ARCHIVES

Packet #833 - June 25, 2009

Hank and Miller Greene stare at a baby alligator on the arm of Wildlife Specialist John Powell. The baby gator
was found near the Greenes’ home on Military Road Tuesday morning. A search is on for the breeding pair that
produced the baby gator.

A baby alligator found sunning on a log near Military Road Tuesday has left the property owners wondering where its parents live.

The baby gator long was found Tuesday morning behind Rusty and Beth Greene’s house at 3279 Military Road (on the high ground across from Bethel Baptist Church). The Greene’s own eight acres, including a stream that meanders down from the heights above, where two ponds are located. Beth Greene is a teacher at Caledonia Elementary and Rusty is assistant principal of Caledonia Middle School. Their estate includes some foot bridges that cross the stream.

Monday morning Beth was walking across one of the bridges when she saw a little reptile about ten inches long sunning on a log. She said to herself that she wished her boys, Miller and Hank, were there so they could see the big lizard. She went back to the house and told Rusty about the lizard and he put on his waders and got his dip net and went back and saw what it was and captured it.

Rusty put the gator in an ice chest and netted a minnow for the gator to eat. He then tried to get a Fish & Wildlife agent to come see what he had. The agents were at a seminar but John Powell, a Wildlife Specialist with the Wildlife Service drove over from Starkville to check it out.

“I don’t get many calls like this,” Powell said. “I’m just here to confirm it’s an alligator.”

Beth told the Packet reporter, “John informs us that they’re [the parents] more than likely close by. There are two lakes on the hill above the house.”

“But I don’t think the mama will come looking for him,” said Powell.

The baby gator tried to eat a minnow but it wouldn’t go down its throat.

Powell said that alligators have to be several feet long to procreate. He said that at that age their jaws and teeth are similar to those of a big pike. He said that the gator population in Lowndes County is on the rise.

Rusty said the parents probably crossed under Military Road via a culvert and then worked their way upstream.

Later Beth went back to the spot where she’d first seen the baby gator and “got real spooked” thinking what else was out there. She said that Kerry Pittman, an outdoorsman, had talked Rusty into going on an exploratory expedition yesterday to try to find the gator’s parents. She said that Pittman took the baby gator, to release him somewhere else, but told them that its chances of survival were not good. He told the Greenes that a breeding pair of alligators produce a “clutch” of babies. Speaking of the baby gator, Pittman told them, “He’s probably got brothers and sisters.”

Beth said it might be time to sell their property. “Put it in the paper,” she told the Packet reporter. “Say ‘motivated.’”

Squirt Pernell

A West Point drug dealer doing time in prison has been charged with murdering Roosevelt Pernell Jr. more than five years ago. Robert Rupert was charged with the murder Monday, reportedly after days of questioning by Clay County Sheriff’s Office investigators in West Point. Rupert is serving a 30-year prison term for dealing drugs but was reportedly moved to Clay County for the questioning.

Clay County Sheriff Laddie Huffman issued a statement on the arrest to area news outlets but refused to give the news release to the Packet. Huffman told the Packet editor yesterday to get his information from the Commercial Dispatch. [In the past, I have criticized Mr. Huffman for using county prisoners to do his personal work, among other things. • The Dispatch article contained some errors that I recognized and it may contain other errors I’m not aware of. I’ll only draw on the Dispatch article here when I cite it as a source. The Packet carried more about the

Pernell was murdered on the night of December 4, 2003 and his brother, Cedric Pernell, was wounded in the attack as they drove away from their mother’s home at the intersection of Seth & Division Streets. Cedric was driving and the shots rang out as he turned left onto Division. The shots came from a nearby railroad embankment.

Minutes after the shooting a car—apparently the shooter’s getaway car—ran another vehicle off a bridge on Buggs Street, about a mile south of Seth Street (and parallel to it). The getaway car continued west on Buggs St. and West Point Police descended upon the wrecked vehicle. The driver, 20-year-old Brad Doster, was seriously injured in the wreckage. Police immediately treated him as Pernell’s murderer (even though he was driving toward Division St., not away from it). The investigation had gotten off track within minutes.

It was clear from the beginning that Squirt Pernell had been murdered for testifying against local drug dealers. His testimony had already sent at least one dealer to prison and cases against others, including Robert Rupert, were coming up (after the murder, videotaped testimony by Pernell led to the conviction of at least one drug dealer, Timothy Fulks.

Rupert’s name came up early and often in discussions about the Pernell murder. Debra Pernell was critical of law enforcement officials for failing to protect her nephew when he was helping them and then for failing to find his killer after he was dead.

Tuesday’s Commercial Dispatch, apparently drawing upon Sheriff Huffman’s news release, stated that Pernell case was cracked as a result of work by a “cold case unit” established by Huffman and headed by former MBN official Bobby Grimes. [The Dispatch article states that the Clay County Board of Supervisors “allowed Huffman to enter partial retirement and use part of his salary to fund the unsolved murders unit.” Actually, Mr. Huffman probably availed himself of the same “early retirement” wrinkle that Lowndes County Circuit Clerk Mahala Salazar began taking advantage of several years ago (it only works for some long-time public officials). Ms. Salazar was able to increase her compensation by taking “early retirement” and drawing on her PERS account. She continued to work as before but the arrangement put more money in her pocket and saved the county money. I don’t know if Mr. Huffman is working part time or full time, but I am sure that he is getting paid more than he was before. But Clay County is no doubt saving money, and it is apparently the savings that is being used to pay Mr. Grimes. One difference between Mr. Huffman’s position and Ms. Salazar’s position is that his salary is set by state law and hers is capped. Ed.]

The case against Rupert was sealed when CCSO investigators reportedly found the rifle that was used to murder Squirt Pernell. A friend of Rupert’s reportedly had the gun, or knew where it was, and decided to cooperate with investigators.

Packet readers will recall that for five years Squirt Pernell’s aunt, Debra Pernell, offered rewards for information leading to the arrest of the murderer. She advertised the rewards in the Packet and periodically bought billboard space in West Point to advertise the offer. The last reward she offered was for $25,000.

Debra Pernell learned about Rupert’s arrest on Tuesday at her home in Farmington, Mich. She drove to West Point, arriving last night. She told the Packet, “I’m still in shock. They told me Tuesday that the guy [Rupert] finally confessed.”

Pernell said that Squirt Pernell’s mother, Maggie Roby, is “relieved that it’s finally happened.”

Pernell said that everyone she ever talked to about the case always said that Rupert was the murderer. But authorities believe that other people were involved and the investigation is continuing.

Roosevelt Pernell Jr. and his sister, Debra
Pernell, at the site of Squirt Pernell’s murder.
The photo was taken in early 2004, three months
after the murder.

On Feb. 22, 2007, Roosevelt Pernell Jr., Squirt Pernell’s father, died in custody at BMH-GT less than 24 hours after being arrested for public drunkenness at an apartment complex on Park Circle. The article in Tuesday’s Commercial Dispatch referred to Roosevelt Pernell Jr.’s death, saying that he died in custody at LCADC. The article concluded, “Although an autopsy revealed Roosevelt Pernell Jr. died of blunt force trauma to the head, it is unclear whether he received the injuries before or after his arrest.” In fact, the booking photo shows Pernell’s face already badly swollen.

Immediately after Roosevelt Pernell Jr.’s death Joe Johnson, then interim chief of police, announced that he had been murdered. Johnson said that his investigators had identified and arrested a murder suspect, whom he named. The suspect was released a short time later and neither Johnson nor any other law enforcement official ever said again that Roosevelt Pernell Jr. had been murdered.

People who knew Roosevelt Pernell Jr. said that he never got over the death of his son. He was a West Point native but had moved to Columbus five or six years ago; he worked at Maxxim Medical at that time. After his son’s death he stayed with Debra Pernell in Detroit for a time but returned to Columbus a year before his death. He was living with a friend at 1505 3rd Ave. North and doing handyman work.

Debra Pernell came from Michigan a week before Roosevelt Pernell Jr.’s death to visit their mother in West Point and Roosevelt Jr. in Columbus. She was with Roosevelt Jr. at his house on 3rd Ave. North the night of his death. She said he left around 9:00 p.m. and no one saw him again until they were called to the hospital the next day, after he died. (Their late father, Roosevelt Pernell Sr., was the first African-American police officer in West Point.)

Brandon Scott supporters rally in Aberdeen Tuesday afternoon.

Hundreds of people rallied on Main St. across from City Hall in Aberdeen Tuesday afternoon to support a young meter reader who was charged Monday with embezzling money from the Aberdeen Electric Dept. Supporters say that 24-year-old Brandon Scott is being framed by superiors at the utility for exposing corruption. Many carried signs at the rally calling for the resignation of Electric Dept. chief Adrian Garth.

Scott was arrested Monday afternoon on a charge of felony embezzlement and posted $5,000 bond Tuesday afternoon in time to attend the rally, which lasted from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. It centered on Curry’s Pharmacy, where Scott worked for several years before leaving to join the Aberdeen Electric Dept. about a year ago. Curry Bounds, owner of the pharmacy, is one of Scott’s supporters. Scott and his family are prominent members of First Pentecostal Church of Aberdeen and many of the people at the rally are members of the church. First Pentecostal Pastor Ricky Bowen, Scott’s uncle, was prominent among them.

Supporter James Terry told the Packet that Chief of Police Henry Randall was at the rally but that no officers were there. He said that the crowd never got unruly. He said that Randall made a statement to a TV reporter in which he acknowledged that the matter had not been handled correctly.

Scott would not speak to the Packet, on advice of his lawyer, Chip Davis of Tupelo, but his uncle, Rev. Bowen, talked about the case.

Bowen said that Monday afternoon Scott and another meter reader, Charles Hale, together took Electric Dept. cash to the bank to deposit it. Bowen said that Hale has worked for the Electric Dept. for several years and Scott only one year. He said that when they took the money to the bank the teller told them that they were $1,600 short. Bowen said that Hale and Scott took the money back to the Electric Dept. office, where Garth “locked down the Electric Dept. and called Chief [Henry] Randall and another cop.” Bowen said that the police officers “searched everyone except Adrian Garth but did not find the money. He said that they did note that Scott had a $100 bill.

Bowen said that after the search a woman in the office found another bag of cash behind an office copier. He went on, “They told everyone to go home and then 15 or 20 minutes later called everybody back and said there was only $1,500 in the bag.” Bowen said that at this point Garth walked up to Scott and said, “There’s our missing hundred dollars.”

Bowen said that Scott was arrested for embezzling $100 and was booked and jailed. Bowen said that Garth had learned during the earlier search that Scott had $100 in cash in his pocket and he charged that Garth framed Scott.

Bowen said that he and others had been trying for months to get the attorney general to investigate Garth and the Electric Dept. for not charging some customers. He said that Bowen had been keeping records of people whose electricity was cut off for non-payment but who then had their power restored but were not paying. Bowen told the Packet, “We’ve got a drawer-full of evidence of free electrictiy—I just saw it... Brandon knows the ones who haven’t paid. He has to cut them off. He says they [others at the Electric Dept.] go back and put it back on.”

Bowen said that Scott worked for Curry’s Drug Stores for several years, running money and drugs back and forth between Aberdeen and Amory and never lost a dime or a pill. He said, “My nephew wouldn’t take a dime from nobody. I’ve seen a lot going on but this time I got mad and said something’s got to be done. They think they’re gonna get by with it but we’re not gonna let them.”

Bowen said that Hale said that Scott not only did not take any money but that he never even handled the bags the money was in. He went on, “They’re trying to ruin an innocent 24-year-old boy’s life. This is an injustice.”

Bowen said that Scott and his wife, Mary, are expecting their first child. Mary Scott works at Dollar General.

Adrian Garth and Chief Randall did not return Packet phone calls.

