Chief Duane Hughes is the new chief for Columbus Fire and Rescue

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The search for a new chief for Columbus Fire and Rescue is complete. Interim Chief Duane Hughes can now drop the “Interim” from that title. At Tuesday night’s meeting, the Columbus City Council voted to promote Hughes to Chief on a full-time basis. Hughes replaces Chief Martin Andrews, who retired in March after 30 years in…

Starkville Utilities debuts new Operations Center to expand water, electric and other services to customers

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Tuesday afternoon, Starkville Utilities held an official opening ceremony to debut its new state-of-the-art Operations Center. They invested nearly $2 million to unite their water, electric and other services in one place. “Having everybody in one location, utilizing shared facilities, shared resources, will help us and make us more efficient and make us more responsive to…

Drone competition is underway in Starkville and its going to be essential for law enforcement

Teams from across the nation competed in the third stage of the First Responders U.A.S Triple Challenge in Starkiville

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- Teams from across the nation competed in the third stage of the First Responders U.A.S Triple Challenge in Starkiville on Tuesday June 21, 2022. The competition was hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology; it featured the advances in drone technology. Competitors put their best bot forward to try and capture…

NEMCC Career Development Academy provides inspiration and motivation

The camp helps young people explore possible career choices, and also teaches valuable life skills

BOONEVILLE, MISS. (WCBI) – As one group of campers was building bridges out of balsa wood for an engineering project, another was playing a fast-paced, musical game. This is the fifth year NEMCC has hosted the Career Development Academy Camp.   It runs three days a week. And every day is a full day. “We usually start out with breakfast…

June is designated Men’s Health Month

Written by Victoria Bailey

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The month of June is all about the guys. Men’s Health Month rolls around each year to remind gentlemen to stay in the know about personal wellness. “We don’t like to go to the doctor at all, We men do, we don’t like to think that we need to have anything fixed,” said Hank Norwood, Pharmacist….

Rising gas prices slowing down road work progress

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Rising gas prices are not only slowing down drivers, but they’re also slowing down the folks paving the roads. An increase in fuel and material prices is forcing Lowndes County Supervisors to adjust the budget for this year’s road paving program. Supervisors had allotted 2 million dollars to resurface 17 miles of roads across the…

Monroe County Sheriff Department makes four arrests in major multi-state scamming operation

ABERDEEN, Miss. (WCBI) – Friday, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department announced four arrests resulting from a six-month investigation into a major scamming operation that spans multiple states. Christopher “Big Money Bunny” Bradley is charged with nine counts of felony false pretense, Janiqua Edmond and Shaquayne Ware are both charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, and Antoine Griffin Jr. is…

MUW invited area residents to help celebrate Juneteenth

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi University for Women invited area residents to help celebrate Juneteenth. The W hosted a program at Fant Memorial Library to observe the holiday. Library staff have set up an exhibit in the main lobby, and Dean of Library Services, Amanda Powers, is spearheading an effort to collect oral histories of people’s Juneteenth memories. Juneteenth was…

Funeral services begin Monday evening for State Rep. Lynn Wright

PICKENS COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Funeral services begin Monday evening for state Representative Lynn Wright. Visitation is from five until eight at Skelton Funeral Home in Reform. The funeral service will be Tuesday at 2 PM at Mount Zion Baptist Church in the New Hope community of Lowndes County. There will be visitation one hour before the service and immediately…

Columbus police investigating shooting Sunday night

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Columbus police continue to investigate a Sunday night shooting where at least 70 shots were fired. The shooting happened about 10:30 Sunday night in a busy shopping center parking lot, just off Highway 45. Officers first learned of the shooting after someone showed up at Baptist Golden Triangle with a gunshot would to the leg. Police…

People in the Golden Triangle come together for the Juneteenth weekend

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Juneteenth celebrations took place all over the Golden Triangle this weekend. From the park to the parade routes, we were not short of festivities. People showed their Juneteenth spirit for the historical holiday in Columbus. It all started with a parade on Main Street in Columbus and continued at Sim Scott park with vendors and people…

Summer heat is pushing the fun indoors

The temperature is rising almost everyday it seems and folks are doing what they can to stay cool

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- The temperature is rising almost everyday it seems and folks are doing what they can to stay cool. School is out and kids still want to be active, but the summer heat is pushing them inside. Two places in Columbus are adjusting to the temperatures to try and have fun in the AC. “It gets really hot…

Tupelo is gearing up for its observance of the Juneteenth holiday

TUPELO, Miss (WCBI) – Tupelo is gearing up for its observance of the Juneteenth holiday. On Saturday, the city of Tupelo will mark the day with a parade, speakers, and music at Gumtree Park. Juneteenth honors the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Texas with word that President Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation, ending…

Business partners accused of fraud and face up to 75 years in prison

NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) -Two business partners in Columbus could face up to 75 years in prison and fines of more than 2 million dollars after being accused of sending in fraudulent documentation in PPP Loans. Jabari Edwards and Antwann Richardson are also accused of using the money to gift friends and family and even making donations to Jackson State…

First Lady Elee Reeves to host cleanup day initiative

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi’s First Lady is encouraging everyone to spend part of their weekend helping others. First Lady Elee Reeves is helping to host a day of service on Saturday. The First Lady will be helping to clean up trash in Vicksburg as part of ” Mississippi Serves, a day to volunteer.” The First Lady will be working…

State Farm celebrates 100th birthday with donation

State Farm donates $10,000 to Hunger Coalition of Northeast Mississippi

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – State Farm agents in the Tupelo area are making the 100th birthday of that company with a donation to help hungry people in the region. State Farm agents sponsored a party in Fairpark during the lunch hour, giving away free snow cones to guests. It was also an opportunity for the agents to donate 10 thousand…

State Auditor releases report on cybersecurity in public schools

Report shows mixed results when it comes to protecting students from harmful online content

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – A report on cybersecurity in public school districts across Mississippi shows mixed results, according to the State Auditor. State Auditor Shad White released the report “Cybersecurity in School Districts” on Thursday.   The state auditor was the guest speaker at the Tupelo Kiwanis Club and said the report shows that some school districts are taking appropriate…

COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in Columbus

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – COVID-19 cases are on the rise again. Members at Allegro plaza say they’ve seen more people coming in and testing positive for the virus. For about a month they had not seen many patients coming in with symptoms or testing positive but in the last couple of weeks, they’ve seen otherwise. “Most people are presenting…