City leaders explain financial concerns that led Columbus to pass on FEMA money

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Tuesday, the Columbus City Council voted unanimously to withdraw its FEMA application for reimbursement for the construction of the Sim Scott Community Center after the 2019 tornado. That was after Mayor Keith Gaskin submitted what appeared to be concerning financial records to the State Auditor’s office days before. “It looked as if we may be in…

NEMCC gets donation that will help train more truckers for the road

Morgan Van Lines donates an 18 wheeler to the community college

BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – A local community college gets an 18 wheeler to help train future truck drivers. Steve Morgan owns Morgan Van Lines and says the moving company wanted to partner with NEMCC, to do what it can to help alleviate the truck driver shortage. “We had trucks coming off our depreciation schedule,  it’s a great program here, Northeast does a…

Lowndes County home went up in flames Wednesday morning

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Lowndes County home goes in flames this morning. The fire happened on North Spurline Road at about 11 AM. Lowndes County Fire Coordinator Neil Austin says it appears the fire started in the carport and went into the attic. Investigators believe the fire could be electrical in nature. No one at the home was…

District 32 now has a new State Senator

NOXUBEE AND WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – For the first time in nearly 30 years there is a new District 32 State Senator. Rod Hickman has officially been sworn in this morning in the Senate chambers at the state Capitol. Hickman fended off eight other candidates to win a runoff election. He previously served as the Noxubee County prosecutor. Hickman…

Aberdeen High School students prepping for next step in life

ABERDEEN, Miss. (WCBI) – Aberdeen High School students are getting a head start on planning the next phase of their lives. The school held a career fair to let students see what kind of opportunities are available once they have their diplomas in hand. Representatives from area industries, colleges, and the armed forces were on hand to let the teens…

USDA gives Mississippi chicken growers up to $23 million for pandemic losses

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- The U.S. Department of Agriculture hatched up millions of dollars to support Mississippi chicken growers. Contract growers who raise chicken for poultry process companies were previously not given federal assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic. That led to many farmers suffering substantial losses when processing facilities were forced to reduce or stop production. With help from Senator Roger…

COVID-19 could have an impact on the repair of local dam

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – COVID-19 could have an impact on the repair of the Oktibbeha County Lake dam. Supervisors recently voted to use American Recovery Plan Act money to make some of the repairs. The vote came after recently finding out ARPA funds could be used for some repairs but not the whole project. An engineering firm has completed…

Columbus City Council votes to withdraw FEMA application

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Tuesday night, the Columbus City Council voted to withdraw its FEMA application for Sim Scott Park. The city was eligible to be reimbursed over $1 million in total. City Attorney Jeff Turnage made the announcement after the city council went into executive session for close to an hour. Mississippi state law says any public project over…

Winston Co. Sheriff’s Department drone saving lives and saving money after nearly 200 successful flights

LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – In its first full year of operation, the Winston County Sheriff’s Department’s new drone completed 195 successful flights and the sheriff believes it is a game-changer for his agency. “When you can fly this over a 100-acre area in less than an hour, where it would take a search team half a day to search, that…

Bomb threat calls are no joking matter

A bomb threat is defined as a threat to detonate an explosive device to cause damage, death, or injuries

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- Two bomb threats in three days  created tension in Columbus, and had Columbus police working overtime; both turned out to be false alarms. A bomb threat is defined as a threat to detonate an explosive device to cause damage, death, or injuries. The threat is taken serious until proven otherwise. On Saturday, December 4, 2021, a Columbus…

Sim Scott work leaves questions for city leaders

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The Sim Scott Community Center is the gathering place for this northside neighborhood. When it was destroyed in 2019 there was a movement to rebuild it as quickly as possible. The building was completed earlier this year for a reported cost of nine hundred thousand dollars that the city was hoping FEMA would be reimbursed. But…

Columbus students learn the skill of coding during international event

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi State University and Columbus Middle School created a partnership to help students crack the code. Tuesday, students at Columbus Middle participated in an international event called “Hour of Code.” Kids were able to learn how to code and write programs in order to create dance characters for drama class. Devin Hill the Columbus Municipal School…

Starkville Police Department K-9 receive bullet proof best from non-profit

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – A national non-profit is helping a Starkville Police Officer suit up. Starkville K-9 Officer, Kojack will be getting a new bullet and stab-resistant vest thanks to a donation by Vested Interest in K-9s Incorporated. The group provides vests and other assistance to law enforcement dogs throughout the United States. Kojack has been with SPD since September….

Starkville Police Department requests your assistance locating Saleisha Murry

STARKVILLE, Miss. (PRESS RELEASE) – The Starkville Police Department requests your assistance locating Saleisha Murry aka “Shay Shay” (13). Murry was last seen leaving Louisville St. on Friday night, December 3rd. She is described as 5’4″, 120lbs. She was last seen wearing a yellow jacket, blue jeans, and brown shoes. The Starkville Police Department and her family are concerned for…

Tupelo man dies following police interaction

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI)- A man in Tupelo dies after an interaction with police officers. Around 7:40 Sunday night, law enforcement arrived at Motel 6 on East Main for a call about a man damaging a room. Reports say officers arrived and noticed through the window that the man was lying on the floor and blocking the door. Less than ten…

Libraries in Starkville and Columbus taking part in Mississippi’s Anti-Racism Reading Shelf program

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The Columbus and Starkville public libraries are among the more than 150 across the state participating in the “Anti-Racism Reading Shelf” grant program. The Mississippi Humanities Council created the program in the midst of the nationwide movement for racial equality after the killing of George Floyd. Its goal is to make sure readers have access to…

Transporting a suspect is a process that law enforcement know all too well

Transporting a prisoner isn't a leisurely road-trip

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- 23- year – old Shad Reese was shot and killed in his vehicle on November 1, 2021. The suspected shooter, 19- year- old Kingduron Pyle, was tracked down in Shoshoni Wyoming later that month after police responded to a disturbance call. “They alerted us saying hey we have found Mr. Pyle in our jurisdiction we understand that…

Main Street in Columbus shut down after bomb threat

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) -New information tonight in a bomb threat that shut down Main Street in Columbus. Columbus police have made an arrest. Around 5:30 Columbus Police issued a press release stating that a 12-year-old juvenile from Macon has been arrested. He’s being charged with making a false bomb threat. Police Chief Fred Shelton says the call was targeting Domino’s…

Lowndes County horse park is officially open for business

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The Lowndes County horse park is officially open for business. A ribbon-cutting was held this morning for what is officially, the Lowndes County Agri-Center and Pavilion. The facility is a partnership between Lowndes County and the Mississippi State University Extension Service. The main attraction is a large pavilion, that county leaders and the extension service…