Packet #832 - June 18, 2009

Police officers and Metro Narcotics agents are pictured at the home of Brandon Roland's mother around 1:00
p.m. Monday afternoon on 17th St. North. At this point, Markell Gregory and Bryant Thompson had already
been charged with stealing guns from a police storeroom at the firing range. Roland was not at his mother's
house but turned himself in to police on Tuesday. Several stolen handguns have still not been recovered.

Three Columbus men have been charged in connection with the theft of firearms from the Police Dept. Firing Range. Three weapons have reportedly been recovered but police are scouring the town for several guns-reportedly handguns-that are still missing.

Police are releasing little information about the case, but the Packet received reports that at least two of the suspects worked at the firing range in the Community Work Program, a program that allows people convicted in municipal court to work off their fines. One of the suspects reportedly had worked off his fine but continued to go to the firing range anyway.

A CPD press release stated that on Monday, June 15, the CPD Criminal Investigation Division and the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office received information that some weapons had been stolen fromthe firing range. Actually, a motorist reported suspicious activity to an LCSO deputy and the deputy then followed up on the information. CPD's CID was subsequently brought in.

Gregory

The motorist went to the Sheriff's Dept. around noon on Monday and told Deputy (and deputized federal marshal) Chad Bell that he had just driven past the firing range and saw a man pull what appeared to be a rifle from his pant leg and place it in the trunk of a car. Bell followed the motorist back to the firing range and the motorist gestured toward two suspects and the car and then drove away. Bell went into the firing range compound and confronted the two suspects that had been pointed out by the motorist.

Thompson

After questioning the suspects Bell reportedly took them to Sgt. Ross Richardson, who is in charge of the firing range. The lawmen searched the trunk of the car and reportedly found an AK-47 rifle and some shotgun shells.

The car belongs to one of the suspects, Markell Gregory, 24, of 808 17th St. North. But it was the second suspect, Bryant Reshawn Thompson, 23, of 1513 5th Ave. North, whom the motorist allegedly saw putting the gun into the trunk.

Further questioning led lawmen to a house a few blocks away, on the corner of 23rd & College. Two shotguns were reportedly found under the house.

By now police knew that other weapons were missing from the firing range. A third suspect was quickly identified: Brandon Roland, 24, of 1122 15th St. South. Lawmen went to his mother's house on 17th St. North (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues) early Monday afternoon but he was not at home. Roland finally turned himself in to police Tuesday afternoon.

Roland

Gregory is charged with possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and with grand larceny. Thompson and Roland are both charged with grand larceny.

Gregory was working at the firing range in connection with his Community Work Program duties when the thefts were discovered. Thompson was at the firing range even though he had reportedly already worked off his fine.

Chief Joseph St. John said that the investigation is continuing and that questioning suspects begets more suspects and more questions. He said that the case involves "personnel issues and a criminal side." He said that the three suspects who have already been arrested "seem to be the three big ones," but he said that more arrests are possible. "It's a full-bore investigation," he added.

Yesterday afternoon police descended upon apartments in the projects in the 2200 block of 8th Ave. South. Searches were conducted in at least two units but none of the missing weapons was found.

The guns that were stolen were kept in a room in the firing range headquarters, which is in a quonset hut near the firing range itself. The weapons room is about 10' x 10' and has stud walls covered with sheetrock and a single, wooden door with a deadbolt lock. The long guns were kept in a rack in the room and the handguns on hooks. Police think that whoever stole the guns had a key to the weapons room. The room is near another room that serves as the office of the Community Work Program Director, Jim Rhodes. The door to the weapons room is just off a large bay in the quonset hut where vehicles are cleaned by Work Program participants. The Work Program participants also clean the building and the range itself.

Police reportedly found two shotguns under this house at 23rd & College.

Sgt. Ross Richardson is in charge of the training at the firing range. A 27-year veteran, he answers to Lt. Carroll Culpepper, whose office is in the Police Dept. building. Culpepper also supervises Rhodes.

Rhodes is a reserve officer but is a full-time civilian director of the Community Work Program (the director must be a reserve officer). Chief Joseph St. John said that Rhodes is in charge of maintenance, service and inventory at the range.

Several months ago Rhodes was wounded when Officer Charles Johnson's sidearm discharged following a training session at the range. Both were in the quonset hut but they were in different rooms. The bullet passed through walls before hitting Rhodes.

Several years ago, when Billy Pickens was chief of police, a trustee cleaning his car stole Pickens's handgun from his trunk. The gun was later recovered.

Several years ago [I couldn't find the Packet that reported on it. Ed.] thieves stole SWAT weapons and paraphernalia from LCSO deputies' cars that were being worked on at Wood's Chevron on Hwy 45 North. The cars were in a fenced-in compound but the thieves climbed the fence. The weapons were recovered a few hours later with the help of the police.

Anyone with information about the gun thefts is encouraged to call CrimeStoppers at 1-800-530-7151.

Charles Younger

Charles Younger, who served in office continuously for 35 years as a justic of the peace and then chancery clerk, died at his residence June 12 at age 78. Younger was a farmer and assistant mail carrier when he ran for Dist. 2 JP in 1967. [He ran in 1967 but he apparently had already replaced JP Bob Whitaker, who died in office. I couldn't learn whether he was appointed to fill out Whitaker's term or whether a special election was held. Ed.] It was his first try at political office and he won. He won reelection three more times as JP and then was elected chancery clerk five times in a row. In his first race for chancery clerk he ran against Tommy Johnson and the late Bill Burgin (David Shelton did not seek reelection). Younger defeated Johnson in a run-off. His last victory was in 1999, when his health was declining. He retired at the end of that termand his daughter, Lisa Younger Neese, who had served as his chief clerk for years, won the office.

Justice Court Judge Peggy Phillips, who was first elected in 1975 and has won reelection every four years since then, said of Younger, "Charles was a good friend of mine. Our children went to school together at West Lowndes. He helped many people, black and white-he couldn't say no to anybody. We worked well together in the old system."

Rep. Jeff Smith said that he interned with James "Punchy" Walters and began prosecuting in 1978 (he followed Mike Moore, now a federal judge). Smith was full-time prosecutor from 1980 until 1984. He said that in those years Younger "probably did more cases than all the rest of them [the judges] combined. He did most of the preliminary hearings in the county-he was really a worker."

Smith added that Younger received a lot of help from Louise Pack, his court clerk and secretary. "We used to call her Judge Louise," he said. Pack now lives at The Arrington and she attended Younger's funeral.

Smith recalled that when he was in law school and interning with Walters Younger told him he had to get into politics because he couldn't make a living dairy farming." Smith added, "Charles was an institution."

Billy James, who was elected Dist. 2 JP in 1967, said that Younger was already serving in Dist. 5 when he was elected. Younger was born in Alabama but moved to Columbus with his family when he was young. He and James were born just a month apart and got to know each other at S. D. Lee High School (Class of 1948). James said that when they were in grade school Younger attended Franklin Academy and he attended Barrow School.

James recalled that in the 1960s and early 1970s Lowndes County had nine JPs-two in Dists. 1, 2, 3 and 5 and just one in Dist. 4. Younger's office for years was in an old house west of the river (on what is now the cutoff island), east of the current location of Columbus Scrap Material. Later Younger used a mobile home as an office near the same site.

James said that in the early 1970s Joe Sams Jr. filed a federal lawsuit that resulted in a conversion to a justice court system with one judge in each district. James's residence was put in Dist. 5 and he and Younger ran against each other in 1975 for the one Dist. 5 judgeship. Younger won with around 1,200 votes to James's 900. (James said that when the election was held he was the only JP in Dist. 2. He explained that incumbent Ellis Dale had been defeated by Sonny Smith and that Smith subsequently died in office and was not replaced.)

James said of Younger, "We had a lot of contact when we were JPs. If I had a tough case I could call Charles and he'd come help me. We were always good friends. I hate he beat me, but he did."

Phillips said that the JP system was "real casual. She was an assistant teacher in Crawford and bus driver and would always have her receipt book with her. She said that people would flag down the bus to pay a fine or come to the school and wait in the office while the principal summoned her.

James first held court by the courthouse. The jail was nearby in those days and it was convenient to lock people up. After the new jail was built (now the old jail), he held court in a house by his service station at Main & 13th.

Younger was prominent in First Baptist Church. He was a farmer at heart and he and his wife of 56 years, Adrine Scarborough Younger, always lived on their farm on Old West Point Road. He was buried on the farm last Sunday after services at First Baptist. [I have photos of him with his longhorn cattle and with his family but couldn't find them. Ed.]

Jim Terry at his trial in 2007.

Former Dist. 4 Supervisor Jim Terry has lost his fraud-in-office appeal and now faces 13 months in prison. The Mississippi Court of Appeals handed handed down its ruling in the case this week.

Terry was convicted in November 2007 of fraudulent use of public funds in office. Prosecutors used Fuelman records and computer records from Mississippi casinos to show that Terry drove his county vehicle and used county gasoline to make numerous trips to gamble between January 2004 and December 31, 2005. Terry and his attorney, Jim Waide of Tupelo, unsuccessfully argued that he made many of the trips to investigate matters of concern to people in Dist. 4. Terry was indicted in August 2006 but continued to serve in office until his conviction in late 2007.

Judge Lee Howard sentenced Terry to 13 months in prison (since it was more than 12 months it meant that he would have be an MDOC inmate) and five years' post-release supervision. He was also ordered to pay restitution of $2,227.29 to Lowndes County and to pay $4,000 to the Mississippi Dept. of Audit.

In the appeal, Waide raised one issue: "Whether an indictment alleging embezzlement or fraud occurring over a two-year period is sufficient when it does not give specific dates of embezzlement or fraud, or state what facts constitute the embezzlement or fraud."

The ruling notes that after being indicted Terry filed a motion to dismiss the indictment on three points: whether the indictment was vague and indefinite, whether the indicment charged Terry with "two separate offenses (fraud and embezzlement), making it fatally defective," and wther the indictment failed to state an offense. The trial court found that the legislature used "fraud" and "embezzlement" interchangeably, that the indictment contained the required elements and that the indictment fully apprised Terry of the charge against him.

From the appeals court ruling: "The indictment charged that Terry committed embezzlement or fraud between January 1, 2004 [and] December 31, 2005. Terry maintains that the range of dates was insufficient to put him on notice of the charges against him, arging that the indictment should have listed each specific date that he allegedly committed the offense... "This issue has mainly been addressed in the context of sex offender cases... However, the same principle can be applied here... The supreme court found that Rule 7.06 only required the indictment to provide 'the specific date if at all possible...' In addition, the supreme court found that the 'failure to provide the correct date does not render the indictment defective...

"In this case, Terry's indictment did not list specific dates on which the offenses occurred. However, the indictment did provide that the offenses were committed between January 1, 2004 [and] December 31, 2005. In addition, the State provided Terry with its Exhibit 9-a chart that matched the dates that Terry used his Fuelman card to the dates that Terry visited casinos. Terry argues that he did not receive this chart until the day of the trial. However, the record is clear that the State used Terry's Fuelman records and his casino redemption records in preparing Exhibit 9. Terry does not claim that he did not have access to his Fuelman records or his casino redemption records. Thus, Terry could have easily obtained this information from other documents that were provided to him during discovery...

"Additionally, Terry's embezzlement was a continuous offense was a continuous offense. Continuous offenses may ‘be laid as on one day and proved by acts either on one day or many.'..."

Terry also claimed in his appeal that the indictment did not say what type of "personal use" of public funds was alleged. The appeals court ruling states that an indictment does not have to specify what personal uses are involved.

As of yesterday, the Office of Lowndes County Circuit Court had not yet received the Appeals Court mandate in the case. Once the mandate is received here Terry's bondsman, Gretta Gardner, has 24 hours to produce Terry or forfeit his $20,000 bond.

Packet #831 - June 11, 2009

Larry Moore is loaded into an ambulance on Plum Nellie Road around midnight
last Saturday night after he was shot in the right calf with a shotgun. Dist.
4 Volunteer J.D. Brooks is holding a tourniquet stick on Moore’s right thigh.

