Sheldon Timothy Harrington Jr., a recent graduate of University of Mississippi, has been charged with murder in the case of Jimmie “Jay” Lee, a 20-year-old Black student who was well-known in Oxford’s LGBTQ community.

The Oxford Police Department announced the arrest in a press release Friday night. OPD did not provide the date or time that Harrington was booked or a motive. A bond has not yet been set. Harrington’s charges are not yet posted to Lafayette County’s online court records database. 

OPD asked anyone with information to contact police, who are “still working to locate Lee’s body.” 

“This is still an ongoing investigation and updates will be given at a later date,” the press release states. 

Lee’s disappearance 14 days ago had spurred his friends and family to conduct search parties across Oxford and post flyers pleading for information. On Wednesday, his classmates in the UM Department of Social Work held a rally for Lee.

Many people describe Lee as an open, confident person who broke barriers for UM’s LGBTQ community and was drawn to social work because he wanted to help people. He had just graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social work and was already accepted to pursue his master’s this fall. 

“This is a loving, caring person that would give you the shirt off his back if you need it,” Tayla Carey, Lee’s sister, told Mississippi Today last week. 

Lee was last seen at 5:58 a.m. on Friday, July 8, sitting in his car at Campus Walk Apartments, where he lived. The 20-year-old was reported missing to the University of Mississippi Police Department that evening after he did not show up to a donation drive for baby formula that he had organized as part of a summer internship. 

Three days later, police found Lee’s car in the impound lot of a local towing company, which had taken it from Molly Barr Trails, a student housing complex, that Friday afternoon. In its press release, the Oxford Police Department had stated it believed Lee was at Molly Barr Trails to visit someone. 

It’s not clear if Lee was visiting Harrington. 

Social media accounts belonging to Harrington show that he had just graduated from UM with a bachelor’s degree in real estate. His family is from Grenada, and his uncle is Carlos Moore, who was president of the National Bar Association last year. 

The 22-year-old appears to have been involved on campus, serving on the executive boards for several student organizations during the 2020-2021 school year. He is also the co-owner of T&T Moving, a student-run moving company. 

Harrington’s most recent Instagram post, on May 5, shows him standing in front of a construction site in a powder-blue suit, celebrating his recent graduation.

The post Oxford police charge recent Ole Miss grad with murder in Jay Lee case appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Fewer pre-K and kindergarten students met the benchmark for reading readiness this year compared to 2019, a decline education officials attribute to the impact of the pandemic.  

Previous state tests have also demonstrated the impact of the pandemic on student achievement, but some, like the third-grade reading assessment, have stayed consistent with pre-pandemic levels. 

The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment tests public pre-K and kindergarten students to measure early literacy skills. It is used as an instructional baseline for teachers, and students who meet their benchmark score have been shown to become proficient in reading by the end of third grade. 

Early learning collaboratives (ELC) are one form of public pre-K, made up of partnerships among school districts, Head Start agencies, childcare centers, and nonprofit groups. This spring, 65% of the 2,700 ELC students tested met the benchmark score, down from 77% in the spring of 2019. 

Other public pre-K programs also saw a decline since 2019, from 69% of students meeting the benchmark score to 61.5% this year.

Education department officials explained that pre-K students were less likely to have been in daycare, and therefore less likely to have had formal classroom experiences for the last two years. 

“(Pre-K students) had less exposure to other children, teachers, and adults due to isolation during these two years prior to entering that pre-K setting,” said Melissa Beck, K-3 assessment coordinator for the department. “Many of the adults they encountered wore masks, which hindered the ability to hear language clearly and see the mouth, which we know is a barrier to reading instruction. Less exposure to others speaking and listening causes delays in language development.” 

Students at the end of kindergarten also take the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment to track their progress over the year and to help teachers identify areas for additional instruction. Of the 34,000 public kindergarten students who were tested, 58% met their benchmark score. This number also dropped from 2019, when 66% of students met the benchmark. 

To address this drop, the state education department recommends that districts train all K-3 teachers in the science of reading, host parent workshops, and work to expand pre-K programs through state funds. Department officials said they would be expanding their monitoring of early learning collaboratives, providing additional professional development opportunities for teachers, and increasing the use of screener assessments to monitor student progress. 

“Despite the learning disruptions caused by COVID-19, Mississippi kindergarteners still showed significant growth during the 2021-22 school year thanks to the hard work and dedication of their teachers to accelerate learning,” said Dr. Kim Benton, interim state superintendent of education. “Teachers will be able to use these results to inform instruction in the early grades.”

The post Fewer pre-K and kindergarten students met reading targets, latest data show appeared first on Mississippi Today.

OXFORD — Kara Gallagher, a social work student at University of Mississippi, learned her classmate Jimmie “Jay” Lee was missing in the afternoon on Sunday, July 10, from a Facebook post. Campus police had posted a short description of Lee and the last time he was seen along with a picture of the 20-year-old Black student in a graduation cap, his arms flung wide as glitter floats in front of his smiling face. 

