Dearine "Doe" Dillard May 22, 1958 - December 21, 2025 67 Years of Age Dearine Wilson Dillard, daughter of the late Elester Buckley, Sr. and the late Olivia Wilson Buckley was born on May 22, 1958 in Bolton, MS. She departed her life on December 21, 2025. She was affectionately known as ‘Doe’ by close family and friends. Dearine was a member of Apostolic Restoration Ministry where she was baptized in the name of Jesus on August 18, 2024 and received the Holy Spirit on December 16, 2024. Dearine attended Clinton High School. She was employed at Manhattan Nursing and Rehabilitation Center for 20 years. Dearine was preceded in death by her husband, Mr. Mack Nemi Dillard; her father, Elester Buckley Sr.; mother, Olivia Buckley; brother, Elester Buckley Jr.; and sister, Daphne Buckley. She leaves to cherish her memories her loving sons, Quinta Dillard of Jackson, MS. and Demarcus Dillard (Cheri) of Clinton, MS.; and her loving daughter Markeda Dillard of Jackson, MS.; her granddaughters, ShaMya Robinson, Zaria Dillard, and Jakiya Michael; grandsons, MarQuez Dillard, Pharaoh Dillard, Demarcus Dillard Jr., and JaVontae Joiner; and one great-grandson, Artist Robinson. She also leaves to cherish her memories: sisters, Nancy Wilson Robinson, Mary Wilson, Claudette Lewis, and Debbie Buckley; brothers, Roy Buckley (Thelma) and Robert Buckley; and two sisters in law, Louise Dillard and Hattie Dillard. She also leaves behind a host of nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Dearine Dillard, please visit our flower store .

Special to The Bolton News The Town of Bolton lost one of its most cherished leaders and community pillars on December 25, 2025, with the passing of Alderwoman Helen R. Harris Curry. A trailblazer in every sense, Alderwoman Curry was the first African American woman to serve on the Bolton Board of Aldermen, dedicating over 50 years of her life to public service and leaving a legacy that will endure for generations. Helen Curry’s leadership was defined by wisdom, humility, and unwavering devotion to the people she served. Whether in the council chamber or in the streets of Bolton, she listened carefully, acted thoughtfully, and placed the needs of the community above her own. She became a mentor to emerging leaders and a trusted voice for residents, guiding her town through decades of growth and change with grace and integrity. Beyond her civic duties, Helen Curry had a deep love for life, people, and animals. She spent countless hours outdoors, reveling in nature and finding peace among the rolling fields and pastures that she so loved. Her passion for horses was well-known, and she was an active participant in the local horse club, sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm with neighbors and friends. To her, animals and the natural world were an extension of her compassion, and she brought the same care and attention to her community that she did to all living things around her. Faith was central to Helen’s life. She was a devoted member of Hill of Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Bolton, where her guidance, warmth, and steadfast presence inspired many. Her faith informed her public service, her relationships, and her approach to every challenge she encountered, reinforcing the deep connection between her personal values and her work in the community. Those who knew Alderwoman Curry describe her as more than a leader—she was a friend, a mentor, and a source of strength. She had an extraordinary ability to make everyone feel valued, whether through a kind word, a shared laugh, or her tireless work on behalf of the town she loved. Her devotion to Bolton and its residents left a mark that cannot be measured, touching countless lives across generations. The community will honor Alderwoman Curry’s life with visitation on Thursday, January 1, 2026, from 3:00 to 6:00 PM at Bolton Funeral Home, 205 Bolton Brownsville Road. The viewing will continue on Friday, January 2, 2026, from 10:00 to 11:00 AM at Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church, 6449 W. Northside Drive, with the funeral service at 11:00 AM. Interment will follow at Hill of Zion Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, 1079 Annie Fortner Road. Alderwoman Helen R. Harris Curry’s life was one of courage, commitment, and love—for her community, for her neighbors, and for the world around her. She broke barriers, inspired generations, and reminded everyone that true leadership is measured not by position, but by the lives we touch and the difference we make. Bolton will remember her not only as a historic figure in local government but as a woman whose heart, energy, and dedication helped shape the soul of the town.

