The Sunflower County Consolidated School District has moved its Friday night Gentry High School homecoming game to Friday afternoon at 2 p.m.
The homecoming parage will take place at 10 a.m. instead of 4 p.m., and tailgating will be from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
These decisions come following three weekend shootings across the state that were apparently connected with homecoming events, the worst of which taking place in neighboring downtown Leland just before midnight last Friday when a half dozen people were killed and over a dozen more were injured when shots were fired.
The FBI’s field office in Jackson is currently seeking multiple suspects in that shooting. There was also one shooting at South Delta High School and another in south Mississippi in Heidleberg, both celebrating homecoming.
“We need daylight to be our ally in this situation,” SCCSD Superintendent James Johnson-Waldington told a group of over two dozen local leaders on Monday morning when announcing the decision to move Friday’s game to the afternoon.
SCCSD Assistant Superintendent William Murphy added that vo-tech students from the north end will not attend courses on the south end on Friday, although students on the north end will attend school as normal.
Johnson-Waldington said that he realizes that the shuffle in times for homecoming events may cause some pushback, but safety, he said, is the district’s number one priority.
What remains to be seen is whether the city will add another layer of restrictions during its regular meeting on Monday night.
The board had previously approved sections of downtown to be blocked off for post-game festivities.
Mayor Ken Featherstone and Indianola Police Chief Ronald Sampson both said during Monday morning’s meeting that those items may be revisited tonight.
