As photojournalists, we travel across the state, capturing moments that resonate beyond pixels and frames. From the Delta to the Gulf Coast, we bear witness to the environmental issues shaping the lives of Mississippians firsthand. These images document the impact of climate change, pollution, and natural disasters on local communities. Traveling to the heart of these stories is integral to Mississippi Today’s commitment to honest and impactful reporting, ensuring that the voices and experiences of those affected are vividly portrayed.

By Eric J. Shelton

  • Operations resume at Drax in Gloster, Miss., on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Some Gloster residents are concerned with the industrial pollution caused by the company that produces wood pellets in the town. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Drax Group, a U.K.-based energy company that operates a wood pellet production plant in Gloster, has caused concern in the small Mississippi town due to its industrial pollution. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Gloster residents and protesters gather at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., on Thursday, March 28, 2024, to protest against the pollution caused by Drax Biomass Inc. Amite Bioenergy in Gloster. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Drax Group, a U.K.-based energy company that operates a wood pellet production plant in Gloster, has caused concern in the small Mississippi town due to its industrial pollution. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Wood is in place at Drax Group in Gloster, Miss., on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Some Gloster residents are concerned with the industrial pollution caused by the company that produces wood pellets in the town. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Operations resume at Drax in Gloster, Miss., on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Some Gloster residents are concerned with the industrial pollution caused by the company that produces wood pellets in the town. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Gloster residents and protesters gather at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., on Thursday, March 28, 2024, to protest against the pollution caused by Drax Biomass Inc. Amite Bioenergy in Gloster. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • ..discusses the proximity of the Drax Group and the homes of residents in Gloster, Miss., Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Anderson Jones Sr., 59, navigates through flood water to get to his home in Fitler, Miss., Monday, April 15, 2019. Credit: Eric Shelton
  • Anderson Jones Sr., who was injured in the 1990’s, carefully walks around the flooding near his home Monday, April 15, 2019. The journey to his home is a little less than a mile.
  • Anderson Jones Sr., 59, positions his boat as he gets ready to travel across flood water to get to his home in Fitler, Miss., Monday, April 15, 2019.
  • A boat at Pass Christian Harbor. Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Shrimper Bob Wolcott. Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Eldon Kruse working at Roscoe’s Live Bait Works in Pass Christian. Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Frank Parker Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America
  • Credit: Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/Report For America
  • Jennie Jefferson expresses emotion as she talks about the recent flooding near her home and the damage it caused to her car in Tchula, Miss., Thursday, May 9, 2019. Jefferson is still making payments on her car, but she is unable to afford repairs. Credit: Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/Report For America
  • Flood waters surround Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in the Goose Lake community of Issaquena County, Friday, April 5, 2019. Credit: Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/Report For America
  • Dallas Quinn, with Pearl River Vision Foundation, holds an old Clarion Ledger newspaper that has the coverage of the 1979 Pearl River flood. Credit: Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/Report For America
  • William Barnes, left, receives a hug from Alfred Avans in Silver City, Miss., Saturday, March 25, 2023, after a tornado completely destroyed Barnes’ home the previous night. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • A salvaged framed edition of the Prentiss Headlight.Tuesday, April 14, 2020 after Sunday’s tornadoes in Prentiss, Miss. Credit: Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America
  • Shrimp fisherman Giac Le sits on a hammock inside of his van as he waits for customers in DeLisle, Miss. Wednesday, August 8, 2018. Credit: Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/ Report for America
  • A crowd marches to the Governor’s Mansion to protest the ongoing water crisis in Jackson, Miss., Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • A crowd gathers near High Street in Jackson, Miss., to march for clean water in the city and to keep it a public service on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Jackson residents and supporters hold signs as they march to the Governor’s Mansion in Jackson, Miss. to protest the ongoing water issues in the city on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Tim and Crystal Dotson have a moment in their kitchen in Corinth, Miss., Friday, July 21, 2023. After tests were conducted on several homes in the town, the Dotson’s home proved to have the most evidence of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • A Jackson resident carries water to his car on Harrow Drive in Jackson, Miss., Tuesday, August 30, 2022. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
  • Warren County resident Mike Brown spray-painted the water tank outside of his home with a message that reads” Finish the Pumps” near Redwood, Miss. South Delta residents are posting this phrase around the area to appeal to lawmakers and the EPA. Credit: Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/Report For America

