COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A Columbus restaurant has been shut down since November 2021 after a burst septic tank led to significant erosion issues behind the building. “We’ve been operating for two years and all of a sudden, we started having a problem with the drainage canal in the back eroding the property,” says Curtis Bordenave, the general manager for…
NOXUBEE COUNTY,Miss. (WCBI)- School report cards are back in Mississippi. The Mississippi Department of Education is set to release accountability scores for the 2021-22 school year. Accountability scores are based on the performance of student achievement, participation and graduation rates. And state testing shows the proficiency in growth. But the pandemic has put a strain in the classroom, that’s why…
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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Tuesday night, the Columbus City Council voted to contract with SECURIX Systems to install cameras throughout the city to scan license plates and identify and fine uninsured drivers. SECURIX says Mississippi has the highest percentage of uninsured cars in the country. However, Vice Mayor and Ward 2 Councilman Joe Mickens says the choice is not that…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – It’s been a favorite stop on the Columbus Pilgrimage for 3 decades now. Tales From the Crypt is back. For 34 years students from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science have been presenting the lives of past residents of Columbus buried in Friendship Cemetery. The program was on hiatus due to the pandemic. Now teachers…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – The suspect in a Tupelo bank robbery is behind bars over 150 miles away. Jasper Wagner of Tupelo was arrested around 4:30 this afternoon in Leeds, Alabama – that’s just outside of Birmingham. Wagner is accused of robbing the Community Bank branch on West Main around 12:30 this afternoon. No one was injured in that robbery….
ABERDEEN, MISS. (WCBI) – Aberdeen Public Utilities will soon have a larger space to work out of. The city has purchased the buildings and land owned by a longtime businessman. Dwight Stevens is making sure everything is ready and in place for what will be the final auction from his company’s headquarters on North Meridian Street. “We will be selling…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)- A motorcyclist loses his life in a vehicle crash in Lowndes County on Tuesday. The Mississippi Highway Patrol says shortly before 6:30, 24-year-old Jimmy Handley of Columbus was traveling west on Highway 50 on his motorcycle. A report says Handley tried to pass one vehicle before colliding with the rear end of another. Handley died at…
CLAY COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Clay County murder trial continues in West Point. The prosecution called several witnesses to the stand today. Roderick Johnson is one of three men accused of shooting and killing James White. White was killed in May 2015 at a mobile home on Dixie Road in Clay County. The district attorney’s office still has several…
LEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A man is facing charges for allegedly kidnapping his girlfriend and driving her from Tupelo to Oxford. Lee County investigators say police in Oxford contacted them Tuesday after a woman came to the police department saying she was forced in a car against her will. The victim told investigators she and her boyfriend, 45-year-old Shelton…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (W CBI) – Rundown properties are a problem in just about every town. In Columbus, city leaders are taking steps to clean things up. Tuesday night the city council voted to adopt guidelines for a Blight Elimination Program. The program would allow the city to demolish blighted properties and offer other uses for those cleared spaces, including redevelopment…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A Springtime favorite is back in Columbus this weekend. Catfish in the Alley comes to town Thursday. The 3-day event features Food, Crafts, and Music. This year’s Catfish in the Alley features a stellar musical line-up. Thursday night’s kick-off at the Tennessee Williams Welcome Center starts at 5 PM and features Just a Few Cats. Friday…
PICKENS COUNTY, Ala. (WCBI) – An investigation is underway after an inmate dies inside the Pickens County jail. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency says 44-year-old Samual Byrd of Hamilton, Alabama died this past Sunday. ALEA was asked to investigate Byrd’s death by the Pickens County Sheriff’s Department. Special agents with the agency’s State Bureau of Investigation are handling the case….
TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – Tupelo City Council members have voted to amend the city’s development code to show where medical cannabis businesses can and can’t locate. Elliot Johnston opened “Hempsters” almost one year ago. The west Tupelo business is a hemp dispensary, but Johnston plans on cultivating and selling medical marijuana, once the city finalizes its guidelines. “We would most likely…
WINONA, Miss. (WCBI)- Two years ago; COVID-19 began spreading through the south. It was the beginning of masks and quarantine and a strain on hospitals and the people who work there. The spread appears to have slowed, and doctors and nurses say they have learned a lot. Medical researchers say we may always live with some form of coronavirus. Hospital…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Monday was Jim Brigham’s first day on the job as Chief Financial Officer for the City of Columbus. He’s already hitting the ground running. “We’re looking at catching up on some of the accounting that’s behind, some of the account reconciliations, making sure that our payables and receivables are up-to-date, just getting things organized,” Brigham says….
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – New video tonight of a Columbus police officer appearing to throw a handcuffed suspect to the ground. Now, the city council will discuss what happened. Through a public records request, WCBI obtained body camera video of a March 19th incident on Waverley Ferry Road. Police were there to arrest an erratic acting man. He was eventually…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Two Lowndes County supervisors want to set the record straight on why they voted against a 12 million dollar sportsplex plan. Jeff Smith and Leroy Brooks say the proposal should include more options. The District 4 and 5 supervisors also believe whatever the county builds will have a direct impact on recreation in the city…
NEWTON, Miss. (WCBI) – Attached is the video of a possible tornado. It was caught on tape by a security camera at the District 5 MDOT office in Newton. No one was injured. And, as soon as the storm passed, MDOT workers from this office were on the road clearing debris on US Highway 80. The highway was closed for several…
LEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Investigators have located one missing teenager. But they are still searching for the other. The two girls were believed to be runaways. Lee County Youth Court Judge Staci Bevill has released their photographs in hopes of locating them. 16-year-old Serena Beckley was last seen on Anderson Road in Pontotoc on Sunday, April 3rd. She is…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Add Mississippi’s top judge to the list of those supporting the expansion of the state’s drug courts. Mike Randolph, Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, was in Columbus Tuesday promoting the intervention program as an alternative to sentencing some drug offenders to prison. The state’s high court hopes to establish 16 new intervention courts in…
CLAY COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Opening arguments begin this morning in a Clay County murder trial. Roderick Johnson is one of three men accused of shooting and killing James White. White was killed in May 2015 at a mobile home on Dixie Road in Clay County. Two others were indicted in connection with the shooting. Raheem Johnson was convicted and…
HOUSTON, Miss. (WCBI) – Wednesday, the Mississippi State Senate followed the House passed a bill that would create freestanding emergency rooms in rural counties that do not have one. Chickasaw County is one them. “In a life or death situation, you have your Golden Hour they taught us that that person needs to get to critical care,” Chickasaw County EMA…
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…