Entries being taken for Miss Olive Branch

Entries for the 27th annual Miss Olive Branch Pageant are now being accepted.

The pageant, sponsored by the Olive Twig Humanitarian Group, will take place at 7 p.m. March 28 at Olive Branch High School.

Entry forms can be picked up at Old Style Barbecue in Olive Branch, the Olive Branch High School counselor’s office, or Olive Branch Chamber of Commerce office located at 9123 Pigeon Roost Road.
Deadline for entry is 5 p.m. Feb. 23. Pageant rehearsals are scheduled for March 9, 11, 23, 25 and 27. Entry forms can be obtained on line at www.olivebranchms.com or www.goolivebranch.com. Visit the new Facebook for the Miss Olive Branch Pageant on line for information also.

The pageant entry fee is $40. Contestants must be ages 14-18, single, a resident of Olive Branch, with a GPA of 80 or above.

Maine teen loses license for crash while texting

WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) — A Maine teenager who told police she dozed off when she slammed into another car on Interstate 95 has lost her license — for texting while driving.

Trooper Jeff Beach checked the girl's cell phone after her car crashed into the rear of a second vehicle, causing minor injuries, last August in Sidney. He discovered that the 16-year-old girl had been trading text messages at the time of the crash.

The teen was fined $137 last week and her license was suspended for six months.

Maine law prohibits any driver under the age of 18 from using a cell phone or other hand-held electronic device while driving.

Teens with pellet guns allegedly fired on cars

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) — Four teenagers have been arrested for allegedly targeting passing cars with pellet guns and rocks from a San Luis Obispo railroad overpass.

The teens, ages 16 and 17, were arrested after a brief foot chase at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday. They were cited for throwing objects at vehicles, a misdemeanor, and trespassing on railroad property.

Police Sgt. Janice Goodwin says neighbors reported seeing men carrying rifles and arriving officers spotted the youths throwing rocks and firing from pellet guns from the Tank Farm Road railroad overpass.

It wasn't clear if any vehicles were damaged. No one was hurt.

The teens were released to their parents.

Miss. and La. get poor marks for teacher quality

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A national nonprofit advocacy group has given Mississippi a D-plus and Louisiana a C-minus in recruiting and retaining quality teachers and getting rid of those who are ineffective in the classroom.

The National Council on Teacher Quality recently released its 2008 State Teacher Policy Yearbook. The report finds that laws and regulations in most states discourage promising new teachers from staying in the classroom while doing little to rid schools of inadequate teachers.

The report gives Louisiana a D-plus in identifying effective new teachers, a C in retaining effective new teachers and a C-minus in getting rid of ineffective new teachers.

Mississippi fared even worse, getting a D-plus in identifying effective new teachers, a D in retaining effective new teachers and a D-plus in getting rid of ineffective new teachers.