By Vickie King

  • Julienne Street, south of downtown Jackson, was left partially underwater Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022, as Pearl River flooding affected the area. Credit: Vickie King, Mississippi Today
  • Of 149 municipal and well water samples from all counties in the state, just one sample, from Carroll County, near Greenwood, rose above the Environmental Protection Agency’s “action level.” Credit: Vickie King/Mississippi Today
  • Service Lumber Company employees sift through debris in Rolling Fork on Saturday, March 25, 2023. (Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today) Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A tornado damaged courthouse in Rolling Fork on Saturday, March 25, 2023. (Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today) Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A tornado destruction of Chuck’s Trailer Park in Rolling Fork on Saturday, March 25, 2023. (Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today) Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A reported tornado ripped through the Woodlea subdivision in northwest Jackson on Tuesday afternoon. (Photo: Vickie D. King)
  • “We’re doing everything we can to keep these ponds aerated,” said Kosciusko Wastewater Department Superintendent Howard Sharkey, describing the use of a tractor that churns a devise to aerate a lagoon. The putrid smell emanating from the 20-acre lagoons permeate the city, Friday, March 1, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Kosciusko Wastewater Department Superintendent Howard Sharkey, shows an image of milk from Prairie Farms Dairy being dumped into one of the city’s 20-acre lagoons, stating it contributes to the putrid smell permeating the city from the lagoons, Friday, March 1, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Gurgling in the center of one of Kosciusko’s lagoons where according to the city’s Wastewater Department Superintendent Howard Sharkey, local dairy plant Prairie Farms dumps waste by-products from the facility, Friday, March 4, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Debris lining the banks of Kosciusko’s lagoons, Friday, March 1, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Remnants of a residence located at 1146 Shalimar Drive, destroyed by a gas leak this past January in South Jackson, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Remnants of a residence located at 1146 Shalimar Drive, destroyed by a gas leak this past January in South Jackson, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Walter West, Jr., harvests cotton at his farm in rural Hazelhurst, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. Ordinarily, West’s cotton crops would look like a sea of white, but this season’s crops have been severely impacted by drought conditions. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A dust devil forms in the heat of the day along an access road at Walter West, Jr’s farm, where he is harvesting his cotton crop in rural Hazelhurst, Friday, Sept., 2023. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Ordinarily, Walter West, Jr’s cotton crops would look like a sea of white, but this season’s crops have been impacted by severe drought conditions. Currently he is harvesting his cotton at his farm in rural Hazelhurst, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Walter West,Jr., harvests cotton at his farm in rural Hazlehurst, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. Ordinarily, West’s cotton crops would look like a sea of white, but this season’s crops have been severely impacted by drought conditions. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Water running from faucet. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Water running from faucet. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A sign thanking all who are assisting residents in Rolling Fork is propped near tornado debris where linemen work to restore power along US 61 in Rolling Fork, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Jackson water manager Ted Henifin, discusses the current state of the city’s water issues and plans for the future, Monday, March 6, 2023. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A worker at Tri-Miss Recycling operates a backhoe at the Jackson business located at 416 W. Woodrow Wilson Avenue, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Recyclable items are dropped off at Tri-Miss Recycling, located at 416 W. Woodrow Wilson Avenue, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A tugboat maneuvers a barge along the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. Near record low water levels are affecting shipping and tourism. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A tugboat maneuvers a barge along the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. Near record low water levels are affecting shipping and tourism. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A tugboat maneuvers a barge closer to shore to allow another tug and barge clearance along the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022. Near record low water levels are affecting shipping and tourism. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Sandy beaches can be seen at the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. The low water level is causing problems for shipping and tourism. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Sandy beaches can be seen at the Mississippi River in Vicksburg, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Old high-water marks on bridge pylons and sandy beaches are indicative of a low Mississippi River, as a tug boat slowly maneuvers barges north in Vicksburg, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Near record water levels are affecting shipping and tourism. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Bottled water to be distributed to all comers while supplies last at New Galilean Missionary Baptist Church in the Presidential Hills neighborhood, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Residents continue to line up at water giveaways. Members of New Galilean Missionary Baptist Church loaded water into vehicles, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, discussed the current water system situation and answered questions from a concerned public during a community meeting held at College Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2022, Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • The Hinds County Sheriff’s Department partnered with Morgan & Morgan Law Firm and Cade Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, to distribute bottled and jug water to all comers at the church in the Virden Additon neighborhood, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022 in Jackson. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • The Hinds County Sheriff’s Department partnered with Morgan & Morgan Law Firm and Cade Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, to distribute bottled and jug water to all comers at the church in the Virden Additon neighborhood, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022 in Jackson. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • The Hinds County Sheriff’s Department partnered with Morgan & Morgan Law Firm and Cade Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, to distribute bottled and jug water to all comers at the church in the Virden Additon neighborhood, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022 in Jackson. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A steady stream of those needing water showed up for a water giveaway at Cade Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. The Hinds County Sheriff’s Department partnered with Morgan $ Morgan Law Firm and Cade Chapel Missionary Baptist Church to distribute bottled and jug water, and a few sanitizer products to all comers. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Hundreds lined up for the free water giveaway at the Grove Park Community Center in Jackson, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022. The line of cars filled the secondary parking lot and snaked for miles south on Parkway Avenue, east on Walter Dutch Welch Street, with some lined along adjacent Main Street to the south. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Julienne Street, south of downtown Jackson, partially underwater as Pearl River flooding affects the area, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022. The Pearl River is expected to crest on Monday. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • United States Geological Survey (USGS) workers measure the depth and flow of the Pearl River from a bridge on U.S. 80, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022. The river is expected to crest on Monday. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • United States Geological Survey (USGS) workers measure the depth and flow of the Pearl River from a bridge on U.S. 80, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022. The river is expected to crest on Monday. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • John Adam Nowlin of Ecru believes chemicals from a nearby fertilizer plant caused the contamination of water on his property that sickened and killed his livestock. Nowlin, near a pond on his land where he has posted a warning sign, Friday, May 20, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • John Adam Nowlin of Ecru, believes chemicals from a nearby fertilizer plant caused the contamination of water on his property that sickened and killed his livestock. Nowlin, near a trench on his land where he believes plant chemicals reached his pond, Friday, May 20, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • John Adam Nowlin of Ecru, believes chemicals from a nearby fertilizer plant caused the contamination of water on his property that sickened and killed his livestock, Friday, May 20, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • The feud between Jackson City Council members and Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba centers around the validity of the Mayor warding Richard’s Disposal, Inc., a trash pick-up contract for Jackson after the Council voted against Richard’s Disposal. Garbage pick-up by Richard’s was underway in the Bel-Air neighborhood, Monday, Apr. 11, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • The feud between Jackson City Council members and Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba centers around the validity of the Mayor warding Richard’s Disposal, Inc., a trash pick-up contract for Jackson after the Council voted against Richard’s Disposal. Garbage pick-up by Richard’s was underway in the Bel-Air neighborhood, Monday, Apr. 11, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Since its closure in 2018 due to structural issues, repairs have begun on the bridge spanning Eubanks Creek on Hawthorn Drive in Jackson, Wednesday, Mar. 30, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Repairs have begun on the bridge spanning Eubanks Creek on Hawthorn Drive in Jackson, Wednesday, Mar. 30, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Repairs have begun on the bridge spanning Eubanks Creek on Hawthorn Drive in Jackson, Wednesday, Mar. 30, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Black Bayou water treatment plant operator Jon Baldwin, on the catwalk atop the treatment facility above 15 feet of water in a holding tank, Friday, Mar. 25, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Water in a Black Bayou water treatment plant storage tank. Impurities settle at the bottom of the tank and are siphoned off, Friday, March 25, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Black Bayou water treatment facility in rural Leland, Friday, March 25, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • David Koehn, Black Bayou Water Association general manager, shows water from the kitchen faucet at his rural Leland home, Friday, Mar. 25, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Hilda Drive in northwest Jackson is nearly impassable. The road is marred by large potholes and littered with illegal dumping, from tree limbs to furniture and tires, Thursday, November 18, 2021. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A few yards from Dawson Elementary school, that can be seen through the trees, illegal dumping clutters Percy B. Simpson Drive near an abandoned church in Jackson, Tuesday, November 16, 2021. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Illegal dumping clutters Percy B. Simpson Drive near an elementary school, an active church and an abandoned church in Jackson, Tuesday, November 16, 2021. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Hilda Drive in northwest Jackson is nearly impassable due to illegal dumping, Thursday, November 18, 2021. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A piano destroyed and dumped on Hilda Drive, Wednesday, November 17, 2021. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Motorists traveling west on Pearl Street in downtown Jackson are relegated to one lane to avoid the huge hole dug, where work on a broken water line continues, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • A large hole on Pearl Street reveals a broken water line currently under repair in downtown Jackson, Tuesday, November 9, 2021. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
  • Workers with Gould Enterprises, LLC, JXN Water contractors, repair a water line at the t-section of Beacon Place and Queensroad Avenue in the Bel-Air subdivision in Jackson, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. Credit: Vickie King, Mississippi Today

