TIM PRATT

A gathering of some of Starkville’s most environmentally conscious minds took place Thursday at Mississippi State University as the 40th anniversary of Earth Day was celebrated around campus.

A percussion ensemble played on the edge of the drill field while a group of Mississippi State students played Frisbee nearby. On Old Main Plaza, between the Colvard Student Union and State Fountain Bakery, children climbed in a tree as their parents sat in the shade, and more than a dozen organizations set up information tables on the edge of the walkway.

The Mississippi Forestry Association and Mississippi State’s Landscape Architecture Department handed out free saplings, while Green Starkville, the Sierra Club and Starkville In Motion gave out information and encouraged students to join. Representatives from BluBox, a division of Triangle Maintenance Service, allowed people to sign up for curbside recycling pickup while about a dozen other organizations talked to passersby.

“Today we are taking a moment to recognize the importance of our environment, energy conservation and the challenges we face as citizens,” MSU President Mark Keenum said during an address to the dozens of students, staff and city officials who gathered around the plaza.

It was part of a weeklong series of events on campus and around town celebrating Earth Day and the sustainability movement as a whole.

City, county and MSU officials on Monday held a groundbreaking at the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum, where students from the university’s Landscape Architecture Department are building a series of self-sustaining gardens using storm runoff to water the plants.

On Tuesday, the Tennessee Valley Authority held a demonstration on thermal energy and energy efficiency.

Mississippi State students on Wednesday planted about 1,000 trees on the north side of campus as part of a reforestation effort.

As part of the Earth Day celebration Thursday, Dumas announced a new initiative, dubbed ECO POW, which will offer a framework and guidelines for MSU departments looking to join in the sustainability effort.

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SPECIAL TO THE DISPATCH

Exhibits, information, speakers, music and more are on the agenda for Mississippi State University’s ECO Week and Earth Day celebration April 19-23.

All of the events on the Starkville campus are free and open to the local community.

“We are looking forward to an outstanding lineup of great speakers and activities throughout the week,” said Jeremiah Dumas, the director of the MSU Environmental Collaborative Office. “We also plan on making several exciting announcements about the university’s sustainability efforts during the Earth Day Fair April 22.”

The Earth Day Fair on Old Main Plaza between Colvard Student Union and Perry Cafeteria will feature a wide range of exhibitors, including student organizations, local nonprofits and businesses, sharing information about their environmental programs, responsible stewardship of natural resources and emerging “green” trends.

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MSU program invites your town reps to ‘Your Town’ training

The Bleacher Report, a sports website, just released their ranking of best pre/post game college towns. Starkville made the cut (along with Oxford). They really, really liked the Starkville Community Market.

DISPATCH STAFF REPORT

A Mississippi State University student profiled in the Monday edition of The Dispatch was the victim of a burglary Tuesday night at his home in Starkville.

Wyn Dawson, 25, arrived home at the corner of Fellowship and Hogan streets Tuesday shortly after 10:30 p.m. to find his apartment door pried open, the frame in pieces and approximately $2,500 worth of electronics missing, he said. Among the items taken were a television, computer equipment, a camera and an alarm clock, Dawson said. An Apple computer taken from the apartment was less than two weeks old.

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TIM PRATT

STARKVILLE — As Mississippi State University student Wyn Dawson walked along the Trail of Big Trees this weekend in the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a female Red-cockaded Woodpecker tapping determinedly on a nearby tree.

The 25-year-old Tunica native halted, scanned the green canopy above and quickly located the bird. He then lifted his camera to his eye and focused on the Woodpecker for nearly 10 minutes as it first searched for bugs in one tree, then moved to another.

Dawson filmed silently, then continued his stroll down the trail, where he encountered a snake on a sun-drenched bank. He stopped and filmed the dark brown reptile from several angles, just as he did the Woodpecker, making sure not to disturb it in its natural habitat.

In what has become a typical day in the life of the aspiring musician and filmmaker, Dawson returned to his home in Starkville that afternoon and added his own music to the videos.

What are you studying here at Mississippi State?

I’m in the College of Arts and Sciences, under communication. My major is journalism and broadcasting.

What are you looking to do career-wise?

Career-wise, I’d like to get in to the film industry. My favorite thing to do is probably shoot wildlife. I’d like to do some documentary work. I’m looking more to run a camera than anything else. I do like writing and stuff too. I had a job at The Reflector (Mississippi State University’s student newspaper) for a little while because I was at one point looking to work at a newspaper. I still might eventually do that, but my main focus is really going to be on video.

When you say wildlife stuff, are you talking about possibly working with National Geographic or getting a job like that?

Yeah, working somewhere where I get to travel around to different places is what I would like to do.

What is it about that kind of job that appeals to you?

Always moving around, always being out, finding different things. It’s not so much sitting in the office. I like to be out in the field, as they say. I like doing in-field work.