By Bob Garver    Poster credit IMDB All the way back in 2009, director James Cameron introduced the world to the planet Pandora and the Na’vi race in “Avatar.” The film soon set the record for all-time highest grossing movie at both the domestic and international box offices (it still holds the record for the latter). Sequel “Avatar: The Way of Water” came out in 2022 and made its way onto the top 10 on both lists. Can three years’ worth of inflation help third installment “Fire and Ash” help the franchise reach new heights? I’d be happy if it did. The film once again follows the Sully family: human-turned-Na’vi Jake (Sam Worthington), native wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), impulsive son Lo’ak (Britain Dalton), daughter Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), adopted daughter Kiri (Sigourney Weaver), and adopted human son Spider (Jack Champion). Kiri is the biological daughter of ally Grace Augustine (also Weaver) and Spider is the biological son of villainous human-turned-Na’vi Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), still tasked with removing the threat the Sullys pose to the human colonization of Pandora. The new film sees the family try to send Spider off to live with a tribe of “air traders,” as the planet’s air is not safe for him at the surface level, though it might be at the traders’ altitude. But the traders are attacked, and Spider captured, by the fire-themed Mangkwan tribe, led by the fearsome Varang (Oona Chaplin). The Sullys go to rescue Spider from the Mangkwan, only to be ambushed by the unit led by Quaritch, who prioritizes saving his son. Spider is saved by the Sullys, while Varang and Quaritch come to respect each other in the ensuing battle. Following the battle, it is discovered that there is a way for Spider to breathe the planet’s air after all, if he interacts with certain wildlife. This is great for Spider, but bad for the Na’vi. The breathability of Pandora’s air is one of the few advantages they have in the war with the invading humans. If the secret were to fall into the wrong hands, it could doom them all. Jake and Neytiri, who isn’t crazy about humans like Spider in the first place, debate bringing a permanent end to the secret and its host. Meanwhile, Quaritch and Varang form an alliance, the first official one between the colonizing humans and the Na’vi. We get another big showdown between Na’vi and the humans at the movie’s end, but this time the villains have some Na’vi on their side that can both ride the planet’s wild creatures and use human weapons like guns, courtesy of Quaritch. The story is a mess, especially as the Sullys splinter off for their own subplots like Lo’ak wanting to save a race of whale-like sea creatures or Kiri having an identity crisis after learning the truth about her parentage (and yes, it is distracting that 70-something Weaver is playing a teenager, a discrepancy that even Cameron’s special effects can’t hide). The final battle is particularly hard to follow, with characters seemingly killed at every turn only to dust themselves off and throw themselves back into the action minutes later. The only interesting decision the movie makes from a writing perspective is the alliance between Quaritch and Varang, scene-stealing characters whose personalities are sidelined once the action picks up. But it matters little that “Avatar: Fire and Ash” doesn’t have an award-worthy script to justify its obscene price tag. James Cameron is still King of the World when it comes to visual spectacle. Every time I thought I was done being impressed by the look of Pandora, the movie found a way to blow my mind again. That is what this movie offers and that is what these movies have always offered. I can understand if audiences aren’t ready to spend another three heavy-handed hours in this world a mere three years after the last movie, but I was ready and I had a blast. Grade: B “Avatar: Fire and Ash” is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images, some strong language, thematic elements and suggestive material. Its running time is 197 minutes. Contact Bob Garver at  rrg251@nyu.edu .

Dr. James Watson, State Veterinarian, issues a certificate of veterinary inspection to Santa Claus, permitting his reindeer to enter and exit the state of Mississippi on Christmas Eve, December 24. T he Mississippi Board of Animal Health (MBAH) has approved a certificate of veterinary inspection for Santa Claus of the North Pole, authorizing his famous reindeer to enter Mississippi on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2025, for a holiday delivery run.   “I am happy to announce that Santa’s reindeer have officially been cleared for their annual Christmas Eve visit by the Mississippi Board of Animal Health,” said Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson. “It’s always a pleasure to welcome Santa and his reindeer to the Magnolia State and I encourage all children to be tucked in early so Santa can deliver his gifts without delay.”    Dr. James Watson, State Veterinarian with MBAH, examined all nine members of Santa’s reindeer team and confirmed they are healthy, happy and fit for their long night of work. With all the necessary requirements met, Dr. Watson issued the special certification allowing the sleigh and its crew to make their stops across Mississippi.   Copy of Certificate of Veterinary Inspection. “Safeguarding the health of Mississippi’s livestock and poultry is our top priority,” said Dr. Watson. “With that responsibility in mind, we are happy to confirm that Santa Claus and his reindeer have satisfied all necessary health requirements to enter the state and spread Christmas cheer to the boys and girls on the nice list.” The MBAH encourages families to leave refreshments out for Santa, as well as a snack for his hardworking reindeer on Christmas Eve night.   The Board of Animal Health was created by the Mississippi Legislature and given plenary power to deal with all contagious and infectious diseases of animals as in the opinion of the board may be prevented, controlled, or eradicated, and with full power to make, promulgate, and enforce such rules and regulations as may be necessary to control, eradicate and prevent those diseases.   Commissioner Andy Gipson serves as a board member for the Mississippi Board of Animal Health, which works closely with the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) and is housed inside the MDAC headquarters building in Jackson. Visit www.mbah.ms.gov to learn more.