Late at night and in a remote part of the county, LCSO Deputy Bo Shelton disarmed a gunman and then made a tourniquet out of a t-shirt to save a shooting victim. The victim, Larry Moore, is recovering but suffered very serious damage to his right calf from a close-range shotgun blast.

The incident happened shortly before midnight last Saturday night on Plum Nellie Road, just west of the Tenn-Tom and near the Noxubee County line. Shelton, who is a medic in the National Guard, had been dispatched to 29 Plum Nellie Road on a report of a disturbance. Deputy Robbie Robertson was ordered to the scene as back-up. The house at 29 Plum Nellie Road sits near the western end of Plum Nellie Road, where it meets Togo Road. Chief Deputy Greg Wright said that when Shelton arrived at the house a young female ran up and said that Johnny “J. J.” Johnson had pushed her grandmother, Annie Clayborn. Other people reported trouble a short distance down the road, at 113 Plum Nellie Road, the home of Johnny “J. J.” Johnson, who is Larry Moore’s brother (both men are sons of Annie Clayborn).

Wright said that another female ran up to Shelton and told him that Johnson was trying to shoot Moore. At the same time a single shot rang out along the heavily wooded gravel road. Shelton radioed to Robertson to quicken his pace, then got into his car and drove the 100-plus yards to Johnson’s mobile home. He found Clayborn and Johnson standing in the road and they informed him that Johnson had shot Moore in the leg and had then gone into his house. Shelton saw that the wound was severe.

A few hours before the shooting J.J.
Johnson was grooving with Margie Brown
at the annual Plum Grove Day Festival.

Shelton told Clayborn and Moore to get behind his patrol car, to give them some protection should Johnson shoot again. He requested E-911 to dispatch an ambulance, then approached the dilapidated mobile home with pistol drawn. Wright said that when Shelton got within about 15 feet of the porch Johnson appeared with the shotgun. Shelton told him to put the weapon down. Johnson didn’t respond at first and Shelton repeated his command. This time Johnson pointed the shotgun briefly toward Shelton as he backed into the house. Johnson then dropped the gun and came out and put his hands on the side of the house, as ordered.

Shelton handcuffed Johnson and then turned his attention to Moore. Wright said that Shelton had Moore sit down and asked Clayborn for some cloth. She gave him a t-shirt and he knotted it around Moore’s upper thigh and then made a tourniquet and applied it. Robertson now arrived on the scene with a medical kit and the two deputies put a temporary dressing on the wound. They had Moore elevate his leg.

Now Robertson stayed with Moore and Clayborn while Shelton went into Johnson’s house to make sure no one else was inside. Other deputies, Dist. 4 Volunteers and an ambulance arrived in a wave on the scene. Moore was placed in an ambulance and transported to Columbus, escorted by another deputy.

Larry Moore

Johnson was taken to LCADC and charged with one count of aggravated assault with a weapon.

Moore, 46, lives on Sandyland Road in Noxubee County and works for Lavender Inc., which does welding and machine work at Weyerhaeuser’s big plant on Carson Road. Johnson, 36, reportedly does not work and lives with their mother, Annie Clayborn. All three had spent the day and evening at the Plum Grove Day Festival. They reportedly left the festival around 9:00 p.m.

Shelton was scheduled to deploy to Iraq with the 114th but reportedly was cut because of a problem with a disk in his back.

District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks speaks during Wednesday's joint
meeting of the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors, the Columbus City
Council and the Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority while Parks
Director Roger Short and CLRA Board President Scott Hannon listen. City
Councilman Jay Jordan is visible over Brooks's shoulder.

A consensus seems to exist among city and county officials to locate a proposed sportsplex in Burns Bottom.

Members of the Columbus City County, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors and the Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority met Wednesday morning to discuss studies of the top three sites. An informal poll at the end of the meeting showed overwhelming support for the Burns Bottom location, but also some interest in buying both the Burns Bottom properties and the nearby Army Corps of Engineers site.

The meeting began with Kevin Stafford of Neel-Schaffer presenting feasibility studies of each of the top three sites: Burns Bottom; land near the Riverwalk that is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers; and the so-called Grayco site on Highway 82 near GoBox. The studies looked primarily at wetlands remediation requirements at each site, as well as infrastructure needs. "When this originally started years ago, it was a multi-part plan to improve soccer facilities, but also baseball facilities," Stafford said. "Somewhere in there the term sportsplex was coined, and I think a lot of people are confused as to what that means. There is a 10-step plan, and I think the first three steps are all about improving soccer. This is really more or less a soccerplex. There is really no baseball looked at as part of this complex. Right now we are only talking about soccer and flag football, because they can share the same fields. Later steps in the plan involve redoing Propst Park and redoing the baseball fields and the parking.

"What we are basically looking at for the sportsplex is six regulation-sized soccer fields," Stafford said. "With parking, about 30 acres is what's required. That's where this whole study started."

The original cost for the sportsplex was estimated at between $4 million and $5 million.

"We're a little closer on where those costs are, and it's looking a lot closer to the $4 million range," Stafford said.

Stafford first discussed the Burns Bottom location, which is located immediately off of Columbus's downtown area. It includes roughly 71 acres of land owned by 32 different parties, including the city of Columbus. The site is bordered to the north by an abandoned right-of-way of Plymouth Road, to the northwest by Highway 45/82, to the southwest by West Main Street, to the south by Second Avenue North and to the east by North Third Street. The Farmer's Market is located in the southeastern corner of the site, and there are some "housing clusters" throughout. Moore's Creek passes through the site. According to tax office records, the approximated land value for the 55.82 acres of non-city owned property is $462,840, which breaks down to an average cost of $8,291 per acre. There are approximately 11.6 acres of wetlands.

"Our layout for this site avoids the wetlands as much as possible," Stafford said.

The site can be configured so that all of the 71 acres is not needed, Stafford explained.

"You don't need it all for this layout," Stafford said. "We only need 34 acres. If you look at just the 34 acres, there are only 2.5 acres of wetlands. It would cost around $15,000 per acre to mitigate those wetlands, but if you're not improving on top of them you can just leave them alone." Burns Bottom has little in the way of infrastructure needs, he stated.

"It already has water, sewer, roads, electricity in the area," Stafford said. There are five streets within the site: portions of Second Street North, Seventh Avenue North, Fourth Avenue North, Third Avenue North and Coretta Street.

"You would need to pave Seventh Avenue, which is now a gravel road. Also Coretta Street is too narrow and would need to be widened."

There is about 22 feet of topological difference throughout the site, he said.

"At the Farmer's Market, half of that property is actually out of the floodplain," Stafford explained. "The rest of it is in the floodplain, and along Moore's Creek is in the floodway."

The majority of the site is located in a Zone AE floodplain, which means that it has a 1 percent chance of flooding annually. Culverts in the area of Coretta are undersized and need to be replaced, he said.

"As of right now, the city is looking at the possible upgrade of a bridge or culvert," he said. "That is not included in our price, and would need to be done as a necessary part of this project. You're probably looking at around $200,000 to replace that."

Pedestrian bridges would also be needed throughout the site, he said, which would add several hundred thousand dollars in cost.

Councilwoman Susan Mackay pointed out that the site has little visibility from the bypass.

"There is no visibility from Highway 82 and there is only a small part of visibility from the bypass," Mackay said.

Mackay also pointed out that, if only the 34 acres immediately needed is purchased, the site will include only one residence.

"It will be the house down there on stilts," she said.

The study notes that the site's proximity to downtown is a benefit: "The Burns Bottom Site is in a location close to the historic downtown area, which would provide excellent opportunities for community connectivity and as a central gathering place. Being in close proximity to existing urban development would encourage alternate forms of transportation, such as biking or walking, to get to the park. By following the meander of Moore's Creek, this property could also be connected with the Riverwalk Trail located nearby. Multiple services, such as restaurants and shops, area also located within walking distance of the site."

According to the feasibility study, the base land cost for all 71 acres is $462,840; Stafford also included an "inflation factor" of 50 percent, or $231,420, bringing the total land cost to $694,260. The wetlands mitigation cost is estimated to be $174,180. The estimated cost of the facility would be $3,258,840.

The total cost, including the facility and improvements, stands at $4,127,280.

Purchase Packet #831 for more on this story!

Packet #830 - June 4, 2009

Gene Smith after his arrest.

[This article was written with the help of Lisa Halverstadt, a reporter with the Arizona Republic. Ed.]

A New Hope man who lived here for more than 20 years has been charged with a murder that occurred in Phoenix, Ariz. in 1987. Federal marshals arrested Daryl Eugene Smith, 61, at his residence at 530 Mac Davis Road without incident Monday morning. Davis has been extradited to Phoenix, where he is accused of shooting 32-year-old Michael Napier in the head during an argument over a car.

Local LCSO deputies Chad Bell and Jeff Harris, who are also deputized federal marshals, went to Smith’s house with other marshals to make the arrest. Smith had a small amount of marijuana in his possession when the marshals arrived and he was charged with simple possession. He was taken to LCADC and booked. He reportedly did not deny the murder charge but simply asked the marshals to let him speak to his two sons, whom he said knew nothing about his past. He reportedly knew that authorities were looking for him and expressed some relief that his long run was finally over.

The arresting party was commanded by Deputy Marshal Inspector Dennis Spencer, who is based in Oxford. Spencer said that it is not unusual to find a murder suspect after 10 or 12 years but said that 21 years is very unusual. “This is probably the oldest one I can recall,” he said. He said that a “persistent Deputy U.S. Marshal in Phoenix pushed this along.” He would not go into detail about the investigation that led to Smith but said that it involved “database checks.”

A warrant was issued in Phoenix in 1988 for Smith’s arrest Lawmen believe that after the murder Smith relocated to Lowndes County with his girlfriend, named Vera. Smith worked as a painter in this area and mostly stayed out of trouble. He was arrested for a misdemeanor amount of marijuana in 2005 but his fingerprints were not put into the criminal database. In recent years, he worked for RMI (Chris Chain’s renovation company) and Jeff Shepherd’s Painting. Shepherd called him “Cheech” (as in Cheech and Chong) because he thought Smith had a slightly Hispanic appearance.

Vera Smith reportedly left Gene Smith several weeks ago, but officials deny that her leaving was connected to his discovery and arrest. She reportedly will not face any charges in connection with the murder or flight.

The murder with which Smith is charged occurred on Feb. 13, 1987 at 4400 North 29th Drive, in north Phoenix. Police believe that Michael Napier took Smith’s car without permission and that an argument ensued that turned into a physical altercation and ended with Smith’s shooting Napier once in the head. Smith, who may have been affiliated with a motorcycle gang, fled on a motorcycle. Phoenix police built their case against him and obtained a murder warrant for him, but by then Smith was gone.

On May 15, 2009, the Phoenix Police Dept.’s Cold Case Unit began working with the U.S. Marshals on homicide warrants from the 1980s. They “played around” with Social Security numbers and dates of birth and compared possible matches to available photographs. In Smith’s case, they found a possible match in New Hope and asked U.S. Marshals here to check it out.

The Smith arrest was the first fruit of that collaborative effort between the Phoenix P.D. and the U.S. Marshals.

In addition to the murder charge, Smith also faces charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Incumbent council members Jay Jordan and Susan MacKay were both
defeated in Tuesday’s election.

For weeks, people speculated on whether Jay Jordan could hang on to his Ward 5 seat or whether Kabir Karriem would take the traditional “swing ward” from him and again give the city council three black members. It wasn’t even close. Karriem received 602 votes to 366 for Jordan (62.12% to 37.77%).

The big surprise of the evening wasn’t that Jordan lost in Ward 5 but that incumbent Susan MacKay, who is white, lost her Ward 2 seat to Joseph Mickens Sr., who is black. The Ward 2 seat had always been considered a safe white seat, though the African-American percentage has been growing for years and is probably well over 50% now. Mickens received 349 votes to 313 for Mackay (52.71% to 47.28%).

