RIPLEY, Miss. — The last three days brought Tippah County its largest health care investment in years, a heat advisory that will not let go until Tuesday evening, and a milestone for the county's winningest football coach. Here is what happened across Tippah, Alcorn and Union counties from Friday through Monday.
Tippah County lands $1.07 million for rural health
Tippah County providers were awarded a combined $1,067,900 in the first round of the Mississippi Rural Health Transformation Program, Tippah News reported after Gov. Tate Reeves announced the awards Monday in Jackson.
Tippah County Hospital accounted for $551,300 of that across two grants: $151,300 for technology modernization and cybersecurity, and $400,000 to put in a cloud-based enterprise resource planning system. Fast Pace Mississippi received $516,600 for electronic health record and IT modernization.
The county's share came out of a much larger pot. The state distributed $104,115,146 across 167 grants in this first round, drawn from a $205.9 million first-year budget for what is planned as a five-year effort to change how rural Mississippians reach care.
More money is still in play. Applications covering workforce and psychiatric emergency services remain under review, with decisions expected in 30 to 45 days, and additional funding opportunities are scheduled to open in October.
Heat advisory holds through Tuesday evening
The National Weather Service office in Memphis has Tippah County under a heat advisory that runs from 11 a.m. Monday through 7 p.m. Tuesday, with the heat index expected to reach 109 degrees. The advisory reaches across North Mississippi, West Tennessee, East Arkansas and southeast Missouri, and Alcorn County is under the same warning.
That matters for anyone headed to a ballgame this week. Volleyball is indoors, but the county's cross country teams are running outdoors, and several of the week's fundraisers are open-air.
Football: Meeks reaches 90 wins as Walnut upsets Holly Springs
Walnut went to Holly Springs on Friday night and came home with a 22-14 win over a team that had not lost yet, moving the Wildcats to 2-1. The win was the 90th of John Meeks' career, all of them at Walnut, according to Tippah County Sports. He passed the county record earlier this season with his 89th, against First Assembly Christian. It is also the second year running that Walnut has beaten Holly Springs.
The rest of the county had a harder Friday. Ripley lost 42-7 at Lewisburg, trailing 42-0 at the half before scoring in the fourth quarter, and dropped to 1-2. Falkner fell 41-6 to Bruce, which stayed unbeaten at 3-0, leaving the Eagles at 1-2 as well.
Both Tippah teams are back out Friday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.: Walnut travels to Alcorn Central and Ripley hosts East Webster. Falkner's homecoming against East Union follows on Sept. 25.
Volleyball: Pine Grove draws an unbeaten East Union
Monday night put all four Tippah County volleyball programs on the floor, with the toughest draw going to Pine Grove. The Panthers, 13-9, hosted East Union at 6:30 p.m. — a team that came in 23-0. Pine Grove lost the earlier meeting 2-0 back on Aug. 8, though the Panthers arrived off a five-set win over Falkner.
Elsewhere Monday, Ripley played at Kossuth and Falkner at New Site, both at 6 p.m., while Walnut hosted Baldwyn at 6:30. Walnut sits at 19-4 overall and 3-0 in district play, with Baldwyn the next district test.
Cross country: Massengill leading Ripley's girls
Ripley senior Jenna-Lynne Massengill has finished first among Ripley's girls in all three meets so far this season, Tippah County Sports reported. She opened with a personal best 21:48.67 for fifth place at the Myrtle Invitational on Aug. 22, then ran 21:57.9 at the NMPHC Cross Country Classic in New Albany on Aug. 29, good for 11th out of 153 finishers in the Class 4A-7A varsity girls race. At the Tupelo Invitational on Sept. 12 she took sixth among 85 runners in the 1A-4A girls field, in 23:03.10.
County runners are back out Saturday, Sept. 19. Blue Mountain, Pine Grove and Walnut go to the Ingomar Invitational at New Albany, with varsity girls off around 9 a.m. and boys at 9:30. Ripley runs at the Saltillo Invitational that evening, girls at 5 p.m. and boys at 5:45. Falkner runs Topper Trails at Blue Mountain on Sept. 24.
At the college level, Blue Mountain Christian's volleyball team dropped two matches at a Kentucky tournament against Cumberlands and Lindsey Wilson, while the men's soccer team drew with Point in Southern States Athletic Conference play.
Around the region
Waterfowl draw hunts. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks opens its waterfowl WMA draw application period Oct. 1 and closes it Oct. 15. The process changed this year with the state's new license system, so hunters without an account should register before applying at mdwfp.com.
Adult education. Northeast Mississippi Community College marked Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, highlighting high school equivalency preparation, career pathway programs and English language instruction. Mississippi Adult Education served more than 7,000 learners statewide in the past program year. NEMCC President Dr. Ricky Ford described the programs as a bridge for people facing hard stretches in life.
Union County. Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County recognized its neonatal nurses during Neonatal Nurse Recognition Week. The Union County School District spent the week on a servant leadership theme, and New Albany High School's faculty spotlight went to custodian John Parks.
Hunters, take note
Tippah County remains inside Mississippi's chronic wasting disease management zone for the 2026-27 season. Supplemental feeding is prohibited countywide, and whole deer carcasses may not be carried outside the zone. Deboned meat, antlers and cleaned skulls may be transported out.
On the calendar
- Tuesday, Sept. 15 — Tippah County Board of Supervisors, 10 a.m., 101 E. Spring St., Ripley
- Friday, Sept. 18 — Top Notch Pro Wrestling at Blue Mountain, $10 admission
- Saturday, Sept. 19 — Community yard sale in Blue Mountain, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Thursday, Sept. 25 — Ripley Fire Department barbecue fundraiser
- Oct. 2-3 — Hines Farm Hopewell St. Jude Benefit Trail Ride
- Saturday, Oct. 3 — Oktoberfest in Ripley, plus the Kids Fall Farmers Market
- Saturday, Oct. 24 — Three Forks Fire Department fish fry
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