COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- Restaurants and retail have been hit particularly hard with labor shortages. At Sunflower, managers are having a tough time hiring people for a couple of reasons. “With it being tax season it seems like it kind of slows down the hiring process and because a lot of people are looking for a better paying job than the…
HICKORY FLAT, Miss. (WCBI) – A former north Mississippi town clerk is accused of swindling thousands of dollars. Stephanie Churchill is charged with embezzlement. State Auditor Shad White’s office also issued a demand letter for more than one hundred four thousand dollars. Churchill is accused of taking money meant for Hickory Flat’s Water and Sewage Department. Investigators believe the scheme…
WEBSTER COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Webster County based circuit court judge has passed away. 77-year-old George Mitchell died last night at a Northport, Alabama hospital, after surgery. He was a circuit court judge in the 5th Judicial District. Mitchell first came to the post after being appointed in 2016 by former Governor Phil Bryant. Mitchell was a Vietnam War…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle is giving East Mississippi Community College’s Nursing program a financial shot in the arm. Nationwide, hospitals are in the midst of a nursing shortage that has been made worse by professionals leaving the job during the pandemic. BMH is doing something at the local level to recruit new nurses…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The 2022 edition of the Columbus Pilgrimage Jubilee of Homes has wrapped up, and organizers are declaring it a success. This is the first year that the popular event has been run by the Columbus Preservation Society, an organization largely made up of tour homeowners. Early returns show that over 12 hundred tickets were sold, including…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – If you’re traveling through Golden Triangle Regional Airport and want to move through the line quicker, you’ll soon have your chance. Enrollment in the TSA’s Pre-Check program will run from April 25th through the 29th. Pre-Check allows fliers to board with fewer hassles. It allows them to go through the Pre-Check lanes at security checkpoints…
NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Louisiana woman is accused of breaking into a Noxubee County church. Brooke Bloxham is charged with two counts of burglary of a dwelling and one count of burglary of a church. A Noxubee County grand jury recently returned the indictment against Bloxham. She remains in the Noxubee County jail on a $15,000 bond. No…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The heavy rain from this weekend caused more flooding issues for a Columbus neighborhood. These photos were taken by a resident in the area of Azalea and Gardenia Drive this morning. He says the area, which includes the North Havenwoods apartment complex, has suffered on-going flooding problems due to curbside drains getting blocked. The resident told…
GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI)- The month of April is set aside each year by advocacy groups social service agencies as time to raise awareness about two very painful and traumatic experiences; child abuse and sexual assault. Amber Jones said she suffered in silence for years, living with the pain and shame of sexual abuse at the hands of a close…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – After 35 years with Columbus Fire and Rescue, the last eight of those as Chief, Monday was the final day on the job for Columbus Fire Chief Martin Andrews. “35 years, I always wanted to be a firefighter,” he says. “One of my main goals was to be the chief. I only wanted to be the…
LEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- The expansion of a work-release program allows up to 25 Lee County Jail inmates to work and make money under certain conditions but hurdles standing in the way are preventing those inmates from taking advantage of the program. Governor Reeves’ Signature to House Bill 586 gives Lee County, Harrison County, and Rankin County inmates who are…
SALTILLO, Miss. (WCBI) – A Saltillo man has been denied bond on first-degree murder charges. 37-year-old Timothy Albert Turner was taken into custody by Tupelo Police for aggravated assault. The victim, Leonard “KC” Cooper passed away on Sunday and, Charges were upgraded. The assault happened at Steele’s Dive on West Main in Tupelo around 1:30 a.m. When police arrived, the…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Tupelo police are looking for a man wanted for murder. There is an arrest warrant for capital murder for Nijel Valdez Hall. The United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force is assisting investigators in the search. Hall is the suspect in a shooting on April 9th at Hodges Drive in Tupelo. Police found 21-year-old Raybric Mims of…
OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Starkville woman has been charged with accessory after the fact in a 2021 murder. Rymesha Coggins was arraigned in Oktibbeha County Monday afternoon. The murder happened more than a year ago. Investigators have been working on the case since then. Oktibbeha County deputies were called to the 22 hundred block of Hickory Grove Road….
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – An investigation into a home invasion gets Lowndes County deputies more than they bargained for. Now an ex- Dollar General employee is in jail charged with stealing from his former bosses. Tyre Andre Ranch is in jail on a 1.5 million dollar bond. Ranch is charged with 4 counts of armed robbery. 3 of those…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s all about following your dreams. “If we face tomorrow we can do anything that we set our minds to and I’m so grateful for that,” said Alexander. That’s Bridgett C. Alexander’s motto….chasing your dreams. Teachers, firefighters, or a lawyer…that’s usually the answer for most kids when you ask them what they want to be when…
TUPELO,Miss. (WCBI)- The Lee County Coroner’s office is investigating the death of 31-year-old Leonard (KC) Cooper of Fulton. Around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, officers were called to 4187 West Main Street for reports of an assault. Cooper was taken to Regional Medical Center in Memphis, where he later died from his injuries. A suspect had been taken into custody for…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- A nearly empty cotton district during Super Bulldog Weekend in Starkville isn’t the scene that most folks are used to. Tyler Klaas, owner of Boardtown Pizza and Pints, said crowds are usually shoulder to shoulder. “Got the cotton district arts festival kind of plays into it, great weather and it’s just more people in town than you…
FULTON , MISS. (WCBI) – We have all heard the saying, ‘Honesty is the best policy.” For one retired banker, that saying proved to be pivotal when he did the right thing as a teenager. As Billy Bolton was at the ribbon cutting for Community Spirit Bank of Fulton, he couldn’t help but think back to a time, when as…
ABERDEEN, Miss. (WCBI) – Former WNBA player and Starkville Native April Sykes is bringing it back home. Sykes is in Aberdeen offering basketball lessons to kids today and tomorrow. April Sykes has been to the top of her sport, but she started out in a small town that gave her a lot of support. Now, she wants to show young…
OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- It’s the first voice you hear during an emergency call: the 911 operator. National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week highlights the critical work of dispatchers and operators. And their efforts don’t go unnoticed. When you dial 911, you’re connected to an emergency dispatcher within seconds. From start to finish,they’re the ones to assist in a time of…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- People may be paying a little more for those Easter eggs this year, and it seems to be a supply and demand problem. Sunflower store manager John Kemp has dealt with shortages and price increases throughout the entire COVID-19 pandemic. Kemp said the price of eggs is up nearly 40%, meaning customers will be paying about two…
CHICKASAW COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI ) – They say April showers bring May flowers, but that’s not the case for Fall soybeans and cotton. Those weekly storms that have been blowing across North Mississippi are keeping farmers from preparing their fields for planting. The soggy conditions make it difficult to get machinery in the fields, and they damage the soil structure….