All four white incumbents (all Republicans)—Jordan, MacKay, Jerry Kendall and Gene Coleman—were defeated in the primary or general elections.

MacKay won the Ward 2 seat in a special election following the death of her husband, Doug MacKay, in office.

Geiger

Mayor Robert Smith, who became the city’s first black mayor in a special election three years ago, coasted to victory as expected over independent challenger Thom Geiger (3,367 to 486). Come July, Smith will preside over a council that is 4-2 black instead of the current 4-2 white.

Smith became mayor by defeating Jay Jordan in a special election following the resignation of Mayor Jeffrey Rupp three years ago (one year into Rupp’s second term). Smith is the first black to be elected Mayor of Columbus.

The Ward 1, 3, 4, and 6 races were already decided prior to Tuesday’s general election. Ward 4 Councilman Fred Stewart did not have a primary opponent. Gene Taylor (Ward 1), Charlie Box (Ward 3) and Bill Gavin (Ward 6) won their primary contests.

Mickens

Mickens is a carpet and flooring installer and a member of the Mickens family that is politically prominent in Noxubee County.

Karriem is a brother of Rev. Kamal Karriem, who won the Ward 5 seat in 2001 and held it through 2005. Jordan defeated Kamal Karriem in the 2005 election when Karriem was under indictment for embezzlement from the city involving a cell phone. Kamal Karriem reportedly had agreed not to run in 2005 and to let Kabir Karriem run instead, but then reneged on the deal. After losing the 2005 Ward 5 race, Kamal Karriem ended up in prison. Coincidentally, he was released on Tuesday (see related story in this Packet). Kabir Karriem had the support of longtime Dist. 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks in his Ward 5 campaign.

Geiger, MacKay and Jordan were all at the Municipal Complex when the votes were counted Tuesday evening. Geiger, who hosts the Columbustalks internet site and is a quadrennial candidate in city elections, ran surprisingly well in several of the boxes, but the outcome was never in doubt.

Robert Smith celebrated his win at a party at the Holiday Inn after the votes
were counted. Pictured are Cynthia Williams, Kabir Karriem, Hussein Karriem,
Demetrias Hodges, Ula Ousley and the mayor.

The Ward 5 results came in before the Ward 2 results, and Jordan, a former president of the Chamber of Commerce, took his defeat with a smile. MacKay seemed shaken when she learned that she had been defeated and Jordan spoke to her and put his arm around her.

Yesterday Smith complimented Geiger on the way he conducted his campaign and added that he is glad it’s over. He went on, “I’m excited about being able to serve a full four-year term. I personally thank God, and the citizens for the giving me the opportunity to serve. I appreciate the voters’ prayers, votes and support and I look forward to working with the new council. We have a lot of work to do to continue progress in the City of Columbus: annexation, the sportsplex, financial stability, job creation and a reduction in crime.” Smith said that reducing crime will be a top priority of his.

Smith went on, “I hope guys don’t come in with selfish agendas. I hope we can work as a team for the betterment of the community. It’s not about black or whitebut about doing what’s right. My major theme in 2006 was unifying the city, and I want to continue trying to do that. To continue progress will take all of us working together.”

The current council has four whites and two blacks, but the council had three whites and three blacks as far back as 1993. In that year, Jackie Evans (then Leroy Brooks’s administrative assistant) won the Ward 5 seat following the death of Virginia Hooper in office. The late Jackie Ball represented Ward 1 at that time and the late Dan Spann represented Ward 4 (both predominately black wards). Ball and Spann were both black. Evans was defeated in 1997 by the late Howard Wiliams, who was white. Although he was losing his mental faculties, Williams insisted on running for reelection in 2001 and he and another white candidate, Beverly Broocks, split the white vote and Kamal Karriem won the seat. Jordan narrowly defeated Karriem four years later and now has in turn been defeated by Kabir Karriem.

Packet #829 - May 28, 2009

Officer Bo Pearson, who initiated the pursuit of this Tundra early last Saturday morning, talks to shift supervisor
Lt. Wayne McLemore after the chase ended in a spectacular crash at 5th & College. No one was seriously hurt.

A high-speed police chase on Hwy 45 North early last Saturday morning ended with an accident at 5th & Main and the fugitive pickup upside down at 5th & College. The pickup flipped and slid on its roof on 5th St. in front of busy clubs but miraculously no one was struck. Two people in the car that was hit at 5th & Main were taken to BMH-GT but their injuries were not serious.

Police officers and citizens alike are asking questions about the pursuit. Police Chief Joseph St. John said yesterday that he was waiting for an internal report on the chase. He said that after he gets the report he will listen to the E-911 tape of the incident before releasing a statement.

At least three police officers were involved in the pursuit but the cars were either not equipped with video cameras or the cameras were not working. (The cameras were installed when J.D. Sanders was chief but St. John said this week that they are obsolete and could not be kept operable. He said he is an advocate of such video systems and said that efforts were already being made to purchase new cameras before the chase occurred.)

A paramedic talks to Jerry Sharp after police ran him down between the
Commercial Dispatch building and the post office.

The incident began around 12:30 a.m. when Officer Bo Pearson stopped a 2003 Toyota Tundra pickup on Hwy 45 North near the Bluecutt Road intersection. The pickup was towing a long, low utility trailer made of angle iron. After Pearson got the driver’s license the pickup sped south on Hwy 45 and Pearson got into his car and set off in pursuit.

Officer Bill McClure joined the pursuit at some point and it continued south past Leigh Mall. Officer Donnie Elkin pulled onto the highway from Waverley Road after the pickup had passed but before Pearson and McClure reached that intersection. The chase was apparently discontinued at around the same time, but the police officers continued following the pickup as it raced toward Downtown Columbus.

Chief St. John was standing in front of Zachary’s Restaurant talking to musician Mike Chain when a pickup towing a trailer rocketed past. Seconds later they heard an impact—as the pickup raced through the 5th & Main intersection a westbound Cadillac struck the trailer. St. John ran south toward the accident scene.

A Cadillac westbound on Main collided with the trailer being pulled by the
Tundra as it streaked south on 5th St. across Main.

The impact stuck the trailer to the front of the Cadillac and separated it from the pickup. Items were apparently flung from the bed of the pickup—something hit the cab of a pickup parked in front of the Fashion Barn and a hole was made in a window of the Fashion Barn. A twisted bicycle was left on the sidewalk in front of the Fashion Barn—no one claimed it and police assumed that it had been thrown from the bed of the Tundra.

The Tundra continued south on 5th St., never hitting cars parked all along both sides of the street. The Tundra finally flipped onto its top, apparently around the middle of the block, and then slid to the end of the block and across the intersection at 5th & College, finally coming to a stop near the northwest corner of the WCBI-TV building. The driver and a lone passengrt fled from the overturned vehicle, running east on College and then north into the alley behind Fuhgettaboutit and Huck’s Place.

While police pursued the fugitives on foot other police officers, deputies and citizens helped extract the two occupants of the Cadillac. A window was smashed with fire extinguisher and massive Worm Nichols, the local boxer and now a manager at Fuhgettaboutit, smashed another window.

Police ran down one of the fleeing suspects in the post office parking lot between the Commercial Dispatch and the post office. This was the passenger, identified as Jerry Sharp, 55, of 520 11th St. North. He was treated and released at BMH-GT. He is charged with failure to obey a police officer and his bond was set at $391. He is being held because police have “an investigative hold” on him, making him ineligible for bond [Probably until his companion is caught. Ed.].

Debris from the collision at 5th & Main shattered
one of Homer Beatty’s windows at the Fashion Barn.
Firemen cut a piece of plywood to patch the window.

A back door was open at the Commercial Dispatch and police searched the building but did not find the driver. The search continued for some time but he was not found.

There was no doubt who the driver was, however, because Pearson had his driver’s license and because when the pickup flipped in front of Huck’s Place hundreds of business cards flew from the vehicle. They said, “Williams Mobile Auto Detailing, Ricky Williams, Proprietor, 678-643-6657.”

After the truck was pulled back onto its wheels officers reportedly found items that came from a purse that had been stolen earlier.

Police identified the driver as Richard Williams, 44, of 1010 3rd St. Stouth. When arrested, he will be charged with felony fleeing or eluding and felony possession of stolen property.

The Cadillac that hit the trailer at 5th & Main was driven by Willie Vance, 29, of West Point. His lone passenger was Rashad Tate, 31, of Starkville. Both were taken to BMH-GT but neither was seriously injured.

The pickup that was heavily damaged in front of the Fashion Barn is a 2003 GMC belonging to Justin or Mike Atkinson of West Point.

Another pickup was also damaged, an F-150 belonging to Sammy Buckhalter of Columbus [I never saw this one and suspect that the damage was not great. Ed.]. The Tundra that flipped is registered to Richard Williams, 43, of Doraville Ga.

Chief St. John said yesterday that the Police Dept.s internal affairs officer, Keith Worshaim, is preparing a report on the incident. St. John said that he is especially interested in learning if or when the order was given to cease the pursuit and when the pursuit was actually abandoned.

St. John said that a number of factors come into play when deciding whether to pursue a vehicle or not, including the seriousness of any crime that has been committed and how much danger the pursuit poses.

Lt. Wayne McLemore was the supervising officer at the time of the incident. Officers who were on duty and heard the radio traffic told the Packet that McLemore ordered the pursuit stopped. [I had fallen asleep and only woke up after the pursuit and the crashes. I’ll add here that several people told me that Chief St. John was drunk at the scene. I was around him and talked to him and can say that I smelled no alcohol and saw no evidence that he had been drinking. I mentioned this to him and he said that he had not had a drink. Ed.]

Coach Stacy Hester addresses his
supporters at a rally last night
as Chris Herring listens.

Over 200 supporters of embattled New Hope High School baseball coach Stacy Hester gathered Wednesday night to show their support. Hester, who has been at the school for 18 years, is facing a potential non-renewal by the Lowndes County School Board.

Hester was on hand to address the crowd at New Hope's baseball field.

"This really touches my heart," Hester said. "Believe it or not, I have a heart. When I signed on to come to New Hope, I was told to be a baseball coach. I only know how to do that one way. I'm not a parents' type coach, I'm a players' type coach. I got run off from where I was before I came here because I made parents mad.

"I came here with one goal in mind, and that's to make New Hope the best place it could be for baseball," Hester continued. "My goal was to make sure I put a good product on the field. Every year I've tried to come out here and outdo the previous year. When I got to 1996, I realized that was never going to happen-I'd reached the Promised Land. We were 43-0. I was just along for the ride. I said even a coach can't screw that up."

"I'm not here to bash any parents," Hester said. "The superintendent told me to fight for my job. This isn't about Hester supporters and Hester haters. That's not what it's about. It's about doing the right thing. I'm not here to make everybody happy. I'm here to coach the players, not the parents. If I listened to every parent who complained, there wouldn't be any (championship) signs on the walls. I don't know how to be a politician, and I'm not going to try to be one. This is as close to being a politician as I'm ever going to be. I don't know how to tell people what they want to hear. I tell my kids this is how it's going to be, we're going to work hard, we're going to act right, we're going to be on time, we're going to do everything we're supposed to to be the best we can be."

Hester said the support of his players was very important.

"The players who are out here tonight mean more to me than anything," he said. "They are great young men. In 18 years, very few have ever gotten into trouble when they got out of school. They were good people in their community, wherever they were. I'm more proud of that than anything."

Hester denied that he had ever physically mistreated a player.

"I have never, ever physically mistreated one kid," Hester said. "I hate to be accused of that. I have never, ever done that. Lots of people have heard that because of this great invention, the internet. If you're an internet basher of me...I don't read it. You folks who support me and put your name on there, thank you. If you don't support me and don't put your name on there, there you go."

