Content about Geography of the United States

Engineering students and faculty are giving back to the state by working on levees in the Mississippi Delta.

The risk management team, composed of three graduate students and a few faculty members from the engineering school, partnered with MEMA in July 2011, focusing on checking the strength of the levees in the Delta to help prevent natural disasters.

“The levees are like a chain, no stronger than its weakest link,” project manager Charles Swann said. “We are interested in finding the levee’s weakest link and strengthening it.”

The Chamblee Hospitality Group has announced the closing, complete demolition, rebuilding and reopening of the landmark Downtown Oxford Inn, beginning Dec. 2. Luke Chamblee, president of Chamblee Hospitality Group, said the 60-year-old building, which was acquired by the group in 2002, will undergo a complete upheaval and reconstruction to update the aging and inadequate facilities for a reopening in spring 2014.

 
Last week marked Augusta National Golf Club’s admittance of its first two female members: former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and investment banker Darla Moore. The club’s policy change is undoubtedly long overdue, a fact echoed in the majority of the press coverage surrounding the announcement. More interesting than the inclusion of women is the background of the women chosen for membership. 

James Meredith will be in Oxford this weekend as the 50th anniversary of his admission into Ole Miss approaches, but the purpose of his visit has nothing to do with the historic milestone.

 
Camping and kayaking are wonderful ways to have good, clean fun, reconnect with nature, and blah blah yadda yadda  bite me. No, camping in campsites is fun, and kayaking down well known and well charted rivers is just a hoot. This story is not about that. Indeed, this story is about as far from it as you can get, unless your tribe’s name is Flecheiros and you spear your daily lunch-fish from a river in the Amazon.

In 1837, the year Martin Van Buren succeeded Andrew Jackson in the presidency and the year Michigan became the 26th state admitted to U.S., three pioneers, all named John, bought 50 acres of land from two Chickasaw Native Americans, Princess Hoka and E Ah Nah Yea. They named that 50 acres after a town in England to promote an air of class to their new settlement.
This weekend will mark Oxford’s 175th birthday since that purchase.

Oxford and the University of Mississippi welcome the placement of a new historical marker in front of City Hall.

Fifty years ago, James Meredith and a few companions began a march from Memphis to Jackson to encourage blacks living under Jim Crow laws to register to vote. 

Today, participants in the Walk Against Fear will walk from Batesville to Oxford to recreate Meredith’s walk, hoping to spread awareness about civil rights violations immigrants suffer today. 

Patricio Gonzalez, Jose Salazar and Ingrid Cruz will lead the walk. 

They expect to arrive in front of the Lyceum at approximately 7 p.m. 

There’s not much left in the tornado-stricken town of Harrisburg, Ill. Homes and buildings that once stood in the small town were wiped out by a vicious twister that hit last Wednesday, Feb. 29.

Among the debris stood three University of Mississippi students: Ethan Alexander, Jonathan Davis and Dillon Widdows. The three students made the 321-mile drive to Harrisburg this past weekend to deliver nearly three tons of water and offer their help.

She was known for her endearing spirit, and she embraced her philanthropic activities with just as much zeal and devotion.
Susan Barksdale Howorth, 44, a stalwart of the arts and education, died suddenly of a pulmonary edema on Sunday, Feb. 5.
Born in Memphis on Dec. 23, 1967, Howorth was the daughter of Jim Barksdale, businessman and benefactor of several University of Mississippi programs, and the late Sally McDonnell Barksdale.