SMITHVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- Severe weather is all too common this time of year; how people prepare for storms is often influenced by whether or not they been through one. An EF-5 tornado devastated the small town of Smithville just over a decade ago, and the lessons learned from that experience still affect preparation today Smithville principal Chad O’Brian was the…
JACKSON, Miss. (WCBI) – 31 counties are now reporting damage from last week’s severe weather that rolled across the state. In our area, 15 homes were damaged in Calhoun County and ten houses were damaged in Yalobusha and Attala Counties. Attala is reporting ten homes and four in Lafayette. Numbers from Noxubee are incomplete. The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency says…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – A man is indicted in connection to a Macon shooting. Shedrick Shanklin is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, shooting into a dwelling, and arson. A Noxubee County grand jury recently returned the indictment. The shooting happened in December 2020 on North Turner Road. Two people were inside the home when the shots were fired….
JACKSON, Miss. (WCBI) – Governor Tate Reeves signs a bill that would keep some private money out of elections in Mississippi. Reeves signed House Bill 1365 into law at a public ceremony today. The Governor touts the measure as a way to keep out-of-state money out of state and local elections. HB 1365 makes it illegal for state agencies and…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Kelly Elliott takes the reins as the next Tupelo Fire Chief. He was sworn in this morning at the BancorpSouth Conference Center. Mayor Todd Jordan made the recommendation last month to the city council. Elliott was the Fire Chief for the 172nd Airlift Wing of the Mississippi National Guard. He has over 30 years of experience…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The clock is ticking for some businesses in Starkville. Those that haven’t complied with the city’s sign ordinance now only have one month to make the necessary changes. May 5th is the deadline to replace all pole-mounted signs with a lower profile, monument-style signage. The city is in the process of surveying affected areas to see…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The long-awaited Lowndes County Sportsplex is a step closer to reality but many questions remain about the future. Supervisors awarded a $12.3 million bid to West Brothers Construction on Monday. That’s several million dollars below the estimate. Included in the plans are eight baseball fields, a multi-purpose facility, a parking lot, a playground, and a…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Lowndes County couple loses their home in an early morning fire. Fire Coordinator Neil Austin says the blaze happened on Mason Drive West, just after 3:30 AM. The homeowners reported hearing a noise on the back porch and went to investigate. They found a wall of flames and were able to escape without injury….
ABERDEEN, MISS. (WCBI) – The popular event is back in Aberdeen after a three-year hiatus. The Aberdeen Pilgrimage began today and there are lots of activities for this year’s event. History comes to life as Pilgrimage visitors step onto the front porch of “The Magnolias”. The antebellum home was built in 1850 and is one of four homes on the…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) -MSU’S Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity is raising funds for their community members, one dollar at a time. All donations will be given to the Boys and Girls Club of Starkville. Burgers are on the grill and carnival rides are getting started. “It’s really important for us as a chapter to be involved in the Starkville community and…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Sudduth Elementary hosted Touch a Truck this weekend. Students got the opportunity to meet the first responders and learn more about their role in the community. Touch-A-Truck gives area children an opportunity to check out different vehicles and machinery. Coordinators says this event could spark inspiration for children in the future. “They get to meet the…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) -The Friendly City is working together to become a clean city. This weekend the community of Columbus started the ‘Pick it up, possum town’ project The project originated from Mayor Keith Gaskin. While this is just day one of the clean-up efforts. Each person I talked to says they feel it will make a difference. In the…
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Categories: WCBI Sunrise Saturday
CALHOUN COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- Advanced technology has improved almost every area of daily life. In Calhoun County some of that technology is helping the sheriff’s office get a bird’s eye view of things that they may have missed before. Drones have been helping departments with search and rescue, tracking suspects, and finding missing persons, but lately they’ve been in the…
GREENVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- Keeping small businesses alive…. it’s a challenge across the country. One place that knows that challenge too well is the Mississippi Delta. Vice President Kamala Harris makes a stop in Greenville today, with one goal in mind -investing in Small Businesses and Communities. One by one, businesses in Greenville appear to be vanishing… If you travel west…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Starkville police arrested three people in connection with an armed robbery arrest. Jahri Doss and Dawson Beard are both charged with aggravated assault and armed robbery. Bond is $100,000 for both suspects. The hold-up happened at a camper site off of Reed Road. Kaya Rocha is charged with accessory after the fact and has a $10,000….
NOXUBEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Noxubee County man is indicted in connection with a gas station shooting. Travontae Slaughter remains in the Noxubee County jail. A grand jury indicted him on the charge of aggravated assault. Slaughter’s bond was set at $100,000. He’s accused of shooting a man at Tenn Tom Grocery Store in late December 2020. The victim…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s a simple children’s toy that has taken on greater significance, especially in the month of April. Since 2008 the pinwheel has been used to symbolize child abuse prevention. Today, to mark the beginning of Child Abuse Prevention Month, nearly 50 city officials and business leaders in Starkville planted blue pinwheels at the Emerson Discovery Center….
CLAY COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Some of the smallest children in Clay County take to the park to raise awareness about a big problem. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. And elementary students and their teachers took part in a parade around Sally Kate Winters Park in West Point to focus attention on the issue. The kids carried signs…
JACKSON, Miss. (WCBI) – The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency has released the second damage report from Wednesday’s severe weather event. At least 9 tornadoes have been confirmed by the National Weather Service and six injuries have been reported. In our viewing area, Attala county 10 homes and 10 farms were damaged. Thirty-two counties have reported some sort of damage in…
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LOWNDES COUNTY,Miss. (WCBI)- Do you have a safe place to go during a tornado warning? Time is critical when finding a structure that will keep you protected. County agencies are working for citizens to have access to those places when severe weather strikes. ” It could be within minutes. They could have a thunderstorm, and then within minutes, it turns…