Black Friday Madness 2014, New Albany, MS

Black Friday is an event celebrated in the United States the day before, during, or after Thanksgiving.

Many crowds gather to their local retail stores to get the best deals for their holiday shopping. Although, the idea is to get the best deals, the crowd can be overwhelming.

Each year, the event is known to have its fair share of fights and disagreements for items such as TVs, computers, clothes, and toys. Even though the event is associated with wild fights and uncontrollable customers, the employees have had different experiences. This year seemed to be a calm year for employees, with little to no disagreements during the event.

New Albany Walmart employee Kristin Walker, and former employee Tiffany Blake have experienced the Black Friday crowd first hand.

"I worked during Black Friday a few years back, and it was crazy. I witnessed my first fight, and it wasn't the best experience for me," said Blake.

Since then Blake says she would rather do her shopping online because it cuts the time in half, and she does not have to worry about long lines and a big crowd.

"It is amazing to see how many people come out to shop at one time, it's one of the busiest days I have worked," she said.

Kristin Walker had a different experience.

"I loved it, it was something I have never experienced before. I heard all of the stories about working during Black Friday, and I was expecting fights to break out as soon as it was time to start," said Walker.

The New Albany Walmart Franchise had no comment on how they prepared their employees for the event, but employees seem to believe it was a success.

"It was a rush, and I have to admit it did get pretty wild, but nothing happened that couldn't be handled. I think we all did a good job," said Walker.

For more on the story click here.

Are Stores Opening Too Early on Black Friday?

     Ever since the beginning of Black Friday, retail stores have been opening in the early hours of the morning the day after Thanksgiving.  The purpose of this day is to begin the holiday shopping season as well as help stores create a profit.  That's why the word "black" is used for Black Friday.  Back when retail stores kept track of accounts by hand, red ink was used to indicate a loss while black ink was used to mark a profit.

   
     Those who shop on Black Friday enjoy taking advantage of the lowered prices of what would usually be expensive items. Anticipation for such sales cause large crowds to wait outside stores for hours in order to get the sale they want.  Recently, some stores have tried opening earlier to avoid such a rush.  However, the rush of customers still comes which have caused stores to start their Black Friday sales earlier and earlier.  With some stores beginning their Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day, some shoppers have become concerned for employees unable to spend time with their families due to Black Friday hours.

Lead Singer and Guitarist of Oxford, MS Local Band Gives His Last Performance

Thacker Mountain Radio is a live radio show broadcasted every Thursday at 6p.m. from Oxford, Mississippi during the spring and the fall. The show features a literature reading by an author as well as a guest band following the performance from the Yalobushwackers, the house band. The show began in 1997 called “Words and Music” and was held at an Oxford bar, now known as the Burgundy Room. Off Square Books now hosts the show, and Mississippi Public Radio has broadcasted it since 2001. Hosted by Jim Dees, the show is free and open to the public, and airs again on the following Saturday night at 7p.m. on radio and online.

Jake performs with the Yalobushwackers
at Thacker Mountain.

Thacker Mountain Radio has had multiple vibrantly talented artists and authors on the show over the past few years. The Yalobushwackers consists of four band members including guitarist and lead singer Jake Fussell; drummer Wallace Lester; multi-instrumentalist Slade Lewis; and pianist Mark Yacovone. November 20^th was the last show for the 2014 year, and Thacker Mountain will return in February. However, this year’s final show was particularly sentimental for guitarist and lead singer Jake Fussell. For more on that story, click here.

The Night Show with Morgan Taylor Nicholson on Q107.3 Columbus, GA

Photo By: Maggie McDaniel 

Nicholson playing around in her sound booth during her show. 

Morgan Taylor Nicholson is a normal 20-year-old college girl who started her own radio night show almost two years ago. Nicholson's show is on every night from 7pm-11pm on the WCGQ 107.3
in Columbus, GA. 

