Look Back ... to the retirement of Bee Parris, 1998

Dec. 17—Dec. 17, 1948, in The Star: The principal of Alexandria High School was seriously injured last night when the automobile in which he was riding was in a collision with another car occupied by four Mississippi State College students en route home for Christmas holidays. Principal J. C. Davie, 46, the driver and sole occupant of a 1929 Chevrolet, sustained a fracture of his jaw and multiple cuts on his forehead, neck and chin. The accident occurred on the Gadsden Highway six miles north of Anniston. Also this date: Although Black residents outnumber white residents four to one in Macon County, Ala., home of Tuskegee Institute, Black voters there are having trouble voting — they're being denied the right to vote, actually — because the County Board of Registrars has ceased to function. It's been that way at least since April of this year, and although nine voters were registered on April 19, the panel seems to have been non-functioning for 18 months prior to January 1948.

Dec. 17, 1998, in The Star: Bee Parris will retire at the end of this year after 27 years at the helm of Children's Services Inc. She has seen the organization grow from a direct service program with a single day-care center in Hobson City to a multimillion-dollar agency that manages child care for more than 1,300 children, subsidizes meals served in day care programs and provides emergency shelter for a handful of dependent and neglected kids. The emergency shelter home has recently been named the Parris Home in her honor. "I've been blessed with a lot of energy. It's one of the greatest blessings in the world, to have the energy to do stuff," said Ms. Parris, who will be sorely missed by colleagues who value her experience and her fairness. Also this date: What's on at the movies locally? Well, starting this weekend we have the DreamWorks animation "The Prince of Egypt," the historical drama "Elizabeth" starring Cate Blanchett, and the feel-good "You've Got Mail" starring the ever-charming Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Still playing are Gus Van Sant's remake of "Psycho," Adam Sandler's "The Waterboy" and the latest franchise installment, "Star Trek: Insurrection." For movie information call the Plaza 6 or the Carmike 6, where all local first-run movies play.