By: Kelley Williams, Chair Bigger Pie Forum Cliff Notes began as short plot summaries of classic novels and stories. Now they are cribs about complex topics and spin. Corps Speak is the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) clever spin that evades responsibility for higher and longer Mississippi River floods (a complex topic). This story began when Congress put the Corps in charge of flood control (1928 Flood Control Act) to prevent another 1927 flood disaster. The Corps developed the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project (MRTP) master plan in response. It included levees, spillways, cutoffs, reservoirs, and other river projects. It was designed to carry the Corps’ maximum theoretical flood (Project Flood) safely to the Gulf. The original design was based on the Mississippi’s flow capacity in the 1930s. It was updated in 1950 based on flow capacity then. That flow capacity no longer exists. The 2011 flood showed that the Mississippi’s flow capacity has decreased since 1950. And that the MRTP levees won’t contain the river. The Corps’ 2019 flow line study confirms this. It predicts hundreds of miles of levees will overtop in a flood smaller than the Project Flood. How did this happen? A Congressional authorization in 1954 gave the Corps another mandate: prevent the Mississippi River from changing course down the Atchafalaya River. The Corps built the Old River Control Complex (ORCC) about 40 miles above Baton Rouge to do this. ORCC controls the river’s flow and diverts 23% to the straighter, swifter, shorter Atchafalaya to discharge to the Gulf below Morgan City, LA. It keeps the remaining 77% in the longer, slower, meandering main channel to discharge below New Orleans. The Corps knew that diverting part of the flow would concentrate sediments in the Mississippi’s main channel and that this could reduce its flow capacity. So engineers and scientists carefully designed and sited ORCC to minimize this. They were successful. The first ORCC structure began operating in 1963. Other structures were added later. There were no increases in river stages indicating a decrease in flow capacity until after 1990. (When channel capacity decreases, stages rise. The river must get higher to carry the same flow.) In 1982, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorized a privately owned power plant (Sidney A. Murray Hydroelectric Plant) to be sited just upstream of ORCC. The plant had nothing to do with flood control. But the Corps agreed to integrate it into ORCC operations anyway. It began operating in 1990. The Corps diverts flow containing only small, light sediments through the plant turbines to the Atchafalaya in place of a mixed flow with larger, heavier sediments it had diverted through ORCC. This concentrates large, heavy sediments downstream of ORCC, clogs the channel, creates a bottleneck, and reduces flow capacity. The company says it’s not responsible for the sediments and refuses to dredge them. The Corps hasn’t dredged them either — even though it’s clearly responsible for flood control. The clog of sediments grew, the bottleneck got smaller, the Mississippi’s carrying capacity decreased — and floods got higher. The 2011 flood provided dramatic proof. It was not only the highest flood ever, it was higher than the Corps expected based on historic flows. This caused a near disaster. The Corps nearly waited too long to open the Morganza Spillway gates because the stage was higher than expected for the flow in the water control manual that triggered the opening. Fortunately, the Colonel in charge trusted his eyes, not the manual, opened the gates, and saved Baton Rouge. The manual was wrong because it too was based on flow capacity that no longer existed. To quantify lost flow capacity, look at stages at Tarbert Landing (just above ORCC). Corps rating curves show the stage was 7.2’ higher in 2015 vs pre-1990 readings. (Stage increases upstream are not as high due to the river’s slope. But longer floods upstream are about the same.) In 2016-17, upstream landowners near ORCC testified to the Mississippi River Commission (MRC) about higher, longer, more damaging floods inside the levees. MRC Generals blamed more rain. They didn’t tell landowners about the bottleneck. Mississippi’s Secretary of State also testified about the state’s flooded school lands. The Generals didn’t tell him either. In late 2017, LSU’s Dr. Xu reported a large sediment deposit below ORCC and major reductions in channel width and depth based on 2013 Corps measurements. He said the resulting bottleneck could cause the river to change course in a big flood. Flood duration (days above flood stage) increased after the record 2011 flood. Floods at Natchez were 3 times longer in the 5 years after 2015 vs the 5 prior years. The 2019 flood was above flood stage 154 days at Vicksburg, blocking the Yazoo’s discharge — and causing the longest backwater flood ever. Major floods occurred more often too after 1990. From 1927 to 1990, there was one major flood (57’ and higher) at Natchez in 63 years. From 1950 to 1990, there were none in 40 years. From 1990 to 2020, there were 5: one every 6 years. There was one every 2.5 years from 2010 to 2020. It’s clear that the river has lost flow capacity. And that this causes more frequent, higher, and longer floods. And that the Corps has failed at its job of flood control. And that it is unable to act on its own. So what to do now? Shut down and remove the power plant. Operate ORCC to divert flow and sediments as designed. Dredge Mudberg to restore the Mississippi’s carrying capacity. Build a diversion structure to take the top off of big floods. Urge Congress to order and fund these acts. Pray for time to make the changes before there’s a big flood.

