Archives January 2026

by “Stretch” DeTrooth

U.S. soccer fans are excited about the 2026 Men’s World Cup. The U.S. National Team is guaranteed to qualify since we’re hosting, and they’re poised for another letdown in the group stage. The U.S., Canada, and Mexico are the host countries, and many of the games will be played in the U.S. The games will be played in large U.S. cities like Seattle, New York, Los Angeles, and Boston. However, FIFA has to choose a few alternate sites in case of a natural disaster, riots, or other unforeseen events.

FIFA announced on Monday that Jackson, MS and Veterans Memorial Stadium (The Vet) was chosen as an alternate site. FIFA spokesperson Jean Claude St. Pierre said, “We are pleased to announce Jackson, MS and their historic iconic stadium as alternate site. It’s hosted many incredible high school and college football games, many historic events such as the Billy Graham Crusade in 1975, and even ESPN’s College Gameday in 2022. World Cup soccer fixtures could be added to the list.”

It’s very unlikely any games will be played at Veterans Memorial Stadium, but the stadium’s crew will have to make preparations just in case they’re called on.

Mississippi Soccer Federation (MSF) President Pele Mbappe said, “MS soccer fans would love to host a World Cup game at The Vet. That would be epic. We gotta be ready. You never know when they may have an earthquake in Los Angeles or Seattle. We’re going to help the crew at The Vet prepare just in case.”

Mississippians are surprised by The Vet being chosen as an alternate site. One man said, “I’ve seen some awesome games at that place. I’ve seen Egg Bowls, Ross Barnett, Bear Bryant, Coach Prime and more. But, Veterans Memorial Stadium?! Really?! They better have a lot of security on stand by. And, who would be playing? Cape Verde and Belgium or Czechoslovakia and Paraguay? I know we wouldn’t get the U.S. team. FIFA obviously didn’t do their homework.”

Another person said, “I had to Google the World Cup because I didn’t know what it was. I thought it was some kind of car race. Why do they call their games fixtures? I guess it would be cool to host a game here. I doubt I would go because I really don’t know anything about soccer. I think it’s a Communist sport.”

Again, it’s highly unlikely we’ll host a World Cup match, but you never know.

by Ima Phibber

The Valley Cable Company (VCC) has been around for 42 years, but they have really struggled recently. Just about everyone has cut the cord and gone to streaming, and it has really hurt VCC. Even though it seems everyone is cutting the cord and streaming these day, it’s not without some issues. The main issues with streaming and cutting the cord are the cost and fragmentation. We were told it was going to be much cheaper and better. Now, it seems we all pay for 5 plus streaming platforms, and it has gotten expensive. And, we have difficulties being able to watch what we want to watch.

VCC CEO Larry Kabelgye said, “We were about to shut the doors of VCC for good. We’ve been struggling for a while now; we were down to just a couple hundred subscribers. Most of them are old folks that don’t know anything about streaming. We were running with a skeleton crew of only 3 loyal employees. But, these streaming companies got greedy. People are now spending much more on multiple streaming platforms than they were spending on cable 15 years ago. Family budgets are tight, and they’re looking to save money. We ran a last-ditch ad campaign to try to attract more subscribers, and it worked. It saved our company.”

VCC’s ad campaign is called “Reconnect the Cord.” They ran the ads on Facebook, Instagram, Roku TV, the radio, and the local newspaper. Kabelgye said, “Facebook messages and calls started coming in immediately after the ad campaign started. We knew that we were onto something. It’s like people had forgotten about cable, but I guess some young folks have never had cable. The price of $54.99 per month is the main draw; it’s not our lineup of 33 channels.”

The recent uptick in business has forced to VCC to have to hire three new technicians and one new office worker, and the company now has positive cash flow. It’s amazing to see a dead-in-the-water old company to have a resurgence like they have. They think they can continue this growth for months to come as streaming gets more costly and fragmented.

VCC only has one basic package for $54.99 per month, and it includes all the local channels and the major channels like ESPN, FoxNews, and more. The simplicity and low cost is a big draw.

One new customer said, “I didn’t know that I was paying for 9 streaming services, and I really only watch a couple- Netflix and Hulu. All these streaming services were costing me $155 per month. I’m gonna keep Netflix, but I’m gonna get rid of all the others. I’m gonna be able to save about $85 per month by going back to cable. Plus, I only watch FoxNews and ESPN anyway. I gotta watch my ball games, Laura, and Sean, so I really don’t need all the other channels.”

Kabelgye added, “This growth is crazy. I thought we were done; I thought you could stick a fork in us. I was looking into getting a job with Doordash or Wal-Mart, but now we’ve been able to increase my pay some with all the new business. We’re looking forward to the continued growth.”

This is a great turnaround story, but it unfortunately it ends on a sour note. Starting next month, VCC will be increasing their monthly rate to $59.99. Kabelgye said he hates to do it, but it needed to be done. He promised subscribers won’t see another increase in 2026.

by Emma Embellischer

Riverbend Roastery has been a fixture in Strong River Bend (SRB) for about 15 years now. They are busy every weekday morning as commuters stop and get their coffee drinks on their way to work. They’ve built a great reputation in the community, and their customers absolutely love them. Owner, Jo Lahtaye, does a lot for the community, and she is beloved by SRB’s residents.

