From Bobby Pepper, editor of the Journal's Lee County Neighbors:

"I found this on the Facebook page of Emily Gordon Leiter, a friend from my hometown.

Emily's sister, Mary Winn Settino, will be ringing the closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, March 31. Emily said the closing bell will be on CNBC around 2:55-3 p.m. Central time. Mary Winn, who lives in New York, grew up in Chickasaw County and is a graduate of Houston High School."

---

But the NYSE has the Pepsi chairman and CEO listed as the bell ringer tomorrow:

"On Tues., March 31, The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc., led by Chairman and CEO Eric Foss, will visit the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary of trading on the NYSE. The Pepsi Bottling Group began trading on the Exchange on March 31, 1999 under the ticker symbol “PBG”.

In honor of this occasion, The Pepsi Bottling Group Chairman and CEO Eric Foss will ring the NYSE Closing Bell."

---

So, Bobby did some sleuthing and found out that Settino is the VP of investor relations & PR for Pepsi Bottling Group. From what we can figure, the job earns her a spot on the podium. The Exchange will have a live feed of the event on its Web site at 3:59 p.m. EST tomorrow.

Rex has closed its doors. Read our previous coverage.

The Verizon Wireless store is quickly going up on North Gloster. See the site plans here.

From MSU:

MISSISSIPPI STATE -- Mississippi’s wheat is emerging from the winter

with the same potential as last year’s record yield, but many

opportunities remain for Mother Nature to spoil the final outcome.

Although the weather at planting time was favorable, the profit

potential for wheat was not. The result was a wheat acreage decline of

about 50 percent from last year, when growers averaged 62 bushels per

acre on 485,000 acres.

John Anderson, agricultural economist with Mississippi State

University’s Extension Service, said growers still had a significant

amount of wheat, with 260,000 acres planted. Strong markets in 2007 and

2008, when prices averaged between $4.30 and $5.55 per bushel, inspired

the record plantings those years.

“The economic downturn has caused all commodity prices to come down.

Forward prices for wheat last September were around $5 per bushel. Now,

the upcoming crop is running between $4.25 and $4.50 per bushel,”

Anderson said.

Extension small grains specialist Erick Larson said profit-potential

was key in planting decisions last fall. Although double-cropping with

soybeans had proven successful in 2008, growers were looking at

extremely high fertilizer and fuel costs.

“Wheat requires more fertilizer than soybeans, making soybeans a lot

more attractive last fall when growers were making planting decisions,”

Larson said. “After the planting window for wheat closed, prices for

fuel and fertilizer dropped substantially.”

Art Smith is the MSU Extension Service’s area agronomic crop agent

based in DeSoto County. He said wheat is “looking good” as it approaches

the head development stage and has similar potential to last year’s crop.

“But if the weather turns unusually wet or we have a late spring

freeze like we had a couple years ago, the yield potential will

decline,” Smith said. “In general, wheat performs better in dry

conditions than in wet.”

Jerry Singleton, Extension agronomic crop agent in Leflore County,

said growers are planting wheat in former cotton fields.

“These fields are typically some of the best soils and are well

drained. Those factors should contribute to strong yields as long as

March rains do not trigger diseases,” Singleton said.

Today is the 2nd Annual Trade Day where patients can trade goods for dental work. Dr. Harry Rayburn at Main Street Family Dentistry kicked things off (previous coverage) last year. This year, he has a lot more help - three other offices and at least six dentists. And, he's organizing it under his umbrella nonprofit of Dentistry Making a Difference.

Last year, Rayburn let people trade whatever they wanted. By the end of the day, he had a puppy, canned food, a high chair, cookies, cakes, homemade pillows and bikes. This time around, the dentists are only accepting canned foods.

We're calling now to find out how things are going. The event ends at 4:30 p.m. today.

Kirkland’s is moving out of the Mall at Barnes Crossing. The home decor retailer has signed a lease for a 7,500-square-foot space at the King’s Crossing shopping development, which is anchored by Kohl’s and Ross.

Kornel Romada, a leasing agent with The Woodmont Co., which owns King’s Crossing, said the lease was signed last week. Kirkland’s will occupy a space near Maurices in the shopping center. Romada anticipates the store will open in May.

Jeff Snyder, general manager of the Mall at Barnes Crossing, said he “hasn’t heard a word” about Kirkland’s moving, but said it wouldn't surprise him because Kirkland’s as a company is moving toward a strip center tenant with outside access.

If the store does move, Snyder said it will leave space for mall officials to market to other tenants.

We're going to soft launch Biz Buzz on NEMS360.com today and mirror our wordpress content. We'll be here for good come Monday.

-----

Ah, we are back to $2 gas. How fun :-( The national average today for a gallon of regular gas is $2.02. It’s more than I’d like to pay, but better than the $3.26 gas was going for this time last year. The state average today is $1.92.

New Albany has the cheapest gas in our sampled region, charging $1.83 per gallon of regular. Then it’s Corinth at $1.87, followed by Pontotoc ($1.88) and Sherman ($1.89).

In Tupelo, gas is $1.95 at Kroger at Crosstown, $1.96 at Travel Store USA off Eason and $1.92 for members at Sam’s.

Most expensive: $1.99 in Oxford

Other prices:

Amory $1.93

Booneville $1.97

Ripley $1.93

Starkville $1.95

For more gas prices, go to mississippigasprices.com.

We're still testing things out on NEMS360.com and working out the kinks. Until then, you can find all our Biz Buzz content on wordpress.

In meantime, feel free to post your feedback about the site. We'll be here before you know it.