COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The Columbus Fire and Rescue celebrated a new addition to its fire truck collection: Engine 25. The estimated life span of a fire truck is 25 years. And, During the last five years, it is time to look for a replacement. Columbus Fire Chief Duane Hughes said it was long overdue as one of their fire…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The countdown is on for the beginning of the new school year. Parents are getting their children ready, stocking up on school supplies, and trying to readjust schedules. It is not just parents and students gearing up for the new year, teachers are getting ready too. The Lowndes County School District held its new teacher…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – It is estimated that one in five children suffers from dyslexia, a learning disorder that affects reading, writing, and spelling. Finding ways to help those children was the topic of a summit in Tupelo. For Dr. Melissa Thomas, finding ways to help kids with dyslexia succeed is crucial. As principal of Tupelo High School, she wants…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – The area’s largest blood donation center is making an emergency appeal for donors. Vitalant South has issued an emergency appeal for all O blood types and platelets. There is also a critical need for all other blood types. During summer months, many regular donors are out of town, and the number of blood drives declines as…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – More and more people are looking for somewhere to turn in crisis and a local nonprofit is filling the need. The contact helpline is a suicide prevention and mental health resource. The organization is training more volunteers to answer calls to the crisis hotline. The line is available 24/7 and volunteers answer the phone, where you…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Mother Goose brought in a little help to wrap up the final week of the Columbus Lowndes County Public Library’s Summer Reading Program. Our own Kealy Shields read to the children, and she even joined them and Mother Goose in singing a few songs and dancing the Hokey Pokey. The Summer Reading Program is designed to…
MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – While most people associate FEMA with disaster assistance, the Small Business Administration, or SBA, is also very active in recovery efforts. Since the March 24 and 25 tornado outbreaks, the SBA has approved over $19.2 million to assist in recovery efforts in the areas affected, including Monroe, Montgomery, and Carroll Counties. The agency is now expanding efforts…
ITAWAMBA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – An Itawamba County supervisor was indicted on a child sex crime charge. Terry Moore was charged with touching a child for lustful purposes. Prosecutors alleged the crime happened in October 2022. The reported victim was under the age of 16 at the time. Moore is the supervisor for District 3. No trial date has been…
ALABAMA (WCBI) – National Rural Road Safety Awareness Week. It’s a campaign with a mission: Slow down and save lives. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is partnering with the Alabama Transportation Institute to drive home the importance of speed management. According to Corporal Reginal King of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, speeding is still a top cause of rural crashes….
WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s a portrait of more than 50 years in the making. In 1969, the last senior class graduated from 5th Street School in West Point before it turned into a junior high. It was after a class reunion that the alumni realized their senior portrait was missing from the wall. Some of those former students…
CALHOUN CITY, Miss. (WCBI) – As a new school year is set to begin, a local sheriff wanted to make sure law officers are ready to respond in case the unthinkable happens. Although the 911 radio dispatch said the shots fired call was an exercise, the scene at Calhoun City High School was very realistic. Calhoun County Sheriff Greg Pollan…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Becoming an Eagle Scout is not easy. It takes a lot of time, work, and dedication. A local teenager is one step away from earning his Eagle Rank and hopes to be an Eagle Scout in a month. Davis Banzhaf was looking for the perfect project to complete his eagle rank. “Originally, I had been working…
MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – An update tonight on the system-wide layoffs and reassignments within the North Mississippi Health Services. In a letter this morning from NMHS President and CEO Shane Spees, he wrote that all employees have been notified of their employment status. He called the changes necessary, as part of what is being branded the NMHS Redesign. The healthcare group…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Park improvements were back on the agenda for the Columbus City Council. Last month, the council passed a resolution to borrow $3 million through a bond issuance to pay for improvements and renovations at the city’s parks, with most of the work focused on Propst Park. Some in the city have been critical of the emphasis…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s a long-term problem that’s going to require a long-term solution, but some people think it’s taking too long to get started. The City of Columbus has around $3.5 million in federal funds to clean up blighted properties, but before the work can start, there are steps that have to be taken. At Tuesday night’s meeting,…
LEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Lee County will soon turn trash pickup over to Waste Management. The 3-1 vote was made after the Board of Supervisors President Mike Smith refused to sign the contract and recused himself from the final vote. Board Vice President Wesley Webb was authorized to sign the contract, which allows Waste Management to take over the…
CLAY COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott was the subject of a New York Times article released on July 19. The investigative piece looks at accusations against the sheriff, including alleged sexual harassment, alleged sex with inmates, and alleged retaliation. The story goes as far back as Scott’s days as Chief Deputy and investigates what alleged victims…
NORTH MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – New numbers are coming in from the recent flooding in Winston and Choctaw counties. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said preliminary reports show 108 homes had some type of damage in Winston County, along with 18 businesses and a combined 66 roads and bridges. Three public buildings also reported damages. The July 13 floods also impacted…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – On Tuesday night, fire and smoke erupted at a mobile home lot in Tupelo. A structure at a mobile home lot was engulfed in flames near South Gloster. Reports said the building was a business. No injuries have been reported at this time. The Tupelo Fire Department is investigating the incident. For 24/7 news and updates,…
WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The flood waters have receded in Winston County, but the damage they left behind will take a while to clean up. Several roads were washed away during the flood and some of the equipment to get them back up and running got stuck. Over three dozen culverts were stuck under a bridge but a Louisville…
AMORY, Miss. (WCBI) – Amory Main Street may soon be getting some unique updates and renovations. The Mississippi Main Street Association received funding from the USDA Rural Partners Network Project to assist 11 Main Street communities in the state. Its purpose is to provide support and technical assistance to Main Street programs and foster activities in rural communities. With a…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – An area non-profit has received a big boost to help it feed a need in North Mississippi. A charitable foundation presented Meals on Wheels of Lee County with a grant of $45,000 to help feed the area’s senior citizens. Mississippi is ranked in the top 10 when it comes to states with the highest risk of…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office is getting some help to “keep an eye on things”. The sheriff’s office has taken delivery of 20 new cameras and has been installing them in problem areas throughout the county. The crime-watching cameras provide extra sets of eyes for deputies. They can be monitored in real time, and the…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Lowndes County leaders are stepping up efforts to clean things up. Supervisors, the Sheriff’s Office, and the Justice Court have been working together to cut down on illegal dumping in the county and punish the people doing that dumping. The county has an investigator dedicated to dealing with dumping. Now, supervisors are also calling for…