By Bob Garver   Poster credit IMDB   Since this weekend’s highest-grossing as-yet-unreviewed theatrical film, 205-minute Indian actioner “Dhurandhar,” is playing on only 377 screens in the entire country, I thought I’d take this opportunity to review something a little more accessible. “Wake Up Dead Man” is the third installment of Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out” mystery franchise. Like its predecessor “Glass Onion,” “Wake Up Dead Man” is treating fans to a brief theatrical run to supplement its December 12th Netflix debut. As with the original “Knives Out” from 2019, the whodunit largely follows a character so likely to be the killer that they start to suspect themselves. Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) is the assistant pastor at Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude Church in upstate New York, having been assigned there as punishment for punching a rude deacon at his old church. He clashes with head pastor Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin) over the church leader’s tendency to verbally browbeat unfamiliar parishioners until they leave. Duplenticy wants people to feel welcome in the church, and he also takes issue with Wicks’ drinking, greed, and general corruption. A rivalry and power struggle develop between the two, and it seems like control of both the church and the souls of Wicks’ inner circle are on the line. Wicks’ inner circle consists of lawyer Vera Draven (Kerry Washington) and her adopted brother Cy (Daryl McCormack), doctor Nat Sharp (Jeremy Renner, sadly making no reference to the actor lending his name to a brand of hot sauce in “Glass Onion”), washed-up sci-fi author Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), disabled cellist Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny), church groundskeeper Samson Holt (Thomas Haden… Church, appropriately), and longtime church assistant Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close). These people and Duplenticy are the only ones near the pulpit during a Good Friday service when Wicks is found murdered in a closet off to one side. And the one who went closest to the closet during the service was Duplenticy. Local police chief Geraldine Scott (Mila Kunis) decides that the case is too bizarre for her department to solve on their own. So she reaches out to an… outside resource. In comes private investigator and franchise face Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig). Although Blanc can’t exactly rule out Duplenticy as a suspect, he’s a good enough judge of character to know that the kindhearted redemption-seeker probably didn’t kill Wicks, even if the evidence says otherwise. Still, both Blanc and Duplenticy have a job ahead of them, uncovering layer after layer of secrets involving illegitimate children, a crazed mother, a missing family fortune, more deaths, and a person in a pastoral robe emerging from a sealed mausoleum containing the recently-deceased body of Wicks and the skeletal remains of his grandfather. Did a Dead Man truly Wake Up in a Christ-like miracle? Devout Duplenticy believes one may have. Atheist Blanc highly doubts it, but then what did happen? Fans of the “Knives Out” movies (and the similarly-timed Kenneth Branagh Hercule Poirot trilogy) will know to wait patiently for Blanc to unravel the convoluted mystery. For as twisty as these stories are, there’s a loose, but recognizable formula to them. Characters take turns as prime suspects as lies are uncovered and secrets revealed until likely theories are disproven and the solution has to be something else. The solution, at least as it pertains to the “How?” is never apparent from the outset, so it’s up to the audience to just enjoy the ride, usually courtesy of Blanc and his ridiculous Southern charm. This ride is less fun than the other “Knives Out” movies, with its often-serious looks at faith, betrayal, and forgiveness, and also because it takes Blanc longer than usual to show up. But it’s still fun, and certainly clever enough for me to recommend. “Wake Up Dead Man” may not be the sharpest of the “Knives Out” franchise, but it fits into the drawer just fine. Grade: B- “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” is now available on Netflix. The film is rated PG-13 for violent content, bloody images, strong language, some crude sexual material, and smoking. Its running time is 144 minutes. Contact Bob Garver at  rrg251@nyu.edu .