"I have made mistakes while I was here," Hester said. "You don't coach every year and not make mistakes. But I have tried to make sure our kids are organized and structured. I tell all the kids that I'm not here to coach your parents, I'm here to coach you. You don't realize when I first got here how bad it was. For all the years I've been here, Mike Halford has let me run this program my way, and I hope that now that he's superintendent he'll continue to let me do that."

"I have tried to talk to Mr. Halford and to the school board members to tell them that what they're hearing about me isn't true," Hester said. "If they tell me I've got to make some changes to the way I do things, and I can live with those changes, then I'll be here. But if I can't coach these kids and make them better players, then maybe it is time for somebody else. That's all I can tell you."

Chris Herring, who organized the meeting, said that, for him, it's not about supporting Hester or not supporting Hester.

"I'm not trying to sell people on Stacy Hester," he said. "I've been here 18 years, since he got here. This man is not getting done right. I'm not asking for people to say they love him. He's a turd sometimes. When I was on that field, he ran my tail off. When he burned my tail, my parents never said nothing. That's what's wrong with this situation—the parents do not need to control this team.

"There's a lot of things being said about [Hester]," Herring continued. "But we're a community in New Hope. We stick together. We always have. We've got differences of opinion. There are some people that want [Hester] out of here, and that's fine. But we've got elected officials that we put in office, and they're supposed to stand for all of us, not just a handful that's mad. And if there's anyone on that board that has a conflict of interest, they need to not be involved. It's not right. He deserves more after 18 years."

Herring said that he wants Hester to get due process.

"Mike Halford was one of the best principals New Hope has had," Herring said. "He's a good man, and I believe that he'll do what's right. He's a Trojan as far as I'm concerned. He can't control how the board is going to vote, but I think he will do the right thing. I don't have a kid that plays for [Hester], so I don't have a dog in this fight. I just want to see the board do the right thing.

"[Hester] has done a lot to bring this community together," Herring stated. "We are a tight knit community, and baseball is a big part of our community. The bashing has gotten out of hand, and people need to stop."

Packet #828 - May 21, 2009

Members of the Columbus Dive Team prepare to dive in the Buttahatchie River near Cockerham Bridge in Monroe
County Monday in the effort to find the body of Smithville teen Taylor Smith. An Itawamba County diver died
at the scene yesterday. Taylor’s body has still not been found. A boat carrying the Monroe County Dive Team
can be seen downstream from the Columbus boat.

A 15-year-old Smithville Jr. High School student apparently drowned swimming with friends in the swollen Buttahatchie River last Friday and yesterday a diver from Itawamba County died while engaged in the ongoing search for the youth’s body.

The missing youth is Taylor Smith (though the name has not been released by officials), a redheaded, popular, sports-crazy teen who recently won third place in weightlifting at a state competition in Jackson. The diver who died yesterday during the search was David Sheffield, 44, of the Dorsey Community near Tupelo—Monroe County Coroner Alan Gurley released the name last night.

Smith, known as “T.O.,” was swimming with three teenage friends shortly after noon last Friday when he was swept downstream in the strong current on the east bank of the Buttahatchie just below the Cockerham Bridge (the bridge is in the Bartahatchie Community about ten miles east of Lackey). The friends saw Smith go under the surface of the water about 50 yards downstream. He has not been seen since and is presumed drowned.

A search for Smith’s body began immediately and continues. It has involved divers and specialists from all over Northeast Mississippi, coordinated by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. The Columbus Fire and Rescue Dive Team was one of the first units to respond, joining the search last Friday and continuing through Tuesday of this week.

T.O. Smith

The Buttahatchie River was running high when Smith disappeared. It had dropped about four feet by Monday but the current was still strong. People at the scene said that the current changed the river constantly.

Yesterday the Itawamba County Dive Team joined the search as volunteers. Gurley said that according to witnesses after Sheffield had been in the water between one and two hours he surfaced and said he could not breathe. Gurley said that fellow team members got Sheffield into a boat and that Dave Eldridge of MedStat Ambulance Service immediately started treating Sheffield. Gurley said Eldridge and other medical personnel continued treatment while en route to Pioneer Community Hospital in Aberdeen but that Sheffield was dead on arrival at the hospital.

Gurley said that Sheffield was apparently not breathing when he was pulled from the river into the boat.

Gurley would not speculate on the cause of Sheffield’s death, saying that the body will be taken to the Mississippi Crime Lab in Jackson today for an autopsy.

Gurley said that initial 911 call concerning Sheffield’s condition was made at 12:21 p.m. and that Sheffield was pronounced dead at the hospital at 1:13 p.m.

Donia and Kris Smith, at the scene Monday, four days after
their son disappeared.

Sheffield was stricken almost exactly five days after Smith disappeared. Monroe County Sheriff Andy Hood said that the search has involved the Department of Wildlife, the Monroe County Dive Team, the Monroe County Search and Rescue UColumbus Fire and Rescue Dive Team, the Desoto County Sheriff Search and Rescue (with sonar), GTR K9 Search Dogs (Kathy Doty of Columbus), MedStat EMS Services, the Lamar County Emergency Management Agency K9 (James Smith), Search Dogs South (Bob Weible), the and the Itawamba County Dive Team. Hood said that volunteers have offered boats and help in conducting land searches and that a volunteer “flew” the river in a airplane.

Hood said that he received a call Tuesday from Itawamba County Sheriff Chris Dickinson offering to assist in the search. The Itawamba County Dive Team arrived yesterday morning and began by evaluating conditions. He said that the Itawamba team decided to search an area that had not been searched previously by divers.

Speaking yesterday of the effort to find Smith’s body—and which had now claimed Eldridge’s life—Hood sasid, “We have brought in every resource that was available for us to safely search for the missing teenager. We are working in dangerous conditions and safety is a priority.”

Hood said that Fish & Wildlife officers have been working 14-18 hours a day on the search. He said that the Desoto County Sheriff’s Dept. sent a team equipped with “sonar radar” twice—he said that the team stayed on the water almost until midnight Monday night. He said that the Monroed County Dive Team and the Monroe County Search and Rescue Team volunteered their time and that the Columbus divers sent teams for four days. He continued, “Efforts have been made and we have pooled every resource that has been available. I have had deputies volunteer to come in to work all day just to find him. We have worked hard, long hours and made every effort to recover the missing teenager.”

Hood said that last Saturday sonar experts thought they had found the body but that when Monroe divers finally cleared the object it was found to be a piece of carpet wrapped around a log.

Looking downstream from the Cockerham Bridge. The Columbus Dive
Team boat is on the left and the Monroe County boat is farther
downstream.

“We do not know where the body of the teenager is at this point,” Hood said last night. “We are continuing the recovery effort and hope to get some closure for this family soon.”

Smith’s parents, Kris and Donia Smith of Smithville, have been at the scene for days, along with friends and some of their son’s classmates. Many of them spend nights under the bridge.

Kris Smith, who has always lived in the same Smithville neighborhood, said that his son loved to hunting, fishing, and played football and baseball and lifted weights. T.O. was the only student from Smithville to qualify for the Jackson weightlifting tournament, where he placed third.

Nets have been stretched across the river well below the spot where Smith disappeared, in case the body rises and starts to float downstream. The nets must be monitored frequently.

“The community has really helped us out,” Hood said. “They have brought food and fed the officers and family. That is something that was very much appreciated. Kenneth Lackey of Lackey's Restaurant [which recently burned] cooked hamburgers for us one day, the Hamilton Sports Association brought food, Bartahatchie Outback cooked for us, Bo Riley's from Amory sent food, churches and individuals have gone beyond anything we could ask for. Numerous people have brought food, but these are a few.” He added, “Evans Heating and Plumbing owner JC Evans in Hamilton has accommodated us by use of private facilities to access the river.”

Columbus Fire Chief Ken Moore said yesterday that the Columbus Dive Team participated in the search from last Friday through Tuesday. He added, “They’ve done everything they can do unless they call us back and want us to go farther.”

Members of the Columbus Fire and Rescue Dive Team who have participated in the search are Dale Ballard, Robert Bobo, Kevin Brown, Doug Cox, Clyde Egger, Richard Graves, Robert Kain, Richard McBride, Michael McReynolds, Michael Miller, Chief Moore, Susan Snapp, Scott Swain, Mark Ward and Josh Westbrook.

Bit Thompson

William Grady “Bit” Thompson, who represented District 4 on the board of supervisors for 24 years, six of those years as president, died Tuesday at age 84. He is being remembered as a quiet gentleman who treated everyone with courtesy and respect.

Thompson lived his whole life in Crawford. He and his son, Grady, were partners in a farming operation there.

Grady Thompson said his father first ran for office in 1967 at the request of people in the neighborhood. He took office in January 1968 and represented Dist. 4 through 1992. In 1971, at the height of the Civil Rights movement and in an attempt to forestall the election of blacks, supervisor candidates in Lowndes County ran county-wide. In that unique election Thompson received more votes than any other candidate. Yet when blacks were fully enfranchised and constituted 80% of the Dist. 4 voters, Thompson continued to easily win reelection in the district every time he ran.

Grady Thompson said that following integration his father’s opponents demanded recounts several times, not believing that he could have received so many votes in a district that was 80% black. He said that secret was that his father was “a helluva nice fellow. He treated everybody good, black, white, green or yellow. I think everybody respected him.”

Thompson retired in 1992 and endorsed Murry Anthony, an African-American and the Dist. 4 foreman, as his successor, and Anthony won.

Bit Thompson accepts a Key Community Award
from Gov. William Winter.

Thompson was president of the board of supervisors when Weyerhaeuser Co. decided to build its huge new plant in dist. 4 in the late 1970s. But Thompson later lost the presidency to Harold Blaylock when Blaylock joined the board with Charles Moore and Jim O’brien. The fifth supervisor at that time was Ed Andrews, who represented Dist. 5 until he was beaten by Leroy Brooks in 1983 (Andrews and Thompson both ran unopposed in 1979).

Walt Willis (Dist. 1), who served on the board with Thompson from 1985 till 1992, said this week that Thompson was a quiet but effective leader. “He was a gentleman to everybody. If you couldn’t get along with him there was something wrong with you,” Willis said. Willis said that Thompson was especially attentive to budget matters and that he consulted frequently with department heads.

Rep. Jeff Smith, who was elected County Prosecuting Attorney in 1979, said that Thompson became president of the board when Dist. 2 Supervisor Bill Smith died in 1978. He said that the years that Thompson was president were “the quietest and most cordial years.”

Services will be held this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at Oak Limb Cemetery in Crawford, Dr. Walt Porter officiating. Burial will follow in the Oak Limb Cemetery.

Packet #827 - May 14, 2009

Dexter Conner

Gunfire erupted outside the West Point American Legion Hall last Friday night during a party for high school students. Five party-goers were wounded, but only one required hospitalization. Three Columbus males have been arrested and charged in connection with the shootings and the investigation is still ongoing.

Dexter Conner and Tony Easley were arrested Tuesday afternoon in Columbus by Columbus police in cooperation with their West Point counterparts. Conner and Easley were each charged with one count of aggravated assault but Capt. Romel Matthews, head of the WPPD Criminal Investigation Division, said that more charges are possible. Easley and Conner are being held in the Clay County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond each.

Matthews said yesterday that another suspect was being sought. The Packet learned late yesterday that Dexter Conner had been arrested in Columbus yesterday afternoon. Matthews said that “others might be involved.” Matthews said that the shootings occurred around 11:20 p.m. last Friday. He would not speculate on what triggered the gunfire. “Nobody knows what caused it,” Matthews told the Packet. “When you get a bunch of guys together there can be words of mouth.”

Matthews said that the suspects were developed through various investigation techniques, including interviews with witnesses and victims. He said that the active shooters were part of a larger group, perhaps six or seven, but that some of those were not involved in the shooting. He said that those who weren’t involved were cooperating with the investigation. He also said that the group that included the shooters arrived on the scene in at least two vehicles.

Matthews said that police officers were near the scene when the shooting erupted and heard the shots and raced to the Legion Hall but the vehicles carrying the shooters were gone by the time the officers arrived.

