COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Educators are Essential – that was the message today from the Columbus Lowndes Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber welcomed back teachers and school staff with a pep rally before they get down to the serious business of the 2022 – 2023 school year. Teachers were treated with discounts at local businesses, door prizes, and entertainment. The…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A local barbershop and a nonprofit are teaming up to give kids a new look and a new outlook. Marcus Stokes runs the Bluprint foundation. He and barbers at Spotlight barber shop in Columbus invited boys ages 5 to 17 to get a free a haircut today. This is the second year Stokes has offered free…
OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Canton woman pleads guilty to murder in Oktibbeha County. However, her time in prison could change. Alexis Sanders was ordered to serve 32 years in prison after pleading guilty to second degree murder. Now, her attorneys have filed a motion to reconsider that prison sentence. They claim the victim’s family has requested Sanders not…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – A Starkville bank robber will spend the next decade in prison. Laquavis Collier was ordered to serve ten years behind bars for the September 2021 hold-up. He was sentenced in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court. The robbery happened at Renasant Bank on Lampkin Street. Starkville police say Collier walked into the bank and eventually stole some items…
JACKSON, Miss. (WCBI) – The State of Mississippi could save around$350,000 a year by getting rid of unused cellphones. That’s one of the findings from a State Auditor’s Office study of cellphone usage by state agencies. Shad White’s office analyzed over 2,123 state issued mobile devices from five state agencies, and found that 30% of those had little to no…
MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Two people are dead after a collision between a four-wheeler and a motorcycle in Monroe County. The crash happened Tuesday night just before 7:30. Monroe County Coroner Alan Gurley says it happened at the intersection of Old Wren Road and Wren Cemetery Road. The driver of the motorcycle, James Strawhorn, 22 and the driver of the…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A joint venture between a Mississippi company and an international firm is expected to bring nearly 100 more jobs to the Golden Triangle. Tuesday, the Golden Triangle Development LINK announced that Terberg Taylor Americas Group is investing close to $16 million to build a vehicle manufacturing facility in Lowndes County. “They’re going to create jobs,…
TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – A fundraising campaign for a Chickasaw Heritage Center in Tupelo is gaining momentum. The Chickasaw Inkana Foundation has released a draft of architectural drawings for the Chickasaw Heritage Center. That center will be built off of the Natchez Trace Parkway and will help tell the story of how the Chickasaws lived in Mississippi for hundreds of…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- Students are returning to class this week, but in some districts may not have a teacher when they get there. Like many others, the Columbus Municipal School District is facing a teacher and staff shortage. The district recently published a flyer showing 26 vacancies, including teachers, bus drivers, and cafeteria staff. Superintendent Dr. Cherie Labat said they’re…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi State’s vice president for research and economic development was at the Communiversity Tuesday to promote the partnership between MSU and East Mississippi Community College. Julie Jordan says that the Communiversity has already realized its purpose as a force for economic growth in the region by supporting and providing job training across all kinds of…
WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Winston County deputies upgrade charges in an ongoing homicide investigation. 30-year-old Darius Johnson is now charged with capital murder. Sheriff Jason Pugh says the underlying charge is home invasion. Johnson was denied bond. The shooting happened Sunday night on Hillcrest Circle. Johnson is accused of going to his ex-girlfriend’s home and shooting at her and…
MOOREVILLE, MISS. (WCBI) – Parents who take their kids to one Lee County Elementary School should notice smoother traffic flow when school starts back. The ribbon cutting officially opening the road and bridge to Mooreville Elementary caps months of work and years of planning and discussion, as the area has grown. “Appreciate the help, board of supervisors, road crew, think…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Giving individual farmers a bigger voice when it comes to policies that affect them, that’s part of the mission of the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation. Mike McCormick, president of the organization, was in Columbus today briefing business and community leaders on some of the issues facing Mississippi farmers. McCormick touched on several issues, including protecting property…
MACON, Miss. (WCBI) – A man believed to be involved in at least three separate shooting incidents has turned himself in to Macon Police. Macon Police Chief Devine Beck says bond for Jaquarious Wells was set at $200,000.He is charged with two counts of aggravated assault. An eyewitness told investigators Wells is the person involved in several shootings that happened…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Food insecurity is one of the many hardships that cancer patients face. But it’s one that North Mississippi Medical Center Cancer Care doesn’t want its patients to face on their own. “People come in here and they confide in us and tell us, ‘Hey, I don’t know if I have enough food to last till the…
LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The wall signifies 1,300 students that were a part of Louisville colored School years ago and want to remind people of the life they lived before it became Eiland Middle School. Hundreds of people surrounded the wall on Saturday to see the wall colored in blue and even to find their own names and the names…
WINSTON CO., Miss. (WCBI) – A Sunday night shooting left one person dead in Winston County.. The investigation is still in its early stages, but an arrest has been made.. Around 9:30 Sunday night, several shots were fired at 168 Hill Crest Circle in Louisville. When first responders got to the home, they found Lee Samuel Harris, of Canton, Mississippi…
CALEDONIA, Miss. (WCBI) – Caledonia’s Recreation Department gets a boost from Lowndes County. Lowndes County Supervisors have earmarked $50,000 to go to Caledonia for recent improvements made at the park. The money comes from the County’s share of the 2% restaurant tax. The $50,000 is reimbursement for improvements, including playground upgrades and air conditioning at the park’s concession stand. 20%…
CALEDONIA, Miss. (WCBI) – Some seniors were cheering up their parking lot. Caledonia High School’s upcoming senior class were able to go and paint their designated parking spots on Monday. Each spot is painted by the senior that occupies it during the school year with things that represent who they are or things they like. Students begin classes this Friday….
JACKON, Miss. (WCBI)- Some Entergy customers in our viewing area are due for a refund check. Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley says all 421 thousand Entergy customers are owed an 80 dollars refund after the Public Service Commission and Entergy reached an agreement settling a $300-million lawsuit. Counties in our viewing area that benefit from that settlement are Calhoun, Choctaw,…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Nearly a hundred new jobs could be coming to Lowndes County. At Monday’s meeting, Supervisors approved a memorandum of understanding with the Golden Triangle Development Link for an incentive package. The LINK will use the incentives to help bring a manufacturing facility and 90 new jobs to Lowndes County. The deal includes tax breaks, 300 thousand…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Columbus police make an arrest in a shooting that was caught on camera. 18-year-old Myquel Guyton is charged with aggravated assault. His bond was set at $25,000. The shooting happened July 27th at Sim Scott Park. Investigators believe Guyton was shooting at someone inside of a car. No one was injured in the gunfire. A Columbus…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Bond was denied for a woman charged in a Columbus homicide. 51-year-old Carla Marie Hunt is charged with murder. She remains in the Lowndes County jail. Hunt was indicted for accessory after the fact in a 2018 manslaughter case. That is the reason her bond was denied. This past Friday morning, 55-year-old Willie Jennings was found…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Jury selection began Monday in a Columbus murder trial. Curtis Lathan was scheduled to go to trial earlier this year but investigators made another arrest in the case just before that trial was scheduled to start. Lathan was indicted on a second-degree murder charge. The trial is expected to continue through the week. Lathan is accused…