Alva Review-Courier -

COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) — Jane Hodges Crater is vivacious, determined, energetic, and sometimes, appalled. Appalled that more than 30 million adults in the United States can't read, according to the U.S. Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy. It's a fact the retired educator has spent decades of her life trying to change.

"Did you know that illiteracy in America is a leading cause of crime, violence and poverty?" Crater said. "If we could eliminate illiteracy it would reduce human suffering as well as $18 billion per year it costs to the U.S. economy."

The Mississippi Uni...