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Eric J. Shelton was a 2018 corps member in Report for America, and joined the team as our first photojournalist. A native of Columbia, Miss., Eric earned his bachelor’s in photojournalism from the University of Southern Mississippi. He was a multimedia journalist for Abilene Reporter-News, chief photographer for the Hattiesburg American and photo editor for the Killeen Daily Herald before joining our team June 2018. He rejoined Mississippi Today as our health photojournalist in January 2022.

Vickie King has experience as a professional photographer spanning 35 years- from childhood purchasing her first camera by selling flower seeds to neighbors, as a stringer for Associated Press in Des Moines, Iowa, a freelancer shooting an album cover to your loved one’s wedding, and your kids and pets at a J.C. Penney portrait studio. She joins the Mississippi Today team as a photojournalist.

A native Mississippian and resident of Jackson, Vickie was born in Laurel.
You know her work from years as a staff photographer for the Clarion-Ledger. Her award-winning photography has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Editor & Publisher Magazine, People Magazine, in national news broadcasts, and books depicting the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to the glory of Ole Miss football.

Most recently, she is the former photographer, Special Projects Officer IV, Staff Officer I, videographer, and online content producer for the Mississippi Department of Corrections. She is also a Pulitzer Prize nominee for Spot News.

Vickie is a graduate of Simpson College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Relations.