Code
Featured, Local News

High School students see real life medical scenarios as part of “Code Blue and Red” drill

The exercise is meant to spark an interest in the medical field among students
Allie Martin,

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – Students from four area high schools got a chance to see real-life medical scenarios as part of a drill at the ICC Tupelo campus. The drill was called “Code Blue and Red” and it used ICC’s Health Science students to help simulate three scenarios,  a COVID patient, labor and delivery and a trauma accident. ICC’s President…

Mean Girls
Featured, Local News

A fourth grade student writes book to stop bullying in schools

The fourth grader shows her class about the power in words. 
Joey Barnes,

CLAY COUNTY,Miss. (WCBI)- It happens in classrooms, on the school bus, on the playground. Bullying. A student at West Clay Elementary is tacking the issue cover to cover. The fourth grader shows her class about the power in words. Classroom worksheets and recess, that’s the agenda for most students. But, there are some issues that go beyond the playground, like…

100000
Local News

Students question their spring break plans as gas prices rise

Ansley Perkins,

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Spring Break is almost here and students are getting ready to crank their cars up and head down the road. But the spike in gas prices has some students checking their wallets to see if they can stretch their cash enough to get to their destination. It’s the week students have been looking forward to since…

School Funding
Local News, State News

MDE investing millions of dollars into online health and safety platform

Joey Barnes,

JACKSON, Miss. (WCBI) – The Mississippi Department of Education is investing millions of dollars to provide a web-based health and safety platform for school districts around the state. The platform will provide several features including surveillance cameras with the ability to detect crowd congestion, virtual tours of schools for situational awareness in schools, a mobile app for emergency notifications and…

Bobby Joe Stafford Jr
Crime, Local News

Lowndes County inmate facing another charge after escaping custody

Joey Barnes,

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Lowndes County inmate is facing another charge after briefly escaping from custody. 42-year-old Bobby Joe Stafford Jr. was wanted for possession of stolen property. He’s now also charged with escape. Sheriff Eddie Hawkins says while Stafford being brought to Columbus from Monroe County he kicked out the window of a patrol vehicle. When the…

Odell Robinson
Crime, Local News

Oktibbeha county deputies make chase through Starkville

Joey Barnes,

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Oktibbeha deputies go to make a traffic stop but it ends in a chase through Starkville. 40-year-old Odell Robinson the third is charged with felony fleeing, tampering with evidence, and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. Investigators tell WCBI that a K9 attempted to stop Robinson on Highway 12. The pursuit went out into…

Latidlais
Crime, Local News

Federal jury in Oxford convicts Louisiana man in child sex case

Eric Lampkin,

OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI) – A federal jury in Oxford convicts a Louisiana man in a child sex case that stretched from Gonzales, Louisiana to Monroe County. Ronald Joseph Latiolais the third has been found guilty of transporting a minor in interstate commerce with intent to engage in unlawful sexual activity. The charges stem back to April 2019 when the then…

Drug Bust
Crime, Featured, Local News

Lowndes County narcotics agents make large drug bust

Joey Barnes,

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Lowndes County narcotics agents make a large drug bust and complete a two-year investigation. Now, 45-year-old Antonio Cockrell is charged with possession of methamphetamine, along with trafficking meth, cocaine, and marijuana. He’s also charged with three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and two counts of possession of a stolen firearm….

columbus police department
Crime, Featured, Local News

“Blue Flu” running through CPD after 5 officers call in sick

Joey Barnes,

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Five out of seven police officers called in sick today for their shift, leaving the city of Columbus without a full patrol force. This is an attention grabbing move according to one source, because these officers feel mis-treated within the department. Five officers with Columbus Police Department called work to say they weren’t coming in.. Those…

Truck Driving1
Featured, Local News

Vernon Milling training truck drivers to be more fuel-efficient amid record-high gas prices

Joey Barnes,

VERNON, Ala. (WCBI) – The current gas crisis is having a dramatic effect on the trucking industry. Vernon Milling Company in Lamar County says roughly 39 percent of their operating costs go to fuel as their drivers deliver to customers from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania. “Usually I pick up down around Mobile, Alabama then I go to just north of Pittsburgh,…