However, she and her coffee shop have recently come under fire for their hiring practices. Lahtaye said, “I have a good bit of turnover, because I hire a lot of teenagers. Most of them can only work in the mornings or after school. I do have a few people in their 20s that work part-time, but I’m always having to hire new people. It’s not ideal, but it’s the way it is in this business.”

Recently, Lahtaye has gotten blasted on social media for her hiring practices. She had two applicants that did not get hired, and they did not take it well. They both took to social media and blasted Riverbend Roastery and Lahtaye. Most people came to the defense of Lahtaye and her shop, but some vowed to boycott Riverbend Roastery.

Lahtaye said, “Look, I have a written established policy about the appearance of my workers. You cannot have blue, green, or pink hair or excessive body piercings. I can tolerate purple hair, but you gotta watch the blue, green, and pink ones. I’m cool with tattoos; you can have as many as you want. Both of these ladies would not have been in compliance with my policy. One had blue hair and multiple lip piercings, and the other had green hair and excessive nose piercings. I told them both that if they made changes to comply with the policy, they would probably be hired. But, they had no interest in making changes, so they didn’t get hired. It’s pretty cut and dry.”

Lahtaye added, “I know that blue and green hair and piercings are a part of barista culture, but I’m not down with it. I’m gonna take the high road. They can blast us all they want, but we’re just wanna make good coffee and serve our customers.”

One person on Facebook posted, “This is grounds for a class action lawsuit. This is blatant discrimination and against blue and green haired persons. I will never step foot in Riverbend Roastery again. It’s time for a boycott!”

One Riverbend Roastery customer posted, “The blue hair brigade is out in full force over this crap. It’s so stupid. If you don’t like it, don’t dye your hair you morons. I think this is only going to help Jo and her business even more. I know I’m gonna stop by even more to support them. Jump in a lake blue hair brigade!”

Lahtaye told me that this has indeed helped her business. She added that she’s having a lot of new customers that have said they’re coming in to support her because she was blasted online. This proves that in many instances the vocal minority are indeed a minority.

by Ben BeEssen

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve noticed a trend among homeowners in and around The Valley recently. Everyone is painting their brick houses white. It’s a very popular trend right now. You’re seeing it with new brick homes, and you’re seeing it with older brick homes. It seems like everyone wants a white house.

Valley Grove was one of the first subdivisions in Valley County. It was built about 15 years ago, and it’s still a nice neighborhood. All the homes are brick, and every home in the neighborhood has been painted white except one. Gary Plaine has managed to stand out by doing nothing. Plaine has refused to paint his house.

Plaine said, “I know my house sticks out like a sore thumb, but I really don’t care. My red brick looks great; there’s no need to paint over it. Why spend thousands to paint over some pretty red brick? I don’t get it. I can hear my mom now. If everyone jumped off a bridge? Would you jump off too? Mom would be proud. I haven’t jumped.”

Plaine is not happy because he was recently fined by the Valley Grove HOA for not being compliant with their policy of uniformity. The HOA fined him $100 for his home not being “uniform.” Plaine said, “My house was uniform when it was built. I didn’t change anything. Everybody else changed and painted their stupid houses white. I’m not paying a dime to the HOA. I guess everyone should pitch in a few dollars to pay my fine, because they caused me to be fined.”

One Valley Grove resident said, “Gary is a good guy, but he’s always been a contrarian. I went to high school with him. Us guys grew our hair long, but Gary kept his short. We all started wearing long shorts, but Gary kept his short shorts. That’s just how he is.”

Another Valley Grove resident said, “Gary needs to paint his house. I’m not gonna say it’s an eyesore, but it sure stands out. He’s complained about how no one talks to him or invites him over anymore. Well, just paint your dang house Gary and maybe people will start being nice to you again.”

Plaine added, “One positive is that my house is easy to identify. I tell delivery drivers and others to just come to the only red brick house in the neighborhood. It’s easy to find.”

Trends come and go. Who knows? Plaine’s red brick may come back in vogue soon, and he could be hip and trendy. Maybe he’d paint his house white then. We’ll see.

by Ben BeEssen

The Strong River Valley Technology Institute (SRVTI) is back at again! Their first act was creating the Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake Tracker site, and it’s helped a lot of people locate their favorite Christmas treats. Their second project should help a lot of deer hunting widows during hunting season.

Deer hunting is a way of life for many Valleyans. Many men spend their weekends at the deer camp during hunting season. So, many wives have a hard time getting projects done around the house during hunting season. It can be a big point of contention between many married couples. So, the SRVTI set out to help these deer hunting widows.

A SRVTI spokesperson said, “One of our members said his wife was not happy with him because he’s been deer hunting quite a bit. Well, there’s an issue that the SRVTI can solve. We set out to create a tool to help deer hunting widows. The site allows women to rent a husband by the day. It’s really just a site to find a handyman, and it’s a pretty neat tool.”

RENT A HUSBAND SITE

The site allows users to search for handymen based on their skills, cost, and more. It has a picture and quote for each handyman. It promises to be a very useful tool for deer hunting widows during hunting season. It also allows wives to list their husbands on the site to make extra money. Keep in mind, these handymen cannot be rented or hired by the night or by the hour if you know what I mean.