TALK JXN
JOBS know what they are getting themselves into. In other words, we’ve been more—I will dare use the words—surgical and strategic in identifying job openings.”
‘Surgical and Strategic’ The Jobs for Jacksonians coordinator said that with the strategy of hosting one company at a time this year, applicants would have a clear understanding of why they are there. “What that means is, for example, we have AutoZone, Yates Services, Brown Bottling Group,” he said. “When the public knows about that one company, they
New Way Mississippi President/CEO Larry Perry is delighted with the partnership of Jobs for Jacksonians in its re-entry program for exoffenders.
courtesy Larry Perry
are ex-prisoners, others are the homeless, recovering addicts and alcoholics. The ministry’s office is at 6510 Cole Road in Ridgeland. “When they have men and women that are being released and don’t have anywhere to go to call home, what we do is we give them the benefit of transitional housing for up to six months,” Perry said. “But the whole objective is to make sure that we give the ex-offender the opportunity to have the full service that they need in order to be successful and not go back to the prison system. They can reconnect with their family and be productive citizens in our community.” “I am just proud of that opportunity and the partnership with the mayor and the City of Jackson,” Perry added. “I think it’s going to go great places as we continue to build that relationship. I am excited about it.”
Plans include hosting Brown Bottling Group, the Ridgeland-based Pepsi Cola and Dr. Pepper Beverages distributor, on Sept. 30 at the Jackson Police Department, and Ingalls Shipbuilding, a shipyard
located in Pascagoula, in October. “On Wednesday, October 7, we will be having a virtual job fair—this is something new that we are doing here too— with Ingalls Shipbuilding off the coast,” he added. “They are one of the largest employers in the state of Mississippi.” A few months ago, the organization hosted a job fair for the City’s Parks and Recreation department to fill job openings. Isaiah Golden, 32, was a participant who benefited from the event. Golden, who holds an associate degree from Hinds Community College, described the experience with Jobs for Jacksonians as great for him. He started working for the City government last month as a golf-course attendant. “I went to one of the job fairs they had, and I filled out the application,” he said. “(What I make now) is more than what I was making in my last job.” Job Opportunities Barnett says the people he helps get job ranges from those with GED to Ph.D., and from entry-level jobs to managerial level, with varying skills. “The spectrum is across the board on what I service to the private sector,” he said. “For example, it does not matter if it is one of the largest companies in the state—like I help companies with their
In Vol. 19 issue 1, a paragraph suggested that adjectives, adverbs, grammar and syntax are unnecessary within American Sign Language. This statement was incorrect, and the paragraph in question has since been corrected. The Jackson Free Press apologizes to practitioners of ASL and other readers who may have been offended by the mistake. Additionally, on page 9 of the previous JFP issue, Bill Bynum’s name was mistakenly listed in a photo caption as “Bill Byrum.” We apologize for the errors.
workforce development needs all the way from Ingalls Shipbuilding to a mom-andpop store in west Jackson.” He said that different companies offer different pay scales for the various openings they want to fill. “Like in AutoZone, they have managerial positions; they have delivery driver positions, they have sales positions,” Barnett said. “Like with Yates Services, that’s pretty much assembly line work, (but) also managerial works.” “It depends on if the person has the particular certification to do more of a technical kind of work,” he added. “It could be that someone can get paid $12 an hour or over $20 an hour. It just depends on the job title (or) position, and the amount of skill set that person may acquire or possess, and the work experience that the person may have. “This is one of the premier workforce development programs that we gave here in Mississippi—Jobs for Jacksonians.” Email story tips to city/county reporter Kayode Crown at kayode@jacksonfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @kayodecrown.
Deploy Dark Fibers To Meet Broadband Need, Policy Makers Say in Zoom Call
Rep. Debra Gibbs, D-Jackson, organized a virtual town hall via Zoom to spotlight the serious problem of internet access.
Karriem, D-Columbus, in the last legislative session. “We allocated $50 million for the school districts, to contract, to go out on their own. The Legislature said these districts know more what their needs are, what is available in their area as far as
broadband access for these students and these schools to be able to access broadband,” Bounds explained. He projected that Mississippi will follow other states’ examples by setting up a broadband grant program while noting that broadband expansion is both expensive and time-consuming. “We will be examining and looking, this coming session, closely at a statesponsored broadband grant program,” Bounds said. “Alabama has done a program very successfully, Tennessee has done it, where the money is put into a fund and is defined that it’s got to go to the unserved areas first. Companies will apply for these dollars.” Bounds said the Legislature could decide to allow leasing of fiber to a company like AT&T, Comcast or C Spire. “(But) there are some nuances that’s got to be worked out on that,” he added. Follow @kayodecrown on Twitter.
September 30 - October 13, 2020 • jfp.ms
Scott Bounds, a Neshoba County Republican and the chairman of the House Committee on Public Utilities, also emphasized the importance of internet service. “There is nothing that is on the mind of people, especially people in the rural areas, as broadband access,” he said. “This day and time, broadband is almost as critical as electricity.” “You just hardly can function in a household without (it), especially if you have kids, especially with the situation that pandemic has created where we are having to do distance learning, where we are having to do virtual learning, where we have to work from home,” Bounds added. “The need for rural broadband access has definitely been highlighted by the pandemic.” Scott said the Legislature passed House Bill 1788—Mississippi Pandemic Response Broadband Availability Act— which he co-sponsored with Rep. Kabir
Imani Khayyam
D
eploying unused fiber optics already in the ground may bridge the digital divide in Mississippi, guests at a virtual town hall organized by Rep. Debra Gibbs, D-Jackson, said. The state legislator said she organized the event to proffer solutions to internet access problems because they affect the state’s progress. “We are working to ensure that our children and families have access to reliable service as it relates to the internet,” she said. “The pandemic was not something that we made, but it did put a light on the fact that we have people in our state, in our district that do not have access to the internet,” Gibbs added. “So as policymakers, I know we are going to continue to do our part. Hopefully, we are going to get internet service providers to work with us with viable solutions so that our (constituents) don’t feel like we are just talking in that regard.”
wby Kayode Crown
9