Matthews said that four of the gunshot victims were treated and released [I forgot to ask but I presume they were taken to NMMC-West Point. Ed.]. The fifth victim, who was shot in the groin, was taken to NMMC-Tupelo but was released by Tuesday.

Matthews would not say how many shots police think were fired, or what type of weapons were used.

Matthews declined to release the names of the victims but did say that none was an adult. He would not release mug shots of Easley and Conner (this was after they were charged and their bond set but before Isaac was arrested).

West Point sources told the Packet that the American Legion Hall was rented by the parents of a West Point student and that the party was well chaperoned. The hall is located on Westbrook St. not far from the West Point police station.

According to Packet sources, the Columbus males were told to leave the party and they went to their vehicles and at least some put on red bandannas and then fired back at the Legion Hall from the street.

A Legionnaire told the Packet that he counted five bullet marks on the building. One bullet went through the glass next to the front door, bounced off a fire extinguisher, went through a wall and into the women’s restroom, where it hit the door and ended up on the floor. Orange paint in the street and on the grass marked the positions of about a dozen empty shell casings.

A CFD Hazmat team member hoses down Jason Hines early last
Saturday morning after deputies allegedly found him and
Stephen Walker cooking meth in a shed on Priscilla Circle.

A neighbor’s noise complaint at 2:00 a.m. last Saturday morning led deputies to an active meth lab on Priscilla Circle, south of CAFB. Scott Glasgow, the first deputy to enter the shed where the noise was coming from, inhaled the toxic vapors from cooking meth.

Scott Glasgow is examined before being washed down
and taken to BMH-GT. He inhaled meth vapors when he
entered the shed.

Stephen Walker’s dog was confused by all the activity
and strangers. Here he tries to comfort his master.
Walker appeared upset by events, but Hines laughed
and joked with lawmen.

Walker is led away after his hosing as deputies
with air tanks prepare to enter the meth lab.

Glasgow and two men allegedly doing the cooking, Jason Hines and Stephen Walker, were all hosed down by narcotics deputies in hazmat suits and then taken to BMH-GT for examination. Hines and Walker were each charged with manufacture of methamphetamine.

The deputies were assisted in the operation by Dist. 2 Volunteers, Metro narcotics agents, MBN agents and the Columbus Fire Dept. hazmat team. Priscilla Circle was jammed for hours with law enforcement cars, fire trucks, ambulances and the long hazmat trailer.

Columbus Fire Dept. Hazmat Team members used water from a Dist. 2 VFD pumper to shower Walker and Hines. After hosing them down firemen used scissors to cut the rest of their clothes off and continue the hosing. The water was not cold—the day had been warm and the truck had been parked in a Dist. 2 VFD station.

Packet #826 - May 7, 2009

Charlie Box

Incumbent Columbus Councilmen Gene Coleman and Jerry Kendall were beaten decisively by political newcomers Charlie Box and Bill Gavin in Tuesday’s Republican primary election. Neither Box nor Gavin has a Democratic opponent.

The turnout was very light.

Box, who retired as YMCA Director earlier this year, defeated Coleman for the Ward 3 seat 564 to 239. Coleman, a pharmacist, was seeking reelection to a second term.

Gavin, a drafting instructor at EMCC, defeated Kendall 382 to 186 for the Ward 6 seat. Kendall is a retired Jitney Jungle manager.

In the Democratic primary, Ward 1 incumbent Gene Taylor defeated Anthony Sanders 412 to 107. Taylor does not have an opponent in the general election.

In Ward 2, Joseph Mickens defeated Troy Miller 106 to 85. Mickens will face incumbent Susan MacKay in the general election. MacKay ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

In Ward 4, incumbent Democrat Fred Stewart was not opposed in the primary and does not have an opponent in the general election.

In Ward 5—majority black but considered a “swing ward”— radio personality Kabir Karriem defeated Rev. Kenneth McFarland 342-214 in the Democratic primary. Karriem will face Republican incumbent Jay Jordan in the general election.

Gavin said he thought his race would be closer than it was. He said he won on a platform of moving Columbus forward and said he plans to make good on his promise.

Kendall said that Gavin ran a good campaign and “won fair and square.” Gavin went on, “I tried to do what was best for the city but he just beat me.” Kendall said he enjoyed serving on the council and will stay involved in city issues and volunteer work, such as with the Salvation Army. He said that the current council inherited a serious financial problem and got the city back on its feet. He said he hopes that the new council can continue the work.

Mayor Robert Smith was unopposed in the Democratic primary. His only opponent in the general election is independent Thom Geiger.

In primary elections in West Point, incumbent Mayor Scott Ross won a decisive victory, but only one incumbent selectman emerged a winner. Ward 2 Selectman Bubba Wilkerson was defeated, and Linda Hannah and Keith McBrayer face runoffs. Veteran Ward 3 Selectman John Cummings did not seek re-election.

(These results include both machine votes and absentee ballots.)

Ross defeated five opponents in the Democratic primary, receiving 2,314 votes. His closest challenger, Tonya Quinn, garnered 555. Jarvis Boyd received 71; Terry Buffington, 243; Jimmy Davidson, 329; and Xanthe Joiner, 87.

Ross will face Independent candidate Harold Lathon in the general election in June.

In Ward 1, incumbent Linda Hannah will face Rod Bobo in a runoff May 19. Hannah, who has been on the board for sixteen years, received 226 votes, Bobo 268. Challenger Mary Ann Lamparter received two votes, and Scott Reed received 136.

In Ward 2, Homer E. Cannon defeated incumbent Bubba Wilkerson 349 to 224.

Ward 3 will see a runoff between Hubert Caston and Charles Collins. Caston received 169 votes, Collins 264. Justin Brian Estes polled 44 votes; William Huffman II, 56; and Randel Whitmire, 53.

Incumbent Ward 4 Selectman Keith McBrayer will face challenger John Caskey in a runoff. McBrayer received 505 votes to Caskey's 435; Eddie Holcombe received 96 votes.

Incumbent Ward 5 Selectman Jasper Pittman won a narrow victory over challenger Joe Michel III; Pittman came away with 396 votes, while Michel received 382.

After the results came in, Mayor Scott Ross was grateful for his victory and ready for the June general election.

"I feel great," Ross said. "It was very gratifying to win. I was very optimistic throughout the campaign and I got a great reception in all neighborhoods when I went door to door. I'm very pleased with the results.

"This was a relatively clean race," Ross said, "and I stayed on good terms with all of my opponents. I congratulated each one of them today, and I hope that they will see fit to support the Democratic nominee."

Packet #825 - April 30, 2009

A bullet passed through the front of Dwight Doughty’s t-shirt but
never hit him. His left arm was showered with glass when a bullet
hit a pane in his front door.

An East Columbus couple and their teenage son narrowly escaped injury last night when two strangers showed up at their door and started shooting into their apartment. The father, Dwight Doughty, was left with bullet holes in the front of his loose t-shirt and his left arm was showered with glass from bullets that passed through the front door after he closed it against the gunmen. His son, a senior at Victory Christian Academy, and his wife were within feet of the door but were not struck.

The Doughtys live at 400 Forest Blvd., Apt. #9. It opens into the interior courtyard and pool at the well-kept apartment complex. The Doughtys have lived in the apartment three years.

Doughty told police that someone knocked on the door and that when he opened it he saw two black males who asked for Chris, then started shooting. Neither Doughty’s wife nor his son is named Chris.

Doughty closed and locked the front door
while the gunmen were firing into the apartment.

When the shooting erupted Doughty’s son was standing at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the second floor of the apartment, just to the right (from the inside) of the door. His wife was sitting in a chair in the living room a few feet to the left. As the shooting continued Doughty closed the door and locked it against the gunmen, but two more bullets came through the glass panes in the door.

Two of the bullets hit the edge of a flat-screen TV and then into a wall on the other side of the living room. Doughty told police that he had recently had a run-in with some young people who don’t live at the apartment complex but who were using the pool, but police were left wondering if the shooters had simply gone to the wrong apartment.

Many neighbors heard the shots. Some said that as many as ten shots were fired, in two bursts, but police only found two spent 9 mm casings in their initial search.

The investigation was just getting underway when the Packet went to press during the night.

Pearlie Leach sits in the front yard of 165 Pandora Drive after she and several
other people were robbed at gunpoint early yesterday morning. Her husband,
Bobby Leach, is on the right. Robbers put a gun to Pearlie Leach’s head. She
has a history of heart trouble and remains hospitalize at BMH-GT as a result of
the stress.

Three masked men burst into a residence on Pandora Drive early yesterday morning, threatening and robbing the occupants before escaping. Police arrested a suspect a short time later. The two accomplices are still being sought.

The armed invasion occurred at 165 Pandora Drive, the home of Mildred Drungo. She told police that she and friends were in the kitchen when the three robbers burst through a side door and ordered everyone onto the floor.

Police said others in the kitchen with Drungo were Bobby Leach, Pearlie Leach, Linda Deloach, Shondra Deloach and Betty Jackson. Marcus Thompson was in a back room and went to the kitchen when he heard a commotion. He was also ordered onto the floor and was then hit with a golf club, but he did not require medical treatment.

Thomas Austin Jr.

The Packet has received a report that Anthony Cockrell was also in the residence when the invasion occurred (he was outside after it was over).

Bobby Leach told police that one of the robbers pointed a pistol at his wife’s head. His wife, Pearlie Leach, 45, has a history of heart trouble and began to hyperventilate and experience chest pains because of the stress. After the incident was over she was taken to BMH-GT. She reportedly was still in the hospital yesterday afternoon.

Officer Glynn Culpepper looks for shell casings in front of the Doughty
apartment. Officer Donnie Elkin is on the left.

Drungo told police that she recognized the voice of one of the robbers when he told her to get on the floor. She identified hiim as Thomas Earl Austin Jr., known as Mohawk. His mother, Mary Ann Beard, lives across the street from Drungo.

According to a Packet source, Austin was the only intruder with a pistol. The other two were armed with golf clubs and whacked several of the victims, but not hard enough to require hospital treatment.

The robbers reportedly made off with hundreds of dollars, a cell phone and a pack of cigarettes, all taken from Drungo and her guests.

Officer Jesse Johnston stopped Kerrick Turner and Maure Ballard on
Pickensville Road about 30 minutes after the home invasion. Police
determined that the pair weren’t involved in the robbery but they were
both charged with possession of marijuana.

About 30 minutes after the incident, when officers were combing the area, Officer Jesse Johnston saw a car turn around on Yorkville Road West. He followed the car a short distance south on Pickensville Road and the car veered into a residential lot. Other police converged on the scene but soon determined that the two occupants, Maure Ballard, 20, and Kerrick Turner, 22, had not been involved in the robbery. Both were charged with possession of marijuana, however.

Later Johnston spotted Austin’s Maroon Lumina at his residence, 2205 8th Ave. South, and Austin was arrested.

Drungo reportedly hosts friends at regular card parties at her house.

Packet #824 - April 23, 2009

Burglaries and break-ins occur almost every night in Columbus but a higher number than usual have been reported over the last week [I prepare a Police Incident Report for publication each week but usually have to leave it out. Ed.]. They included several unusual break-ins.

Glenn and Jan Miller’s house at 605 5th Ave. South was broken into last Thursday. This time the thief carefully removed a pane of glass in a back door to gain entry. Glenn Miller noted that the break-in occurred three years to the day after a previous burglary.

It is rare that an antebellum home is burglarized, but a few minutes after Glenn Miller reported his burglary Stephen Imes reported that burglars had been inside his residence, Snowdoun, on 9th St. North. Items were later discovered missing from both the Miller home and the Imes home.

A little before 5:00 a.m. Tuesday morning Janice Harris was awakened by a burglar in her residence at 1804 6th Ave. North. She could see someone moving in the dark room and when she yelled the intruder escaped through a bathroom window. Police responded from different directions within minutes [I was close behind them but didn’t take any photos. Ed.] but no suspects were found. Cpl. Donnie Elkin found that the window to the bathroom had been propped open—Harris had opened it during the night when she used the bathroom. Harris said that her purse had been hanging from her bedroom door and was on the floor after the intrusion, with her wallet lying next to it. Nothing was taken.

