Dr. Randy Easterling, a family medicine and addiction medicine physician at River Region Medical Center, has been named to Teen Pregnancy Prevention Task Force.

Richard A. Berry, executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, and state health officer Dr. Mary Currier created the task force at the request of Gov. Phil Bryant to help develop a plan to curb teen births in Mississippi, which leads the nation in per capita teen births.

Easterling is past president of the Mississippi State Medical Association. He is vice president of the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure and a past president of The Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians. He chaired the Mississippi State Medical Association Council on Legislation in 2004.

He has been practicing family medicine in Vicksburg since 1987 and serves as medical director of Marian Hill Chemical Dependency Unit. He is a graduate of The University of Mississippi School of Medicine and completed his residency at the College of Community Health Sciences at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Rowdy’s to close today for 2 weeks

Rowdy’s Family Restaurant on Mississippi 27 is closing this afternoon at 3 for remodeling, owner Rowdy Nosser said. He said the restaurant will reopen in mid-March.

“It’s been 25 years, it’s time,” he said. “I figured we’d just roll the dice and do it right. We’ll still keep the family restaurant atmosphere.”

Nosser said the building’s interior will be remodeled to feature local themes from the Vicksburg area. He will also introduce a new menu featuring some of the restaurant’s standards, family and customer favorites, and some new items.

“We’ll still have catfish, but we’ll also offer other healthier choices,” he said. He said his wife, Francine, a dietician at River Region Medical Center, is helping with developing the healthier foods.