Send responses to: andybowman839@gmail.com People are just people, everywhere you go. Everyone has their favorite hobbies and if given the chance, they would spend hours doing just that. And most of us also have heavy responsibilities that we avoid like the plague for as long as possible. As long as possible without wrecking our finances, or letting the house fall down around our ears. But only doing the great stuff? A truly adult life doesn’t work like that. Not unless you were fortunate enough to make a career out of your favorite hobby. But even then, there’s parts that are boring and stressful. For example, if you love toddlers and have chosen to run a daycare, those hours you get to spend playing and teaching them are magical. But as sure as day follows night, there is cleanup, bookkeeping, restocking of supplies, taxes, and a myriad of other responsibilities that aren’t near as much fun. But still, they have to be done. That’s the way life works for most people. And most adults accept it. Work and play, play and work. But. Then there’s others. That certain segment of semi-adults who somehow believe that  “I am definitely entitled to live differently!”  They think that because they only live once, they should be allowed to only do what they choose. Only the fun stuff. The adventurous stuff. And if society protests and tries to get them to change and accept responsibility for their life, they just stubbornly claim they have the right to exercise their right to do absolutely nothing of value. Others in that segment of non-working adults think they should play now, while they still have youthful vim and vigor. Work and responsibility can come later in life, after they have had time to experience all that adult playtime has to offer. The whole idea does sound fun, and honestly, kind of tempting. After all, who doesn’t like the idea of doing exactly as you want? When, how, and where you want. All the time. And then spend your – ahem - less than energetic years, working some dull, meaningless job that will allow you to pay off all your bills from earlier decades. But there’s a problem with that entire thought; If we all played, who provides the basics for the world? Food crops, transportation, homes, hospitals, and the money to have all those essentials? Second problem: In order to be meaningful, life needs real challenges to our minds, emotions and our bodies. In short, we need work. Without it, life gets sickening and uninspired. Much like a child who is allowed to eat sugary foods only and ends up suffering in every way, because his body is not receiving what it needs. In the same way, we humans NEED work  and  playtime to actually thrive. We need the challenge and the learned discipline that comes with hard work. But we also have to have time away from that work. I believe it’s called balance.

By: Kelley Williams, Chair Bigger Pie Forum   Hans Einstein   Not Albert, his son Hans. As far as we know, Albert was right about his General Theory of Relativity and other natural laws. Hans was not as famous as his father. But he was the world expert on river sediments. He advised the Corps of Engineers (Corps) on the design of the Old River Control Complex (ORCC) in the 1950s. He thought the Corps would take his advice. He was wrong. The Corps built the ORCC to keep the Mississippi River from changing course down the Atchafalaya River. It’s about 50 miles upstream from Baton Rouge. It controls the Mississippi’s flow and diverts 23% to the  Atchafalaya as ordered by Congress (1954 Flood Control Act) and thence straight to the Gulf near Morgan City. It leaves the remaining 77% in the main channel to meander to the Gulf at New Orleans. Hans knew the natural law of sediment transport concentrates sediments in a meandering river when part of its flow is diverted. And that the concentrated sediments would fall out, clog the channel, create a  bottleneck, and slow the Mississippi’s flow to the Gulf. And that this would cause higher and longer floods upstream. He sought to minimize these effects by the careful design of the ORCC and by siting it to divert flow from the river’s sediment-rich strata. He was right about the design and the siting. Sedimentation was negligible for  27 years from 1963 when ORCC started up to 1990. Then the Corps ignored his advice and the natural law of sedimentation to collaborate on a hydroelectric power plant. Private investors built the plant and made a deal with the Corps to put it just upstream of the ORCC and for the Corps to send sediment-lean flow through its turbines to the Atchafalaya instead of the sediment-rich flow it had sent through the ORCC. Han’s couldn’t know this would happen. But he could have predicted the result: sediments concentrated in the river’s main channel, fell out, clogged it just below ORCC, and slowed its discharge to the Gulf. The river rose, floods got higher and much longer  inside the levees with little or no increase in rainfall. In 2015 there was a step-change increase in flood duration. The increase became obvious to landowners inside the levees in 2016. Floods were 2-3 times longer in the five years after 2015 vs before. There was no  increase in the frequency of floods (rainfall events). The Corps knew that sediments were increasing in 2005 when it made the first measurement of the river channel after the power plant began operating. By 2015 Corps measurements showed the channel width had  shrunk by 50% and the channel depth, by 33%. The Corps knew this was happening and that it would continue and make floods ever higher and longer. But the Mississippi River Commission (MRC) generals told Mississippi’s Secretary of State, other landowners, and me the flooding was due to more rain when we testified about flood damage in 2016-17. No mention  of sediments. We didn’t learn that sediments were the cause until 2018. Why did the Generals hide the real cause? The Corps deal with the power plant is a liability and an embarrassment. The Generals may have been ordered to hide it. The Corps is supposed to control floods and mitigate flood damage. Its deal with the power  plant makes both worse. The Corps has a Memo of Understanding (MOU) with the company that owns the plant. It requires the Corps to send sediment lean flow to the plant. It also requires the owner of the plant to dredge sediments the plant causes. The company