Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: What’s next for JPS after its top academic leader heads to Atlanta?

Be sure to catch 2025 XJXN Soulabration on the Jackson Patch calendar

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Tuesday December 16th Patch AM
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Hello Jackson! Stay connected with the latest updates from around town. Let's dive in! ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • What’s next for JPS after its top academic leader heads to Atlanta?
  • How a Jackson man escaped a Hair Street house fire
  • What’s changing for Jackson’s 2026 Hal’s St. Paddy’s Day parade?

Also on today's calendar: Candlelight: Christmas Classics and 2 more events.

Find out what's happening in Jacksonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

📸 Have a great pic of holiday decorations from around Jackson? Post it to Jackson photos of the day! ☃️ 🟢-🟠-🟣-🔴-🟡-🔵 ☃️

Today's riddle: Can February March? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Find out what's happening in Jacksonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Weather forecast:

  • Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high of 57 and low of 42 degrees.
  • Wednesday: Partly sunny, temps: high: 62, low: 56.
  • Thursday: Cloudy, a shower and t-storm, with a high of 70 and low of 38 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Top JPS official leaves to lead Atlanta charter school network (northsidesun.com) — Jackson Public Schools’ deputy superintendent Michael Cormack is leaving in March to lead KIPP Atlanta Schools, after helping move JPS from an F to a C rating and launching the ambitious Project 75 reading initiative. He plans to keep working on Project 75 until his departure, and district leaders say they’re committed to continuing the academic gains made under his tenure.
   

2. House fire kills 2 dogs in Jackson, man escapes (wlbt.com) — A Jackson resident escaped a house fire on Hair Street Monday night, but two dogs died and the man burned his hands trying to put out the flames. Jackson firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and fire, called in an investigator to determine the cause, and report no other injuries. The incident remains under investigation.
   

3. Route change for 2026 Hal's St. Paddy's Day parade (wapt.com) — Jackson’s 2026 Hal’s St. Paddy’s Day parade will run in reverse, starting at Court and West Streets and ending at State and Court on March 28, 2026. After past parade-area shootings, the city has banned guns at parades and prohibited glass, grills, open flames, and ATVs downtown, aiming to boost safety for participants and spectators.
   

4. Rob Reiner, who directed 'Ghosts of Mississippi,' remembered (wapt.com) — Jackson plays a central role in remembering director Rob Reiner, whose film “Ghosts of Mississippi” dramatized the Jackson murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers and was partially filmed in the city. Local journalist Jerry Mitchell recalls Reiner’s commitment to justice as authorities in Los Angeles investigate the apparent homicides of Reiner and his wife.
   

5. Man sentenced after shooting outside Waffle House (wapt.com) — A Jackson man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison, without eligibility for early release, after a Hinds County jury convicted him in a 2022 shooting outside a Waffle House on Larson Street. Two people were wounded in the incident, and prosecutors secured convictions for attempted murder, aggravated assault, and illegal gun possession.
   

📸 Around Jackson

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Jackson

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

★ Featured events ★

    Saturday December 27
  • 2025 XJXN Soulabration
    Mississippi Coliseum, Livestock Barn (Dairy), 1207 Mississippi St, Jackson
    7:00 pm

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

Other local events
    Friday December 19
  • Ballet Magnificat! Presents Light Has Come
    Jackson Preparatory School - Fortenberry Theatre , 3100 Lakeland Drive , Flowood
    7:00 pm
    • Saturday December 20
  • Candlelight: Christmas Classics
    222 North St , Jackson
    8:30 pm
    • Wednesday December 24
  • Christmas Special Menu at the Sheraton Flowood
    Sheraton Flowood Refuge Hotel & Conference Center , 115 Laurel Park Cove , Flowood
    11:00 am
    • Wednesday December 31
  • Happy Landing
    Duling Hall Live Music & Events , 622 Duling Ave Suite 206 , Jackson
    8:00 pm

📣 Jackson Shout Outs!

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🗓 Events Nearby

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • If any one sees DobbyKat please call 769-358-6833.
    He went missing on Bellevue place in Belhaven heights. I'm about to go crazy here without my baby (Nextdoor Belhaven Heights)
  • Anyone needing a plumber?
    We are a local owned business right here in hinds county (Nextdoor Fondren)
  • Mississippi Staffing posted a job opening for Program Manager - Transportation in Jackson. Apply here.
  • TJX posted a job opening for Cleaning Associate in Jackson. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Jackson here.

Ok Jackson! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I don't know, but April May!
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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