saunders21

(January 9, 2009) BREAKING NEWS USM Moves to Block Info on the USM Plane’s Movements HATTIESBURG – Reporters at USMNEWS.net have learned that USM has completed the necessary steps to prevent the general public from finding out about the movements (whereabouts) of the newly-leased USM airplane. According to word received by USMNEWS.net from officials at FlightAware, the online service that tracks movement of registered aircraft, USM has recently placed its Beechcraft King Air 200 on the National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA) Blocked Aircraft Registration (BAR) list.

(January 10, 2009) Editorial I called Pollard Aircraft Sales (the current owner of N777AQ, the plane that USM proposes to lease from the USM Foundation for $1.8 million plus) at approximately 2:30 pm, Janu-ary 8, 2009. I advised a Pollard representative that I am a full professor at USM, I do cost benefit analyses of USM administrators’ expenditures, and that administrators’ expenditures of student tuition and taxpayer dollars warrant scrutiny. I asked whether N777AQ had been sold or leased. A representative advised that "it's sold" and that the sale is expected to be "buttoned up" within a week.

(January 22, 2009) Time to Step Up, Madam President Working Toward a Brighter Day It is a sad time, but speak up, Madam President. It was 2% cuts, now it is 5%. The “FY10” proposed cuts are said to be 10%. Was that so hard? It is not pleasant, but why hang this on your staff. These are the times you earn your salary. You know you make more in a month than many in the state make all year; and in two months, you make more than most everyone in the state. You do not receive your salary for reading books and blogging about them, rah-rah-ing for various social causes, or judging cook-offs.

(February 5, 2009) Town Meeting Meets Airplane Town Meeting There are stories circulating at Southern Miss that President Saunders will take the opportunity at her called “town meeting” on February 12th to spin control two issues at once. One is the budget crisis facing Southern Miss and the other is the albatross known as her airplane.

(February 6, 2009) Time for Saunders to Consider Some Real Cuts Despite winning a Conference-USA regular season championship and taking the USM men's basketball team to two post-season NIT tournaments, former head coach James Green was fired by USM president Shelby Thames and USM athletics director Richard Giannini. According to these officials, Green was let go after the 2003-04 season for failing to put fans in the stands at USM's Reed Green Coliseum.

(February 13, 2009) Town Meeting Highlights: Everything is on the Table . . . . . . except my airplane. I “made” the money for the lease-purchase by cutting administrators when I got here. I know that every other item does not count like that in the budget, but surely the President has some privileges. The airplane is for essential University travel; that term is defined solely by me. Disregard Southwest Airlines has $99 flights, this is efficient.