Approximately 24 hours later a burglar tried to break into an occupied house across the street from 1804 6th Ave. North but was frightened away by an audible burglar alarm.

CPD spokesman Cpt. Fred Shelton said yesterday that investigators have developed two suspects in the latest burglaries but do no yet know if the burglaries are connected.

Shelton said that the police need the help of the public, especially information, to help solve such crimes. He encouraged the public to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-530-7151 or the CPD Criminal Investigation Division at 662-244-3552.

Shelton also urged citizens to take these precautions to help prevent property crimes:

Tips to prevent car thefts
1. Never leave your car running or keys in the ignition. Close windows, lock doors, even if your car is in front or the driveway at home.

2. Park in busy, well-lit areas.

3. Carry your registration and insurance card with you. Don't leave personal identification documents or credit cards in your car.

4. Install mechanical devices limiting steering, ignition, and brake functions, or electrical alarms for burglar deterrence.

5. Etch non-VIN or non-serials numbered, readily marketable parts, e.g. windows, windshields, or wheels with personal ID.

Tips to protect homes
1. Quality security doors with locks left unlocked are poor investments. An expensive lock in a flimsy door may be poor investment.

2. Criminals do not like operating in lighted areas. Use security lighting during hours of darkness. Continuous lighting around your property during the day may not deter vandals as much as normal on and off cycling of lights with darkness, typical of resident activity. Inexpensive timers or photo cell sensors that activate lights can cycle necessary on/off lighting that may discourage vandals, especially when you must be away from your property. Their reasonable purchase costs can soon be offset with energy savings over continuous lighting cost.

Shelton also encouraged citizens to “be a neighbor” and report suspicious neighborhood activity. He said that ignoring suspicious or criminal activity at a neighbor’s house may lead to property damage or loss. He urged people to record serial numbers or mark valuable property by engraving and to take photos of hard-to- engrave items. He said that the Police Department has officers trained to help communities set up neighborhood watch programs.

[Here’s another suggestion: keep dogs in and around the house. Take them with you in your vehicle when possible. The Humane Society Shelter euthanizes hundreds of dogs each year and almost all of them would be great companions and guards. Ed.]

Ean “Mississippi Kid” Evans (center) performs with Lynryd Skynyrd bandmates Johnny Van Zant (left), Gary
Rossington (right) and Michael Carlone (on drums) at a benefit for Evans and his family at the Columbus
Fairgrounds last Sunday. Thousands of Southern Rock fans attended the festival despite heavy thunderstorms
that swept across Columbus until late afternoon.

Lynryd Skynyrd bass guitarist Ean Evans of Columbus has tirelessly encouraged area musicians and has often performed benefit shows to help local people in need. Evans, known as the Mississippi Kid, recently returned home after undergoing months of treatment for cancer, and last Sunday he was the beneficiary of a concert that put Columbus at the center of the Southern Rock universe for a day. The show climaxed with Evans taking the stage with his Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmates.

The stage for the Mississippi Kid Festival was set by dozens of Evans’s friends working hundreds of man-hours. Bands came from throughout the South and fans came from as far away as Texas, Oklahoma and Ohio.

Buddy Easley and Ricky Killian work on wiring
systems for the festival last Saturday.

Heavy thunderstorms threatened to wreck everything but there was enough good weather Sunday afternoon to make things workable and by evening the skies had cleared (corn-size hail fell near the Lock & Dam around 6:00 p.m. but it never hailed at the Fairgrounds).

Gov. Haley Barbour declared Sunday Ean Evans Day in Mississippi—the proclamation was hand-delivered onstage by Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood. Mayor Robert Smith took the stage to welcome the bands and the fans and to proclaim Sunday Ean Evans Day in Columbus. Early in the evening Evans went onstage and Police Chief Joseph St. John, an amateur rocker, made him an honorary member of the Columbus police force.

Columbus businessman Robert Rhett was the informal but acknowledged leader of the volunteer effort to stage the event. Chuck Cook and Kenneth Montgomery took the lead in preparing the grounds by cutting acres of grass for the spectators and for parking. Electrician Buddy Easley did most of the wiring. But Rhett said that dozens of other people stepped forward at every turn to help, many with special equipment and skills. He said that Mayor Smith helped in every way. After the show, people doing community service work to pay off fines helped clean up the Fairgrounds (some stayed after hours to work for wages).

Henry Glover (in truck), Clint Hanson, Hank Vaiden and
Darrell McElrath move plastic stage roof tarps from a
pickup to a backhoe scoop.

The stage and sound system were donated by Billy Amstrong of Magic Productions of Tupelo. The stage is the same one used at the Market Street Festival. After each downpour Armstrong would motor the fabric-covered roof down so the water could be pushed out of the sagging fabric. Rex’s Rentals donated tents and the Magnolia Catering/Cotton Patch staff donated their time and served 355 meals to VIPs and performers.

Hank Vaiden, Mike Chain and Dennis McKay handled the between-acts stage setups.

Rhett said that when he first approached some bands about playing at the festival their managers expressed misgivings about the conditions, but he said that they were all thrilled with the setup and the treatment they received. It included traveling in Leo’s Limos to and from the Fairgrounds with police escorts.

Rhett said, “Those stars couldn’t appreciate it enough that they weren’t held up in traffic. They were well taken care of.”

Janet Marsh, Amber Spear and Chase Lindley of Columbus wait behind a
barricade for the arrival of the Lynryd Skynrd Band near the stage late
last Sunday afternoon. The band members arrived in a Leo’s Luxury Limo
and were then driven through some mud on golf carts to Chuck Cook’s
luxury mobile home, where they waited until going onstage.

Rhett said that many of the performers want to come back again. He said there has been talk of making the festival an annual event and that Evans suggested that it benefit Camp Rising Sun.

Performers included members of .38 Special, Three Doors Down, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Evans Capps Band (formed by Ean Evans and Bobby Capps—they signed a record deal in Chuck Cook’s motor home during the festival), Molly Hatchet. Also performing were the Dirt Brothers (one of the members is the son of LCSO Deputy James Farris—he’s also a cousin of Sen. Terry Brown) and Cross & Dixon.

Police Chief Joseph St. John presents an honorary mem-
bership in the police force to Evans. Bobby Capps is on
the right and Evans’s daughter, Andrea, is behind him.

Rhett said that the rough weather was “scary.” He said there’s no doubt it kept people away but he added that that might have been a good thing because too many people could have been overwhelming. Acres of grass parking was prepared but the vehicles were diverted to the Airline Mfg. and United Technologies parking lots to keep from tearing up the ground. Leo’s Luxury Limos had buses to ferry people from the parking lots to the Fairgrounds. Rhett said yesterday that 4,000 to 5,000 people probably attended the festival, though many left during downpours.

Mitchell Distributing (formerly Cash Distributing) made a donation to the event and provided beer, which was sold by festival volunteers. Mitchell provided a refrigerated trailer. The company also provided all of the signs needed for the event.

Ricky Medlocke and Johnny Van Zant get it going.

Regular and reserve police officers and deputies were everywhere, along with volunteers from North American Security under the direction of Jim Bell and at least one Highway Patrolman, Larry Smith. Rhett said some officers were of particular help: police officers Jeff Guyton, Guy Taylor, Garry Moore, Carroll Culpepper, Glynn Culpepper, Donnie Elkin, Neal Taylor, John Pevey and Barry Goode, and deputies Ivan Bryan, Joey Brackin, Archie Williams, Lloyd McWilliams and Ryan Rickert.

There were zero security problems at the concert, but after the show Police Officer Ric Higgins was struck by a vehicle near the south entrance onto Hwy 69 South. He was knocked face-first to the pavement and suffered a broken finger and cuts and bruises. A Highway Patrol spokesman was unable to identify the driver of the vehicle yesterday but Rhett said that she is 17 and that she was “hysterical” after hitting Higgins and that she went to BMH-GT to check on him.

Mayor Robert Smith watches the show
next to the stage. [Except for some
Street Dept. employees and maybe some
lawmen, Mayor Smith was probably the
only black guy at the festival. He had
started the evening at the gospel show
at the Trotter Center but enjoyed the
Fairgrounds show so much that he stayed.
I left the Fairgrounds to take photos at
the Trotter Center and I was probably the
only white guy there. Both venues were
rocking. Ed.]

Hartley Peavey of Meridian donated a Peavey electric guitar to be signed and auctioned at the festival. Columbus restaurateur Freddy Fields (The Golden Horn, Fuhgetaboutit) bought it for $3,500. Restaurateur Glenn Baldwin (Kountry Kitchen) bought a signed acoustic guitar. Denise Reid of Strings & Things donated a Peavey guitar that was won in a raffle. During the show former American Idol contender Bo Bice donated his mandolin, which auctioneer Mike Stone proceeded to auction off (Rod Taylor of Jumpin’ Gs bought it for $1,000—he also donated an inflatable to occupy kids at the festival). A guitar donated and signed by the Lynryd Skynrd band members was sold for $8,000, but Rhett couldn’t remember who bought it (one raffled guitar was won by a man from Michigan, another by a man from Florida).

Trash bins were everywhere, courtesy of Scott Hanon at Triangle Maintenance. He also donated generator lighting systems.

Officer Ric Higgins
was hit by a pickup
directing traffic

Cumulus Broadcasting, WCBI-TV and the Packet provided free advertising. Roberts Bros. Coach Co. of Nashville sent two buses to the event and charged only $450. Rhett said that one of the drivers had been up for 36 hours.

Rhett said that the festival “had major power issues” and needed a 400-amp electrical service. The utility couldn’t donate it but Rhett said that CL & W Manager Todd Gale and Electric Division Chief C. F. Harris did everything they could to make things happen.

The performers mostly came by bus, though Johnny Van Zant flew in to GTRA and Chris Hicks of the Marshall Tucker Band drove up from Florida. Rhett said that Todd Harrell of Three Doors Down left a rehearsal in Nashville to be at the festival. They stayed in local hotels except for two who stayed with Russell Kyle in the prairie.

Rhett said that so many people helped with the event in so many ways that he was afraid he was forgetting to mention some [And I’m probably leaving some out that he mentioned. Ed.]. He said that he didn’t know yet how much money was raised for Evans and his family, but he indicated that it would be a considerable amount.

Packet #823 - April 16, 2009

Three Caledonia teens survived a multiple rollover and impact with a tree Monday afternoon on Cal-Steens Road. Justin Hauerwas, who turned 16 on March 2, lost control of the southbound 1994 Honda Civic just north of Bloomer’s Nursery. A witness said the car “came around the curve sideways” and then flipped three times before snapping a small tree and hitting a big tree broadside on the passenger’s side. Oren Cantrell, 14, of 99 Carolyn Drive, was in the front passenger seat and Daniel Legett, 13, of 16 North Street, Caledonia, was in the back seat. All three occupants were wearing seatbelts and despite the multiple rollover and the massive damage to the car they only suffered cuts and bruises. They were all out of the ER in two hours.

Antonio M. Taylor was northbound on Hwy 12 East in front of the Nissan dealership Monday afternoon when his 1994 Dodge pickup was rear-ended by a larger pickup driven by Jon M. Forbus. The Dodge was knocked upside down in the north driveway of the dealership. Taylor’s injuries were not life-threatening. Forbus said that he swerved to miss Taylor’s vehicle and it was the sideways impact that flipped the Dodge pickup. [The Starkville HQ of the Highway Patrol has been without a public information officer for months and this is all the information I could get on the accident. A patrolman has been assigned these duties and is supposed to start work today. Ed.]

