenure as board president.
Those are just a few of the great things that took place in our community last week, but we know there will be plenty more to share with you next week.
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