CHOCTAW, Miss. (AP) — Cyrus Ben has won a second term as chief of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Ben defeated former chief Phyliss Anderson and one other candidate, Tarina Anderson, in Tuesday’s election, according to tribal election results posted on the Choctaws’ Facebook page. Ben was first elected chief in 2019 when he defeated Phyliss Anderson in a…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – The annual festival paying tribute to the memory of Tupelo’s most famous native son is underway. The Tupelo Elvis Festival began Wednesday evening with a gala at the Cotton Mill. Past winners of the Elvis Tribute Artist competition took the stage for a full house. This is the 25th Tupelo Elvis Festival and host Tom Brown…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A man wearing a church robe and claiming to be Jesus was accused of breaking into two churches. 27-year-old Deshon O’Neal was charged with two counts of burglary and one count of disorderly conduct. Columbus police said officers were called to a hotel about a suspicious man on June 6. O’Neal was reportedly wearing a white…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Columbus City Council took a vote on implementing a policy that would tackle low retention rates within the police department. The Columbus City Council is requiring its officers to make a three-year commitment to the Friendly City. Once the officer has been hired and gone through training, that officer must remain with the Columbus police department…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – School may be out but the work is kicking into high gear for staff and volunteers with the Boys and Girls Clubs of North Mississippi. Kyion White has come full circle. Growing up, White was a member of the Boys and Girls Club, eventually becoming a junior staffer, then a program staff member. Now, he is…
Categories: Next to Nature
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – A new exhibit at the Tupelo Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum chronicles the early merchandising of the King of Rock n’ Roll. The exhibit is called “Mr. Presley, are you ready to fly?” based on the line in the Elvis movie from Colonel Tom Parker, played by Tom Hanks. Items in the exhibit are original from…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Propst Park has been the topic of discussion among city council work sessions for months. The council continued to finalize decisions for funding renovations for the 70-year-old park. An intent resolution to issue the loan has yet to be adopted. The city will then have to advertise the intention to issue the loans proposed. A public…
MISSISSIPPI (WCBI) – Several counties in Mississippi are starting or finishing up roadwork projects that are each worth millions. The Mississippi Lottery is funding an $8.7 million mill project that stretches seven miles of US 82 in Webster County. It’s expected to be completed this summer. Work will soon begin on a $4 million lottery-funded project in Union County to…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The Columbus Municipal School District is helping out students and their families this Summer. The district is taking care of weekday meal planning with its annual Summer Feeding Program. Children 18 and under can grab a free breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. And most won’t have to go too far to take advantage of the…
NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A $418 million investment will bring more than 150 jobs to Noxubee County. Huber Engineered Woods will locate a state-of-the-art oriented strand board plant in Shuqualak. The company will build on a 551-acre site and make specialty engineered wood panels. Noxubee County and the Tennessee Valley Authority are providing assistance. The Mississippi Development Authority will…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – A Starkville park is set to receive updates to attract more families. Over the next year, J.L. King Park is set to see many major improvements. The splash pad is due to see an expansion, to help beat that summer heat. Along with the splash pad, the tennis and basketball courts are also set to receive…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Downtown Starkville will be seeing a lot of development in the coming years. The City of Starkville has received a total of $6 million to put towards improvements on Main Street and Highway 182. $1.2 million is already being used to update the water, sewer, and stormwater lines on Main Street. The other $5 million will…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A local soup kitchen is making sure people stay fed and hydrated. Loaves and Fishes in Columbus provides meals to more than 300 people every day. During the summer months, volunteers want to make sure people who use their services also have enough water. Recently Baptist Golden Triangle donated dozens of cases of water to help…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Lowndes County narcotics deputies arrested eight people in a months-long meth trafficking investigation. The narcotics STING unit seized more than $15,000 in cash, over eight pounds of methamphetamine, and five vehicles. Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said the case started after neighbors called deputies about a large amount of traffic coming to and from a house. Agents…
MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Monroe County investigators provided an update on a child pornography case. Joseph Waible was charged with possession of child pornography earlier this year. He has now been indicted by a federal grand jury in Oxford for accessing and transporting child pornography. Waible was not eligible for bond. A court date has not been set. For…
FULTON, Miss. (WCBI) – Fulton voters are ready to invest in tourism and recreation. A 3% tourism tax passed in a special election Tuesday. Mayor Emily Quinn said they still have nine affidavit ballots and one absentee ballot to count, but that won’t change the outcome. The 3% tax will be added to food and beverage purchases inside city limits….
MILLPORT, Ala. (WCBI) – Camp Rising Sun has been shining a light on a special group of kids in the region for decades. The camp was started to give kids with cancer or who have had cancer, a chance to do something they sometimes miss out on: just be kids. When you think of summer camp, you don’t typically think…
ITAWAMBA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Inmates in Itawamba County are learning valuable life skills while growing their own produce. Since April, trustees at the Itawamba County Jail have worked the garden, Monday through Friday. “They come out every morning and work, four or five hours, gives them something to do and it shows them progress,” said Maj. Malcomb Driskill, jail…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – School may be out for the summer, but dozens of students are in class this week at the Mississippi Governor’s School. The annual educational retreat brings high-potential learners from across the state to Mississippi University for Women’s campus. Some classes at the Mississippi Governor’s School have remotes for video games and others have old-fashioned pen and…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – June 6 marks the 79th anniversary of D-Day, a major turning point in World War II. And two brothers are looking to honor their father’s legacy and military career with a memorial at Mississippi State University’s Mitchell Memorial Library. Its purpose is to remember how three Mississippi natives and former bulldogs cleared the way to victory….
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Lowndes County man was accused of threatening to kill Sheriff Eddie Hawkins in a Facebook post. Phillip Parker was arrested on Main Street Tuesday afternoon by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office. In the social media post, it is written in quotation marks and all caps: “I AM GOING TO KILL SHERIFF EDDIE HAWKINS!” Parker…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Help is only a phone call away. That was one of the messages from Contact Helpline. Executive Director Katrina Sunivelle spoke to business and community leaders in Columbus. Contact Helpline has been providing mental health services in the Golden Triangle since 1975. Sunivelle and the specialists there have noticed an alarming trend in recent years: a…
BROOKSVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The town of Brooksville received money to move forward with water and wastewater improvements. State lawmakers approved $500,000 to be used for costs associated with the EPA Stag grant match. This frees up state and federal dollars. The money can be used for pipes, water meters, and facility upgrades. No word on when the town will…