It was baffling. But as social workers, Gallagher and her classmates knew they couldn’t sit by without supporting Lee or his family. In Zoom class and in group chats, they organized a GoFundMe for Lee’s family, but they wanted to do more. So they decided to host a rally to create a space for people to gather in Oxford.  

“Jay would do the same for any of us,” Gallagher said. 

The university initially said no but relented after Gallagher and her classmates got professors involved. On Wednesday night, the rally drew about 150 people to the Circle, a historic district at the heart of UM’s campus, to blow bubbles and hold colorful signs as a way “to illuminate Jay’s way home.”

One sign, a reference to Lee’s dog, read: “Come home Jay, Lexi needs to be fed. <3″

Lee was last seen on Friday, July 8, at 5:58 a.m., sitting in his car at Campus Walk Apartments, his home. He was wearing a silver robe, a gold bonnet, and gray slippers.

From there, police think Lee may have driven to Molly Barr Trails, a student housing complex in northeast Oxford, to visit someone. His car was found three days later in the impound lot of a local towing company that had taken it from Molly Barr Trails on Friday afternoon. 

READ MORE: FBI, Attorney General now assisting in search for missing Ole Miss student Jay Lee

Lee’s friends and classmates say it’s unsettling for someone so involved on campus and in Oxford to go missing – and for there to be so little information about where he could’ve gone. Police have not released any major updates in the 13 days since Lee disappeared except to brief the public on the investigation. 

“When Jay walked in a room, you knew it,” Gallagher said. “For me personally, it’s difficult to wrestle with someone so big going missing. It’s like, how does that happen?” 

Lee is also well-known in Oxford’s LGBTQ community – his disappearance has rattled them, too. Many queer people in Mississippi, in response to routine violence or harassment, conceal their identities, but Lee was known for his openness. Last fall, he ran for homecoming king and posed in a dress for his campaign photos. Earlier this year, he had spoken at a conference about his experience as a gay man who wears long hair, nails and eyelashes, and how his gender identity is often misunderstood.

“He was wildly free,” said Blake Summers, a co-founder of Code Pink, a local drag night that Lee had performed in for years.

An hour before the rally was set to start, TV news crews were already at the Circle setting up cameras, pointing them at a wooden podium that had been set in front of the flagpole. The university, expecting a large crowd, had cordoned off the street. 

Gallagher and other students and faculty in the social work department got there early to set up a table and place electronic candles in a ring around the flagpole. They fielded questions on behalf of Lee’s family members, who did not want to talk to reporters. 

One of the students designated to talk to the media was Precious Thompson. Like Lee, she was finishing her bachelor’s degree this summer. The oldest student in the social work program, Thompson didn’t hang out with Lee outside of class, but she described him as a charitable person. She said Lee would purchase textbooks for students who couldn’t afford it. He would give away clothes.

“He just loved people,” she said. 

Four police officers stood by an oak tree as students passed out hand-lettered stickers that said “Hope for Jay.” One person came up to Jay’s dad to give him a framed portrait, drawn in graphite, of Lee in his graduation cap. 

Shortly after 7 p.m., Gallagher took the microphone at the podium. She asked the crowd to come in a little closer as camera shutters started to click. 

“Get buddy-buddy with the reporters,” she said. “We want to pull everybody in so they can see and hear.” 

One of Lee’s classmates gave a prayer. The next speaker, Jennifer Buford, a social work instructor who helped students plan the event, talked about the importance of hope to the community. She referred to Romans 12:12, which says, “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” 

“Hope can sometimes be confused with wishful thinking,” Buford said. “However, the hope that we intend to inspire today is based on the belief and the confident expectations that Jay will soon be home. Because these are our expectations, we will not accept gloom, doom, hopelessness and despair.”  

Buford continued. She said she wanted Lee’s family to know that he is a “huge presence” in every community he was a part of – the social work department, the university, Oxford – and that he is missed. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Lee, we are inspired by the level of faith and the hope that you have demonstrated,” she said. “Today, we want you to know, you are not alone.” 

Lee’s classmates had planned to distribute candles, but they decided that might make the rally seem like a vigil. Instead, they asked the gatherers to blow on bubble wands. His classmates played Lee’s favorite songs, “7 Rings” by Ariana Grande and “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyoncé, blanketing the sound of cicadas. Bubbles filled the air. 

Lee’s parents placed the graphite drawing at the table in front of the crowd. 

When the music finished, Charlotte Fant Pegues, the vice chancellor for student affairs, read a speech on behalf of Jay’s parents. The speech thanked local police, the mayor of Oxford, and everyone in the community who has shown the family support, and included an anecdote about Lee. 

“Just yesterday my husband and I had to go through some Amazon packages that Jay had previously ordered,” Pegues read. “We were overwhelmed in seeing how he was ordering baby items out of his own pocket to give out to children in need. That’s the kind of guy he is.” 