Nicholson started doing radio as a project her senior year of high school. The project consisted of learning something new and presenting progress to classmates throughout the school year. Students were also to have a mentor who specialized in the project they chose. Nicholson's mentor was Dave Arwood the daytime talk show host for the radio station Q 107.3. Arwood never allowed Nicholson to be on live radio, instead he taught her different phases of radio, and had her pass out bumper stickers at the stations events. Nicholson never thought she was going to make it on radio after having to pass out bumper stickers that no one wanted.

After a year of learning about radio, passing out bumper stickers, and trying to show her mentor she was passionate about radio, Arwood offered Nicholson a position at the radio station hosting the night show. Nicholson never saw this opportunity coming, but she took the position with no hesitation.

Today Nicholson is still in shock at the opportunity she was given to have her own radio show at such a young age. Everyday she is learning something new and hopes that one day she will have her own radio show in a big city for the world to hear.

Video by: Maggie McDaniel 

Nicholson hosting The Night Show

Acoustic Workshop- Shane Bridges & Josh Carson, Students to Superstars, 20 years later

Acoustic Workshop playing in their 20th reunion anniversary show on
Saturday, November 29th in Macon, Ga at the Cox Capitol Theatre. 

As two young college students, Shane Bridges and Josh Carson did not expect their duo to turn into a successful band.

There was something different about the two Valdosta State University students, they were determined to make something out of their musical talents.

In November of 1994, during Thanksgiving break, both Shane and Josh traveled back to Macon, Ga, to spend time with their family for the holidays. During this week, the two recruited Brad Sorrell to play drums and Charles Gaston to play bass on their first CD "Rage." The CD was recorded at Phoenix Sound, formerly known as Capricorn Studios.

As soon as "Rage" was released the duo would become a band by the name, Acoustic Workshop. The young college students were on a whole new level.  They turned into a college sensation over night, playing 200 plus shows a year.

A couple of years later in 1996, the band went on to record another CD, "Strange Addition." Acoustic Workshop had an even stronger following of fans now, especially in the southeastern states.

Being on the road all the time got to be a little much, so the two decided to call it quits.  No hurt feelings, both Shane and Josh were still close friends.  They both began to write their own music, and decided against traveling and playing shows every weekend.

Today, the two still have die hard fans who have encouraged them to have an Acoustic Workshop reunion show every year the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  This year, was a big one.  On Saturday, November 29th, Acoustic Workshop played their 20th anniversary reunion show at the Cox Capitol Theatre.

To see the full story, click here.

The 2014 Egg Bowl Unites The State Of Mississippi

Mississippians have waited months for the highly anticipated Egg Bowl between Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The Rebels and Bulldogs are currently having great seasons as they were both ranked in the top 3 in the AP Top 25 Poll for three weeks in a row in October. The national spotlight has taken notice of the winning football taken place in the state of Mississippi as both Ole Miss and Mississippi State were featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated: The Magazine. 

Coming into the 2014 Egg Bowl, Ole Miss and Mississippi State have combined for a total of 18 wins, which is the most at the time in the 111-year history of the matchup. The 2014 Egg Bowl not only features two nationally-ranked opponents, but it also spotlights two universities that have benefited from their team's strong play on the gridiron. With this information, this year's Egg Bowl shaped up to be one of the most anticipated games in the history of the rivalry. Who won the 2014 Egg Bowl? Check out this video video by Browning Stubbs for that answer.

One Big Week Promotes Mississippi's Biggest Student Service Project

A student picks up trash along Mississippi Highway 7 
as part of the Ole Miss Big Event on Saturday.

This years Big Event looks to break record enrollment numbers while serving the community with multiple service projects all in one day.


This is the university’s fifth year to have a day dedicated to community service. The Big Event committee organized the various service projects that ranged from helping Oxford residents with their yards and working in the community garden to working with the Oxford Humane Society.


One Big Week was held in the Student Union Plaza this past school week and the Big Event Committee took the opportunity to sign up new students and spread information about the day through item give aways and a photo booth with the big Event logo plastered on the background.


A total of 1,700 students participated in 213 projects as part of the Big Event last year. This years Big Event will be held on March 28th, 2014.