COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Columbus city leaders get the ball rolling on a redistricting plan. At a work session, the mayor and city council heard a preliminary redistricting report from Chris Watson of Bridge and Watson Consultants in Oxford. After each census, cities, and counties have to redraw ward and district lines to adjust for changes in population and to…
WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Winston County jurors returned a not guilty verdict in a murder trial. The verdict was read to Ru-shaka Cobb in Winston County Circuit Court this afternoon. Cobb was arrested in December 2019. He was accused of shooting and killing Lee Andrew Hughes Junior. The trial started yesterday. Cobb could face charges related to alleged assaults…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi’s Congressional delegation announces $15 million in grants for 29 airports in the state. The money comes from a Federal Aviation Administration program. Golden Triangle Regional Airport will receive $1 million to improve the contract tower, terminal building, and install lighting and fencing. The Columbus-Lowndes County airport will also get money to fix the taxiway. Airports…
STARKVILLE/AMORY, Miss. (WCBI) – School is almost out and the heat is here which means it is time for the parks to open. The J.L King Senior Memorial Park in Starkville and the Frisco Park in Amory have both opened their splash pads. Moncrief Pool in Starkville is scheduled to open Memorial Day Weekend. Community members may enjoy the splash…
JACKSON, Miss. (WCBI) – The Mississippi State Department of Health says it is seeing more COVID-19 cases being reported. Right now, nearly 200 omicron variant cases are being reported and the trend continues to climb. Many of the cases are happening with people that are 50 and older. MSDH continues to urge people to get vaccinated and get a booster…
TUPELO AND AMORY, Miss. (WCBI) – North Mississippi Health Services’ hospitals in Tupelo and Amory are recognized by a national safety organization. The Tupelo and Amory locations recently received an “A” from Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. Grades reflect the hospital’s efforts to protect patients from preventable harm and error in the hospital. Leapfrog is an independent national watchdog organization that…
WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A man accused of taking a car is in jail but the vehicle hasn’t been found. Nathan Cotton was arrested in Neshoba County on Wednesday night. Winston County deputies believe he took a white Dodge car earlier this week. Sheriff Jason Pugh says the vehicle was taken from a home on Highway 397. The car’s…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Wednesday, members of the Clay, Lowndes, Noxubee and Oktibbeha county branches of the NAACP held a demonstration calling on judges to grant more parole requests for nonviolent offenders. Many held pictures of some of the people who are now eligible for parole, who have spent anywhere from 10 to 30 years behind bars. “You got a…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – A former Starkville Fire Department employee is accused of misusing city equipment. 45-year-old Clarence Parks is charged with embezzlement: fraud committed in public office. Starkville police say the investigation started after internal and external complaints. He was an employee at SFD at the time of the complaints. Investigators did not release specific allegations against Parks but…
NOXUBEE CO, Miss. (WCBI) – Remains of dead dogs were found in Noxubee County, and police are looking for the people who dumped them there. The Noxubee County Sheriff’s Department is looking for the person or people who did this. Right now they don’t know how or why the dogs ended up there, but one theory is that it may…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – It was a room full of girl power! More than 30 students in Tupelo wrapped up months of training in the Milam Elementary Girls Leadership Academy. The school club for female students fosters characteristics like courage, confidence, and goal-setting. The girls have been participating in programs and activities that help them not only build leadership skills,…
CLAY COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Two Alabama residents are accused of taking payments for a pool, and leaving their prospective customers in the hole. Investigators with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office have arrested Amanda Remer and Kirk Lewis of Aliceville for Home Repair Fraud. The pair are accused of taking an$8,000 pre-payment to install a swimming pool for a resident,…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The next time Columbus Mayor Keith Gaskin goes on a listening tour he should be able to hear what folks have to say. Gaskin visited the Speech and Hearing Center on the campus of Mississippi University for Women for a hearing screening Wednesday morning. May is National Better Hearing and Speech Month. It’s a time to…
WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Winston County deputies need your help finding a stolen car and the man accused of taking it. Nathan Cotton has been accused of taking a white Dodge car. Sheriff Jason Pugh says the vehicle was stolen on Monday night from a home on Highway 397. The car’s license plate is FRG8235. If you know where…
LAMAR COUNTY, Ala. (WCBI)- A Lamar County man will serve 17 years in prison for child sex crimes. 51-year-old Byron Keith McCalpin was arrested for sexually abusing a child under 12-years-old. The victim reported the abuse in March 2020. McCalpin will not be eligible for parole for good time release based on the nature of his conviction. McCalpin will have…
WINSTON COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A murder trial began in Winston County Wednesday. Ru-shaka Cobb has been charged with murder. He was arrested in December 2019 by Choctaw Tribal Police. Cobb was taken into custody on the Crystal Ridge Reservation in Winston County. He’s accused of shooting and killing Lee Andrew Hughes Junior. The 27-year-old’s body was found just before…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Columbus police arrested two armed robbery suspects and are looking for one more. 32-year-old Arsenio Wells and 18-year-old Charlie Owens III are both charged with armed robbery. Police Chief Fred Shelton says the alleged incident happened on April 14th. Investigators believe the victim was picked up in a vehicle and driven around. After he bought a…
OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Bond has been set at $1 million for an Oktibbeha County homicide suspect. Arti Brown was extradited to Oktibbeha County on Tuesday. He’s charged with murder and remains in the Oktibbeha County jail. 32-year-old Dylan Meikle was shot outside the Links Apartments this past Friday night. He later died at the hospital. Investigators quickly identified…
CARROLLTON, Ala. (WCBI) – Casey White will soon be returning to a north Alabama jail, following his capture and the apparent suicide of Vicky White. Tuesday, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey expressed her relief that the manhunt was over. “I’m delighted that they’re no longer a negative force in our society,” she says. “I congratulate law enforcement on their efforts and…
PICKENS COUNTY, Ala. (WCBI) – Governor Kay Ivey toured businesses in Alabama’s Black Belt Tuesday to promote the importance of the forestry and recreation industries to the state’s economy. “Carrollton, Alabama’s got a lot of timber and that’s a good thing,” the governor says. Her first stop was Cooper Marine and Timberlands in Carrollton. “She understands what forest products are…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A Columbus man will spend the next 18 years in prison. Terrius Armistad pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and burglary. An armed robbery charge was retired in the case. Armistad shot a man in January 2020 on 20th Street North in Columbus. At the time, investigators told WCBI the shooting stemmed from an argument over money….
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Baptist Golden Triangle receives another “A” and makes a bit of history with the award. The Leapfrog Group awards hospitals the culture of safety rating each year. BMH-GT has won the award for ten consecutive years. This makes it the only hospital in Mississippi with the distinction and only one of 22 in the nation. The…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Two Noxubee County men are facing several charges after being indicted in Lowndes County. Eddie Lee Stokes, of Brooksville, is charged with three counts of aggravated assault and two counts of shooting into a dwelling. Amarcus McMillian, of Macon, is charged with three counts of aggravated assault. A trial date has not been set for Stokes….
TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – May is “Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month” and local motorcyclists say they want motorists on 4 wheels to be aware of those on 2 wheels. Late last year, a motorcycle rider was heading North on Gloster, when a van turned in front of him. His GoPro captured what happened next. Miraculously, he walked away from the crash with…