doesn’t dredge. The Corps doesn’t enforce the MOU or dredge the sediments itself. It seems strangely indifferent to the consequences of its decisions. We learned the real cause of the floods after LSU’s Dr. Xu published a report in late 2017 based on changes in Corps morphology measurements (channel dimensions) cited above. It showed that sediments had  clogged the channel below ORCC and made it much smaller (bottleneck) since 1990. He said the bottleneck would cause the river to rise and change course in a big flood. In 2019, the Corps published a little-noticed updated flow line study. It predicts hundreds of miles of levees from Greenville to New Orleans will overtop in a big flood. The last time that happened was the great flood of  1927. Reality has confirmed that Dr. Einstein was right about Nature’s sediment transport law and the consequences of violating it. And that he was wrong to think the Corps would obey it. So disaster looms ever sooner as a result of Corps decisions — which seem inconsistent with the mission Congress gave it (1928 Flood Control Act): don’t let another 1927 flood happen. It looks like Corps’ decisions are leading to another great flood. Who made the decisions about the power plant? And the decision not to dredge the sediments, and the decision not to build a relief structure to take the top off of floods, and the decision not to tell landowners inside  the levees the cause of their flooding, and the decision not to warn landowners outside the levees about the increasing risk and inevitability of levees overtopping. The Corps is a bureaucracy subordinate to other bureaucracies and to Congress. Authority and responsibility are diffuse. No one takes responsibility for bad decisions. No one is solely to blame for the flooding inside  the levees and the coming flood disaster outside the levees. The buck doesn’t stop with the Mississippi River Commission Generals. They follow orders too. It seems the buck doesn’t stop anywhere. That’s the problem. We don’t know the names of the Generals, politicians, and bureaucrats who made the decisions now. But we will learn them after the levees overtop.

By Bob Garver   Poster credit IMDB               From its ridiculous opening scene, there is little denying that “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” is one of the stupidest movies of 2025. Its only real competition comes from Disney’s live-action “Snow White” remake thinking that its Dwarfs were fit for human eyesight. And it’s not even the fun kind of stupid horror movie. It was never really on the table for this to be a “good” horror movie like “Sinners,” but it could have at least been an interesting flavor of stupid. The potential for such flavor is at least present in the opening scene, but the movie squanders even that prospect fairly quickly.             In the opening scene, set in 1982, morose young Charlotte (Audrey Lynn Marie) eschews every other entertaining aspect of children’s pizza emporium Freddy Fazbear’s to wait for her favorite animatronic character. She turns her attention long enough to notice a boy being abducted (as would later become common at Freddy’s) and tries to alert parents at nearby tables, but none will listen to her. If her warnings had caused a deadly panic, then maybe that could have been a plausible foundation for a horror movie, but no, the movie seriously has all the adults just blow off a girl who is screaming about witnessing a child abduction. She has no choice but to try to rescue the boy herself, which costs her her life. She dies onstage as her aforementioned favorite animatronic – the Marionette – a character not in the first movie because it did not carry over to the subsequent Freddy’s franchise location where that movie was set, appears to take her soul.             In the present day, first-movie protagonist Mike (Josh Hutcherson) is trying to move on with his life. He’s got a good thing going, now with uncontested custody of his younger sister Abby (Piper Rubio) and a budding relationship with cop friend Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail). But Vanessa is still haunted by dreams of her villainous father William (Matthew Lillard, only used for a cameo for the sake of a cameo) and Abby is being bullied by her loathsome science teacher (Wayne Knight). Plus Abby just has to be obsessed with her old “friends” at Freddy’s, which leads to Mike giving her a radio that lets her talk to the possessed robots. It turns out that the radio lets her talk to the “wrong” possessed robots, as in the ones at the old Freddy’s location, which includes The Marionette, now possessed by Charlotte.             Charlotte, who can possess the Marionette animatronic, but also humans, including a viral ghost chaser (McKenna Grace, actually quite scary on the few occasions that the movie lets her be) is on a mission to rid the world of adults. Not just the adults that ignored her in 1982 – all adults. Some manipulation of Abby and boom, Charlotte now has a whole fleet of Freddy’s robots at her disposal. Characters jockey for control of the robots, who are descending on a town-wide celebration of the  Freddy’s legacy. The movie looks like it’s ready for a big festival showdown around crowds of people for its climax and then… it ends.             Is it an unwelcome spoiler to say that the movie ends with only one robot at the festival and more on the way? Maybe so, but it was an unwelcome spoiling of my moviegoing experience for the movie to end where it did. And the sequel-bait ending is only one of the movie’s problems. The pacing is horrendous, the acting is stiff, cheap jump scares are way overused, the robots can supposedly sneak up on people despite being giant metal monstrosities, we’re expected to keep track of which robots are under whose control despite there being multiple versions of the same robots, and Matthew Lillard doesn’t share any screentime with fellow “Scream” killer Skeet Ulrich (as Charlotte’s father) despite the movie’s advertising heavily implying a reunion. With very little time left to lose its lead, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” is the worst movie of 2025. Grade: D “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” is rated PG-13 for violent content, terror and some language. Its running time is 104 minutes. Contact Bob Garver at  rrg251@nyu.edu .

