United Way asks donors to give clothes in good condition

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – An apartment complex in Columbus caught on fire last week across from Lee park. Members of the United Way are welcoming the community to donate clothes to the fire victims. Members ask that anyone who plans on donating to please make sure the clothes are washed and also be sure that the clothes are the appropriate…

School decides to learn remotely after rise in COVID numbers

LAMAR COUNTY, Ala. (WCBI) -Lamar county schools have decided to switch to at home learning starting from last Thursday until Tuesday the 18th. They decided that this was the safest plan after there was a surge of COVID-19 numbers in the area last Monday and Tuesday. Teachers prepared their students with pencil and paper packets with previous learning material that…

Renovation project breathing new life into Downtown Columbus

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A project that’s breathing new life into an old hotel in Downtown Columbus is about 75% complete. The years-long renovation kicked into high gear last year and will be a mixed-use space featuring 9 retail spaces on the ground floor and 18 apartments on the upper level. With most of the structural work done, Chris Chain,…

Oktibbeha Co. Humane Society honoring legendary Betty White

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The Oktibbeha County Humane Society is giving you the chance to be a pet owner while honoring the legendary Betty White. The “Betty White Challenge” is viral across the internet and the U-S and now Oktibehha County Humane Society is joining in. OCHS is hosting a Betty White Challenge adoption event now through Saturday. All…

Columbus bank robbery suspect remains in jail

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A Columbus bank robbery suspect remains in jail. Police Chief Fred Shelton says J.R. Edwards was out on bond when he was arrested earlier this week. This means Edwards will stay at the Lowndes County Adult Detection Center. The attached video is from Monday morning just after the hold-up at Trustmark Bank. Shelton says Edwards was…

Mardi Gras coming to Aberdeen in February

Four day celebration features family-friendly fun

ABERDEEN, MISS. (WCBI) – Preparations are underway for a huge celebration in one Monroe County city. As soon as Christmas was over, Neil Palmer started decorating for Mardi Gras. “Mardi Gras is just a fun holiday, let the good times roll,” Palmer said. Palmer is one of the organizers for this year’s Mardi Gras Celebrations in Aberdeen. “This is a fun…

MSU to make changes to their MLK celebrations

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi State University will once again host its annual MLK day celebration virtually. The event will be held in the gallery of the Mill Conference Center this year. The guest speaker of the day will be Angela Turner Ford. Other speakers include MSU President Dr. Mark Keenum and Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill. The MSU Black Voices…

West Point to hold MLK march through town with program at the end

WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI) – Organizers of the West Point Martin Luther King Day celebration still plan to host an event this year – just in a different way. The event usually features a march through town that ends with a program. Event coordinator Anna Jones says, because of COVID restrictions, this year they will have a motorcade. They will…

Investigators trying to determine cause of Lowndes County house fire

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Investigators are trying to determine what caused a house fire in Lowndes County overnight. Family members called 911 when they discovered the fire in their home on Honnoll Mill Road. Lowndes County Fire Coordinator Neil Austin says crews from the District 1 fire department responded around 3 o’clock this morning. When they got there, the…

U.S. Postal Inspection Service released artist sketch of Vaiden robbery suspect

VAIDEN, Miss. (WCBI) – Investigators with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service release an artist’s sketch of the suspect in the Vaiden Post Office Robbery. The PIS is offering a reward of up to 50 thousand dollars for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who committed that robbery. The Vaiden Post Office was robbed Saturday morning around…

University of Mississippi Medical Center: Overwhelming Omicron surge creates unprecedented staff shortages

JACKSON, Miss. (WCBI) – The University of Mississippi Medical Center says the COVID-19 Omicron surge is redefining what “unprecedented” means when it comes to staff shortages. Tuesday, UMMC released their latest hospitalization numbers, saying they currently have 125 COVID patients as of 8 p.m. In December, they say they only had 18 COVID patients. Before the pandemic, UMMC says they…

Calhoun County company brings high speed internet to more rural areas of Pontotoc County

Bruce Telephone's "We Connect" is making high speed fiber available to more than six hundred homes

PONTOTOC COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – High-speed internet is now available to people in the more rural areas of Pontotoc County. Scott Foster had high-speed internet installed at “Seafood Junction” in Algoma about a week ago, and says it is already making a big difference. “We’ve started offering online orders, to-go ordering, people can go online, pay for meal online, show…

Man arrested for allegedly threatening to ambush and rape female real estate agents in multiple Mississippi counties

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department announced Tuesday that a man wanted for allegedly threatening to ambush and rape female real estate agents in several counties across Mississippi, is in their custody. Convicted sex offender Frank Mainka of Scott County has a long history of cyberstalking dating back to 2007. But it was during the first week…

Columbus Municipal Schools are keeping safety protocols in place

Many schools are back or heading back in session after winter break

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- Many schools are back or heading back in session after winter break. Some districts have been flexible with their COVID-19 precautions, while others haven’t changed theirs since the initial guidelines. Dr. Cherie Labat, superintendent at Columbus Municipal School District,  said that her school district from top to bottom are keeping COVID-19 safety measures in place to try…

Longtime Columbus City Councilman, Fred Stewart, has died

  COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A longtime Columbus City Councilman has died. Fred Stewart passed away early Tuesday morning. Stewart represented the people of Ward 4 on the City Council. He was elected for 5 terms, and only narrowly lost the 6th bid to then political newcomer Marty Turner in 2013. Stewart was known as a calm and steady presence…

Truck overturned in Oktibbeha County on Tuesday morning

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – A big rig ended up on its side after the driver ran off the road in Oktibbeha County this morning. The accident happened around 8:30 on Highway 12 – four miles west of Starkville. The highway was blocked for a couple of hours as crews cleaned up from the accident. The driver of the truck was…

Bridge in Starkville open after three weeks of being closed

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – After more than three months of repair work, a bridge in Starkville is reopening to traffic. The bridge on Old West Point Road was closed last July to begin the process of removing and replacing it. The construction phase started in September. Crews are using the next few days to put on the finishing touches. The…

MSDH reporting over 5,700 new COVID-19 cases

JACKSON, Miss. (WCBI) – The latest COVID Wave in Mississippi is beginning to look like a tsunami. The Mississippi State Department of Health is reporting over 5,700 new cases today. That brings the total of reported cases since Friday up to just over 22,000. To put that into perspective, that is about twice the population of the city of West…

Assistant District Attorney latest to qualify for judicial race

WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI) – An Assistant District Attorney and West Point native is the latest person to qualify for the judicial race in the 16th District Circuit Court. Trina Davidson-Brooks announces her candidacy today in West Point. Davidson-Brooks is a graduate of Mississippi University for Women and Mississippi College School of LAw. She served as City Prosecutor in her…