Lee was interning at the Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services in Lafayette County. He was supposed to organize a donation drive for baby formula the night of Friday, July 8. His parents realized Lee was missing when he didn’t show up. 

At the end of the rally, Gallagher gave a closing statement. She told everyone how much their presence meant to all of Lee’s family, friends and classmates. Then she leaned forward on the podium, her voice firm with intent. 

“I want to emphasize, we will find Jay,” Gallagher said. 

“Say it with me,” she said, and the crowd replied: “We will find Jay.”

“That’s right, we’re gonna find him,” she repeated. “He will be safe and return to his parents.”

The post ‘We will find Jay’: Oxford community rallies for missing Ole Miss student appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Since moving across the Atlantic to run the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, I have led successful campaigns to:

• Cut the state income tax, resulting in both the largest tax cut in Mississippi history and a flat tax.
• Enact a law to combat Critical Race theory consistent with liberty.
• Reform occupational licensing, making it easier for skilled people to work here.

Low tax, liberty max – this is what real conservatism looks like. If only folk back in Britain were offered real conservatism!

In recognition of our success in building a mass movement that made these wins possible, the Mississippi Center for Public Policy has been nominated for an award – but we need your support to win.

Please vote to make sure Mississippi wins!

Thank you!

Read original article by clicking here.

LAUREL — What Truitt Bush wanted more than anything in the world was to play on the indoor playground at Chick-fil-A again.

The 4-year-old had spent the majority of his time since March of 2020 inside his Laurel home with his mother. Truitt hadn’t known much of the pre-pandemic world, but he knew he wanted to go back to it. He missed his friends and his gymnastics lessons. 

Truitt’s parents, Anna and Matt, wanted that for him too, but were concerned about his health and safety. Though the two had been vaccinated against COVID-19 soon after they became eligible, children in Truitt’s age group were still ineligible.

Then they heard that Moderna’s pediatric vaccine trial would be coming to Hattiesburg Clinic.

The clinic, which was eligible to participate because of its previous work in clinical trials, was the only health care provider in Mississippi to participate in the pediatric Moderna trials, which involved around 6,700 children across the U.S. and Canada.

Anna said the decision to enroll Truitt in the trial was an easy one after talking it through with friends who are doctors and their children’s pediatrician, Dr. Anita Henderson. Henderson is also the president of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“If she (Henderson) says it’s okay, I’m going to follow what she says,” Anna said. “I know that she has his best interest and the best interest of the children of Mississippi at heart.”

Henderson said she saw a lot of interest from parents in the community whose children were clinic patients or had heard about the trial via word of mouth.

“A lot of families wanted to have that chance of getting their child vaccinated and protected and also just wanted to participate in getting COVID vaccine research out there for the general public to help get the pandemic behind us,” Henderson said. 

Anna and her husband, Matt, didn’t make the decision unilaterally, though. They let Truitt be a part of that process, and he had few reservations about getting what his parents called a “super shot” that would give him the protection he needed for their family to return to some sense of normalcy.

With everyone in agreement, Anna and Matt enrolled Truitt in the Moderna vaccine trial. Truitt was selected to participate. This phase of the trial was open label so they knew Truitt would be getting the actual vaccine and not a placebo.

He received his first dose in early June of 2021. 

The trial, which was slated to last for 14 months, involved a combination of in-office visits, phone calls and e-check-ups using an app. 

The worst part of the experience for Truitt was having blood drawn at each of the five in-person visits, his parents said. He would distract himself by explaining to the nurses and techs what the virus looks like and how the mRNA vaccines work, all things he’d learned by watching educational videos on YouTube. 

“I don’t think you’re going to find a 4-year-old that’s going to tell you getting nasal swabs and blood drawn and a shot is their favorite thing to do on a Tuesday,” Anna said. 

Truitt didn’t experience many symptoms following either of the two shots, only a slight headache and sore leg. Matt jokes that he took it better than either of his parents did, who both had to take a sick day from work after receiving their second dose. 

Now, Truitt has one in-person visit left for the trial, which may be extended to include occasional remote check-ins. 

Truitt’s two-year-old baby brother, Gilliam, is set to receive his vaccine next month. Truitt, now 5 years old, is proud that he played a part in his brother and friends becoming eligible for vaccination. He’s also enjoying a much less restrictive childhood and has even returned to the Chick-fil-A playground. He described it as “the best day ever.”

Henderson, who had multiple patients participate in the vaccine trial, said those who participated played a key role in helping prevent further COVID-19 infections and transmission in Mississippi. 

 “I think we as a community owe them a debt of gratitude,” Henderson said. 

Anna and Matt say they’ve heard some people say, ‘What kind of parents would put their child in a clinical trial?’”

“Nobody says that about clinical trials for other illnesses we’re searching for cures for,” Anna said. “We’re just regular folks in Laurel, and we just want the best for our family and our community. I just hope this helps ease the fears people might have.” 

The post This 4-year-old Mississippian participated in the Moderna COVID vaccine trial. Here’s how it went. appeared first on Mississippi Today.