Send responses to:  andybowman839@gmail.com    Simply kick and scream and pout until God makes everything good for you again. Maybe that way of dealing with your problems seems like a good idea to you. After all, you have been told repeatedly all your life that He is a good and loving God, who always wants the best for you. So, it must stand to reason that if you let Him know in clear unmistakable terms that you are unhappy, He will have to fix what’s wrong. Right? You can’t possibly win that showdown. In fact, it simply guarantees that He will be standing firmer on His position. Here’s why. Yes, He is good and loving. But He is also wise and all-knowing. And He knows that if you continue living life as you have – self-centered, angry and hateful, or any other hurtful way, you will cause yourself to suffer all your life. And everyone who has to interact with you. Angry hurting people are blind and uncaring when it comes to everybody else.  I don’t know of anyone, including this writer, who realizes they need to change when everything is rosy in their life. That is why He allows us to hurt. That is why many times He will allow you to live in pain until you realize the changes He is trying to make in you. For your sake. Kinda like the wise parents who refuse to give in to their toddler’s kicking and screaming tantrum on the floor at Walmart. Sure, it’s pretty embarrassing to be the adult in charge of a three-year-old who has decided that getting his favorite toy warrants a full blown, kick-a-hole-in-the floor screaming fit until you give in and put it in your basket. But a smart and caring adult will stand their ground and refuse to give in to manipulation. For the child’s sake. Make no mistake, tantrums simply do not get you what you want, period. From God or other people. Yes, it might happen, short term. But that is only the result of you using manipulation. And the results of that kind of living never give you what you are truly needing. Because you have not had to make any changes inside. And therefore, you will find yourself wanting more and more. And having to throw more tantrums. And ending up losing relationships because of it. That is why tantrums cause you to lose more than you could ever gain. You are better off trying to figure out what God is wanting from you. And letting Him make those changes He knows you are needing. Because learning to not throw tantrums is not the only part of learning to accept the painful parts of living.  Allowing your Creator to shape you as He sees fit is another huge chunk in learning to function as a real adult. Sure, complaining, griping and refusing to accept changes is a part of our human nature. Just not a smart part.

Ray Heard April 7, 1929 - December 2, 2025 96 Years of Age Mr. Ray Heard, age 96, went to heaven on December 2. 2025.  He was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Frankie Ruth Aldridge Heard.  Together they spent most of their lives serving their community, family, and even strangers who became friends. Mr. Heard was born in Phoenix, MS, later moving to Oil City and graduating from Anding High School in Bentonia.  He attended Mississippi College where he was a pitcher on the baseball team.  After serving in the US Army from 1953 – 1955, he returned to Bolton, MS, married, and went to work for Sperry Vickers, where he worked for 33 years.  However, his real work joy came from his side job of raising cows and gardens on his small farm in Bolton.  Born in 1929, he learned to hunt, and loved to hunt anything just to be outdoors.   His favorite was quail hunting in the days when quail were more abundant.  Some of his community service included serving as a Deacon at the Bolton Baptist Church for 58 years, and many of those years he also taught youth Sunday school classes.  His love of baseball (big Atlanta Braves fan) led him to coach the Bolton Little League teams for 16 years.  His traveling with Frankie was focused on anything and everything their grandchildren were involved in. Along with Frankie, he is preceded in death by his parents, Verona and Chester Heard; and sisters, Miriam Watts, Barbara Patterson, and Audrey Faye Heard.  Survivors include, son, Steven (Lisa), grandson, Austin (Deanne) and great grandchildren, Jackson and Callie, grandson, Brandon (Chelsea) and great grandchildren, Paxton and Beckham; son, Michael (Kate), grandson, Andrew (Mimi) and great grandchildren, Carson and Shields, grandson, Sykes (Laura), great grandson, Saunders, and another on the way! Visitation will be at Wright & Ferguson Funeral Home in Clinton, MS on Monday, December 8, 2025 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, and funeral service in the chapel there at 12:00 pm; followed by burial in Bolton Cemetery in Bolton, MS. Memorials may be made to the Bolton Baptist Church or St. Jude Children’s Hospital. To send a flower arrangement in memory of Ray Heard , please click here to visit our sympathy store .