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SPECIAL TO THE DISPATCH

STARKVILLE — Mahnaz Wahidi has been given a chance to achieve her educational dreams through a local scholarship fund.

The Women’s Continuing Education Scholarship Fund was established in May 2009 by Alison Buehler to provide scholarships to women who are pursuing education, career training and courses to improve their job marketability.

While volunteer teaching basic education classes to adults, Buehler noticed the frustration and red tape women had to endure to receive even the smallest amount of assistance to further their education and training.

“We are passionate about helping women improve their lives,” said Buehler, “so we created a Scholarship Fund with the Greater PineBelt Community Foundation which enabled us to establish the criteria we wanted and allowed us to keep the decisions local.”

The scholarship will allow Wahidi to take a special class to learn English as a second language through Mississippi State University. Wahidi, a native of Kuwait, is a mother of three teen-age children.

“This opportunity allows me to learn how to read, write and speak English. I can ask questions and ask for more help if I need it. Without this, I would have to learn English on my own,” said Wahidi. “I plan to get my GED, so I can get a job and continue to go to MSU for a four year degree; I want a good life for me and my children. I am appreciative of this scholarship.”

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TIM PRATT

STARKVILLE — Improvements could be on the way to Mississippi State University’s Raspet Flight Research Laboratory and the surrounding infrastructure thanks to a joint effort between the city of Starkville, Oktibbeha County, MSU and the Greater Starkville Development Partnership.

The entities are joining together to request federal funding to repair and resurface Airport Road, where the Raspet Flight Research Laboratory and George Bryan Field are located, on the west side of town. The funds also would be used to build a new access road more than 200 yards from Highway 25 to a new western entrance to George Bryan Field.

“Doing so will open up land for possible aerospace industry development, as well as improved services to industries in our area,” Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum said of the proposed access road.

The road projects are budgeted at $800,000.

Local officials also plan to request federal funding for improvements to equipment at the Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, they announced at a press conference at the facility, Wednesday.

One equipment item of significant importance is the autoclave, which, at 10 feet wide and 55 feet long, requires an upgrade and certification to efficiently manufacture parts for both manned and unmanned aircraft.

The improvements to the Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, budgeted at $500,000, and surrounding infrastructure are the result of a community roundtable meeting last month between the city, county, MSU and GSDP.

“This is an example of our city, our county, our business community and our university joining together to advance economic opportunities for Starkville, Oktibbeha County and Mississippi State University,” Keenum said.

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DAVID MILLER

Mississippi State University Athletic Director Greg Byrne, who announced Monday he’ll be leaving the school for Arizona State University, will be on board in Starkville until late April as the MSU begins a search for his replacement.

It is unclear whether Byrne, who enjoyed a successful yet brief stint as MSU’s athletics chief after taking over for Larry Templeton in 2008, will assist or recommend potential successors to MSU President Mark Keenum, who hasn’t named any candidates for the job.

MSU will be looking for its third athletic director in three years after Byrne, 38, informed his staff Monday that he’d be heading west to take the same position at Arizona.

The lure to Tucson proved too good to pass up for Byrne, who received his undergraduate degree from Arizona State in 1994 and had grown up in Eugene, Ore.

Despite the significant pay increase from $302,500 to $390,000 for the Arizona job, Byrne said the move was a family decision in a news release Monday. Byrne’s new salary was first reported by the Arizona Daily Star.

UA president Robert Shelton said Byrne could make more than his $390,000 base salary with academic and athletic incentives.

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DAVID MILLER

STARKVILLE — Talk about a case of the Mondays.

An early a.m. news release from Mississippi State University announced Director of Athletics Greg Byrne will take the same position at the University of Arizona.

Byrne, who will be announced Wednesday in Tucson, Ariz., informed the athletic department staff Monday morning but spoke to head football coach Dan Mullen prior to the meeting. Mullen said Byrne was “emotional” during that conversation.

Through a prepared release through the school, Byrne, who will be on board in Starkville until April, said he had a “heavy heart” letting everyone affiliated with Mississippi State know of his departure.

No decision has been made about a replacement.

“As we have discussed many times, intercollegiate athletics is a very emotional industry,” his release read. “It is why all of us are so invested in this business, whether it is as administrators, coaches, student-athletes, or fans. We all have strong feelings about what happens here. My emotions today range from the highest highs to the lowest lows. While I am excited about a new opportunity, I am heartbroken to be leaving a lot of friends.”

Nevertheless, Byrne takes over an Arizona job that will give him roughly $12 million more in athletics budget to work with each season. But Byrne, who originally came to MSU as the director of the Bulldog Club, said the move West was largely a family decision.

Byrne grew up in Eugene, Ore., where his father, current Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrne, was the University of Oregon athletic director from 1983-92. Greg Byrne also worked at the Oregon as a fundraiser for the Duck Club.

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