Pitciue Ee
Featured, Local News

A historic Mississippi college celebrates over century of tradition

Women's History Month highlights the broken glass ceilings and barriers through the years.
Joey Barnes,

COLUMBUS,Miss. (WCBI)- Women’s History Month highlights the broken glass ceilings and barriers through the years. Here in Mississippi, a historical women’s campus is celebrating founding members and tradition. Women aren’t always given equal opportunities to education, but times have progressed. In fact, in 2021, nearly 60% of the student body at universities were women. And some of those strides started…

K9 Wcbi
Featured, Local News

Tupelo PD hosts ‘Law Dog’ K 9 Seminar

Training allows K 9 teams to get certifications and to compete against each other
Allie Martin,

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – Police K 9 teams from across the state have spent the week in Tupelo, as part of intensive training. The Law Dog K 9 seminar is organized by the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officer’s Association or MLEOA. Some teams are completing their certification, while others are keeping their certification up to date.  It’s also an opportunity to…

Hows
Local Sports

City officials in Columbus are looking for ways to improve city housing

Ansley Perkins,

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Blighted housing is a worsening problem in Columbus, and city leaders are taking notice. But solutions cost money, and that can be a problem with a tight city budget. Columbus has many attractive homes and properties but you don’t have to drive far to see a different landscape. Rundown and unlivable houses are scattered around neighborhoods…

Dog Saved
Local News

Resident and dog saved in Starkville house fire

Ansley Perkins,

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – One MSU student and a dog named Sippi escaped a house fire last night. The Starkville Fire Department responded to a fire at eleven fifteen p.m. On North Nash street. The dog Sippi was trapped inside the home and when they found him he was not breathing. The dog was taken outside where paramedics performed CPR…

Truck Overturn
Local News

Lowndes County traffic backed up after 18-wheeler overturned

Joey Barnes,

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – An accident snarls traffic in Lowndes County this morning after an 18-wheeler overturns. The crash happened on Highway 45 Alternate just before 7 AM. State troopers say an 18-wheeler driven by Yancy Kirk of Poplarville was northbound on the highway. The Mississippi Highway Patrol says it appears the big rig collided with the rear of…

Oktibbeha Co Dam
Featured, Local News

Residents live with flooding, mudslides during decades of disrepair at Oktibbeha County Lake Dam

Joey Barnes,

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Monday, the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors voted (4-1) to move ahead with plans to rehabilitate the Oktibbeha County Lake Dam. The latest report from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality says the dam remains in unsatisfactory condition. “At home at night, you may think, ‘What if it bursts?’” says Brenda Jones, who says she’s lived…

Tb
Local News

Flooding in area raises concern to community members of Columbus

Ansley Perkins,

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Flooding is a perennial problem in Columbus. Over the years, some of those problems have been fixed. But others always tend to come bubbling up when the heavy rains come again. Rising water in Columbus brings rising complaints to the city government and the public works department I talked to a restaurant owner who says his…

School Garden
Featured, Local News

West Amory Elementary students get hands on lesson in gardening

Kindergarten students see how lettuce grows with a tower garden
Allie Martin,

AMORY, Miss. (WCBI) – It was a hands-on lesson for kindergarten students at an elementary school on how food gets from the farm to the table. It was a hands-on lesson for kindergarten students at an elementary school on how food gets from the farm to the table. Kindergarten students at West Amory Elementary were decked out in their farm…

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Featured, Local News

CREATE Foundation announces building initiative

The state's largest community foundation will get new headquarters in downtown Tupelo
Allie Martin,

TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – The state’s largest community foundation has unveiled plans for its new headquarters. The CREATE Foundation will build new headquarters in downtown Tupelo.  Plans were announced today for the building, which will sit on a one-acre lot at the corner of Jefferson and Commerce Streets. The project will allow CREATE to expand its office and meeting space,…

Muw Charter Week Thumbnail
Local News, News Team

School pride photo shoot at the MUW for Charter Week

Joey Barnes,

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- We’re halfway through the week and Mississippi University for Women continues to roll out its Charter Week celebrations, honoring the school’s anniversary. Students were able to pose with Ody the Owl for a school pride photo shoot at the “W” room on campus. Charter Week commemorates the anniversary of the legislation that created the school, the nation’s…