By: Bob Garver   Poster credit IMDB               2016 was a great year for animation. Disney gave the world a new musical masterwork in “Moana.” Pixar had its biggest hit up to that point in “Finding Dory.” Even underdog Laika came out with cult classic “Kubo and the Two Strings.” But the winner of the Best Animated Feature Oscar that year wasn’t any of those films (“Finding Dory” wasn’t even nominated), it was another Disney movie, “Zootopia.” It wasn’t a terribly controversial choice either, with critics and audiences alike praising the film for its more-thoughtful-than-usual look at race relations, symbolized as relations between various species of animals, though usually taking the form of predators vs. prey. The film was so successful, funny, and poignant that at time I advised Disney to add a whole Zootopia section to their Animal Kingdom theme park. To date, the property has only gotten a single attraction – a 3D movie in the park’s Tree of Life – but it’s in a key location. Anyway, here’s a look at the less-poignant sequel.             Following the events of the first “Zootopia,” bunny police officer Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) was hailed as a hero, along with her unlikely ally, former con-artist fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman). Now the two are both officially cops, and partnered together as a mismatched-on-paper duo that Judy is determined to turn into the superstars of the station. She decides that the best way for the team to make its mark is to bust a smuggling operation without consulting buffalo police chief Bogo (Idris Elba) or even Nick. Poor communication turns the desired bust into, well, a bust, and Judy and Nick soon find themselves at the bottom of the department’s figurative food chain.             Nick wants to wait patiently to get out of the (again, figurative) doghouse, but Judy wants to turn things around immediately, so she doubles down and drags Nick into another unauthorized mission, this time to protect the theft of a book that details how the weather accommodates all the animals in Zootopia. The book belongs to the powerful Lynxley family (of lynxes, naturally), and patriarch Milton (David Strathairn) has graciously decided to display the book at a fancy gala, where Judy interacts with his son Pawbert (Andy Samberg), the most charmingly awkward runt of a family since Hans from “Frozen.”             The book does indeed get stolen by Gary (Ke Huy Quan), a venomous snake. This is a big deal for the city, as for all its supposed inclusivity, reptiles, especially snakes, have been banished from Zootopia for the last century. Judy and Nick naturally want to stop Gary, but there’s more to the story than a simple book theft. If Gary can just use the book for its intended purpose, he can end the reptile ban and make life better for himself, his family, and his whole class of animals. But the city at large, including the Lynxleys and stallion mayor Winddancer (Patrick Warburton), are more interested in protecting the accepted truth than the actual one. Judy and Nick have to rely on unconventional resources like beaver conspiracy theorist Nibbles Maplestick (Fortune Feimster), all while questioning if they really belong as partners after all.             “Zootopia 2” is a fine movie, if missing some of the magic of the first. A few too many gags take the form of terrible puns or played-out schtick, but there are more than enough funny jokes to balance them out. What really dinged the film for me was the idea of the acceptance of the reptilian race hinging on a single piece of information. The Zootopia of the first movie was too complex to rely on outdated concepts like “banishment.” Prejudice, sure, maybe mistreatment, but not black-and-white banishment. Oversimplified shortcuts like these are why this film can’t measure up to its predecessor. Then again, the worldbuilding is still creative and the chemistry among the cast still sharp. It’s a movie that I’m happy to recommend, but as with last year’s “Moana 2,” that happiness is somewhat dulled by remembering the heights that the franchise reached before. Grade: B- “Zootopia 2” is rated PG for action/violence and rude humor. Its running time is 108 minutes. Contact Bob Garver at  rrg251@nyu.edu .