Three youths and an small child were injured last Friday night when their Dodge Neon flipped into a ditch on Hwy 69 South about a mile south of New Hope Road. Courtney Taylor of Columbus was at the wheel of the Neon, which was northbound, when she lost control of the vehicle and it went off the left (west) side of the highway and flipped in the grassy ditch. Taylor, her young child and two teenage passengers all remained in the vehicle. The Highway Patrol did not identify anyone but Taylor, but the Packet learned that one of the passengers was Jeremy Wells, a NHHS student. Another passenger reportedly was a cousin of Taylor’s. The cousin was reportedly transferred to a Jackson hospital.

Packet #822 - April 9, 2009

BMH-GT Paramedics and Columbus Firemen wheel Tavares Evans to an ambulance after he was shot last night outside 1124 15th St. North. Details were still sketchy at press time but neighbors reported hearing one shot and police found one empty shell casing in the yard. Evans apparently went inside the house after being shot. An hour after the shooting police reported that he was “stabilized” but in critical condition at BMH-GT and a short time later said that he had been flown to Jackson. Neighbors said that Evans is in his 20s and that he does not live at 1124 15th St. North. Another young male, said to be Evans’s brother, was inside the house when the shooting occurred. Police would not speculate on the nature of the wound.

At a special meeting early Wednesday morning the Columbus Municipal School District unanimously accepted an $18,451,000 bid from West Brothers Construction to build the new middle school complex. Construction on the 143,622 square-foot complex could begin as early as next month.

The district received 10 bids for the project. The bids were:

West Brothers Construction: $18,451,000.
Panola Construction Co: $18,888,800.
Worsham Brothers Inc: $19,180,000.
Doster Construction Co: $19,238,000.
Johnson, Evan and Sons Construction: $19,340,000.
Sanderson Construction Company: $19,500,000.
Jesco Inc: $19,621,000.
Brasfield and Gorrie: $19,697,000.
Harrell Contracting Group: $20,090,000.
Conn Construction Co: $20,700,000.

Superintendent Del Phillips said that the recent economic downturn may have helped the district bring in such a large number of bids.

"We had ten bidders on this job, and for those you that have been here and been involved in the construction process, ten is the most we've ever had," Phillips said. "I think the economy helped us receive more bids, because I think there's less work out there for people to do and it worked in our favor."

Architect Chris Morrow said construction could begin as early as the first part of May.

"We'll get the contract put together today," he said. "We'll get it out this week, and then West Brothers will have to get their insurance and bonds together. I fully expect to have a notice to proceed before the first of May. The groundbreaking can be any time. As soon as the insurance and bonds come back I'm going to get them started because we've got a lot to between now and November 2010."

The cost came in far under the district's cost estimate.

"We had cost estimated the building last June at $24 million when fuel was so high," Morrow said. "In November it had crept down to between $21 million and $22 million. Then what we really started seeing after the meltdown across the board on all our projects was the bottom falling out."

"We got a lot of building for the cost," Phillips said. "I think now is the time for us to do projects if we're going to do them. You may not feel this is the time, but from a cost standpoint now is the time to be in the market."

Phillips then asked the board to approve advertising for bids for a total of approximately 42,000 square feet of additions to Stokes-Beard, Joe Cook and Sale elementary schools. The new projects are in response to some existing needs at these three campuses, but will also serve to handle incoming fifth-graders; when the new middle school opens, the district's elementary schools will move from their current K-4 setup to K-5.

Sale would see a total of 15,678 square feet of additions, including alternates. If approved, Sale would receive a pod of four new classrooms, which total 6,478 square feet, with the remaining square footage divided between a new play gym and library. (A play gym is a half of a normal size basketball court.)

"The classroom is the base bid, and the play gym and library are included as an alternate," Phillips said. "They desperately need the new gym and the library."

The new additions would be added off of the main corridor at Sale, with space left over for more additions if needed. Storage space and restrooms wou

ld also be added, he said, and the classrooms will be pre-wired for Promethean boards.

Stokes-Beard will potentially see 11,580 total square feet of additions, with 6,508 square feet in the base bid.

"We are looking to add four classrooms at Stokes-Beard, with four more as an alternate bid," Phillips said. "These classrooms were actually an alternate several years ago when the school was built. This will be the exact same footprint as we have at the other end of the building, and will balance the building out."

Joe Cook could see 15,720 square feet of additions, with a base project of 11,000 square feet.

"We're looking at adding two new pods with bathrooms and office space," Phillips said. "The office will probably be used for an assistant principal."

A small conference room is also included, Phillips said.

Phillips also recommended that the board look at potentially using the current CLRA soccer field site to build a new road coming into campus.

"If the Park and Rec soccer fields ever move anywhere else, you may want to look at taking the driveway that's there now and run it around the school," Phillips said. "It would then come out across from where the stop sign is at Heritage Academy. Streets would basically come into the campus from both sides."

The new classroom pod would then become an exit for students to go to the buses, while the front of the school could be used for parent pickup, he said. Currently both buses and parents pick students up at the front of the school.

The board unanimously approved advertising for bids.

All of these projects need to be finished by August of 2010, Phillips stated.

Finally, the board approved bidding out road improvements for the new middle school site.

"MDOT is taking care of the traffic light on Highway 45," Phillips said. "We're going to do improvements to four-lane to our entry point on Highway 373 and put up lights. It's about 1,000 feet or something like that we'll have to do."

The board unanimously approved advertising.

Alfred and Pearlie May Sharp woke up last Sunday morning to find a huge dead rat in their front yard. Alfred said that their dogs, Blackie and Spotty, killed the monster rodent during the night, apparently in the woods near their home at 104 Farmers Market St., and dragged it into the yard. The rat measured three feet long and had big orange front teeth and slightly webbed back feet. Neighbors stopped by the Sharp’s home to look at the monster. Jaqualon Sharp, a student at Coleman Head Start in Columbus, is pictured next to the rat. Spotty and Blackie are in the background. An internet search identified the rat as a nutria (or coypo), a semi-aquatic species of rodent that is common on the Gulf Coast and is beginning to invade this area. Catfish farmer Sam Pilkinton said that nutrias burrow into levees and are becoming more and more common here.

Packet #821 - April 2, 2009

Madison Orr

On Monday a tragic accident occurred on Highway 17 four miles north of Reform when five people were injured with one fatality in a crash that happened at 3:25 p.m. in the Friendship Community just outside the Reform city limits.

Thomas Morgan Orr was southbound on Hwy. 17 and Shane Noland was northbound when their vehicles collided head-on according to Pickens County Coroner Chad Harless.

“The call came in to the Pickens County 911 at 3:30 p.m. that there was a 1050 [accident] involving two trucks. Shane Noland was the driver of one truck and Morgan Orr was the driver of the other truck. Madison Orr died at the scene. Shane Noland of Pickens County and Morgan Orr were both airlifted to UAB. State troopers are investigating the crash,” said Harless.

In the pickup driven by Morgan Orr, 16, were his sister, Madison Orr, 12, and Sarah Long also 12. Sarah Long was transferred to Childrens Hospital and at press time Morgan Orr was in critical condition at UAB.

All three were students at South Lamar School in Millport.

Gregory Shane Noland, 17, was the driver of the other vehicle. Noland and passengers Joseph Michael Oden II, 19, and James Aaron Simmons, 19, were all injured. They are all from Pickens County, Ala.

Alabama Highway Patrol accident investigators reconstruct the scene of
the accident where Madison Orr was killed in a head-on collision.

South Lamar principal Ken Dawkins said on Tuesday, “This is a tragedy we are dealing with. We have counselors and ministers on campus for students to talk to. We just want to ask the community to all pray. The students are taking advantage of the counseling. The students are coping and there is a lot of pain here right now.

Dawkins went on, “Madison was a very well liked student by everyone. We will miss her. She was in the seventh grade. It is going to be a long week ahead.”

Lamar County Superintendent of Education Jeff Newman said, “We are trying to handle this situation as best we possibly can. Counselors from all the county schools are at South Lamar today for all the students who are grieving. We want to make sure that everyone who needs help dealing with this tragedy is getting it. We had an assembly this morning [Tuesday] and spoke with all of the student body. We wanted to make sure everyone knew what had happened and what was going on and what we were doing to help. If any of them wanted to cry and just talk about it, we had professionals there to listen.”

Newman added, “It is a very traumatic to lose a student classmate. We also had principals from other school districts who have dealt with this type of situation to help.”

This is the second student in Lamar County to be killed in a car accident this year. Presley Dawn Pinkerton, 16, of Vernon was killed last October.

Happy Irby at last fall’s Happy Fund Golf Tournament at the Whispering Pines
Golf Course at CAFB with Col. Mark Brown, Command Chief Rich Brackett and
Wing Commander Col. Roger Watkins.

George “Happy” Irby, a figure of legendary generosity and a symbol of continuity at Columbus Air Force Base, died at his home last Friday morning on his 94th birthday.

Irby died one day after Gov. Haley Barbour signed a bill into law that renamed Hwy 786, the road from Hwy 45 North to the east gate of CAFB the George “Happy” Irby Parkway. The renaming of the road had been in process for more than a year.

Irby died of complications from a fall at the CAFB Officers Club on February 6. Son George Irby, the Director of Federal Programs and the head of the Inspection Dept. for the City of Columbus, said that his father broke his hip in the fall but that because the pain was not centered in the hip the break was not diagnosed for weeks, during which time infection and other complications developed.

CAFB Wing Commander Col. Roger Watkins said of Irby, “We lost a very special member of the Columbus Air Force Base family. He was selfless and generous, with a bright smile and endearing laugh. He served Columbus Air Force Base for over 50 years and was loved and respected by all who knew him, from the most junior enlisted person to four-star generals. He’ll be missed and never forgotten.”

Happy Irby with good friend Mark Alexander at Irby’s 93rd birthday party
in the Happy Lounge in March 2008.

Irby’s friends and family speak of his selflessness and desire to help others. He was a symbol of generosity to the largercommunity through the Happy Fund, which began with his practice of saving tips at the Officers Club to buy presents at Christmas for underprivileged children. The Happy Fund eventually drew in donations from base and throughout the community and was administered by the wives of officers in the Support Group. One hundred percent of all collections are used to buy gifts. Last year 500 children in local schools received gifts fromthe Happy Fund and over 150 fruit baskets were delivered to senior citizens and the economically disadvantaged.

A major fundraiser for the Happy Fund was the Happy Fund Golf Tournament. Irby attended last fall’s tournament at the Whispering Pines Golf Course on the base.

Col. Watkins and three former CAFB Wing Commanders, Ret. Major General Jack Catton, Ret. Col. Tom Quelle and Ret. General Robert “Doc” Foglesong, were among the mourners at Irby’s funeral Tuesday at M.U. Baptist Church. About 25 other Air Force personnel attended the funeral, including Col. Jeff Dunn, Col. Mark Brown, Col. Diane Fletcher and Command Chief Master Sgt. Rich Brackett. Other former wing commanders sent condolences to the Irby family.

Happy Irby was born in Columbus in 1915 and was a member of Union Academy’s first football team—and he was the last surviving member of that team. He went on to play quarterback at Jackson State University before returning to Columbus and working for the Columbus & Greenville Rwy. Men who are now old remember standing by the tracks when they were boys and catching nickels that Irby tossed to them as the train went by.

In the early 1950s Irby began working at the Officers Club at CAFB and ultimately became head of customer relations at the club. The club’s lounge was named Happy Lounge in his honor. He continued to go to the club twice a week until he fell there in February.

Son George Irby said that retired Air Force Col. Sonic Johnson, now civilian head of Public Affairs at CAFB, stayed with him at his father’s bedside Thursday night and offered much-appreciated support.

When streets at CAFB were renamed in honor of local military heroes and longtime base supporters two years ago it was decided that the principal road leading to the base be named for Irby. Because it was a state highway the name change had to be authorized by the legislature. The Senate passed a bill several weeks ago to rename the highway the George “Happy” Irby Parkway. The House has a standing rule not to name roads for people who are still living, but last week the name change was included in a House-Senate conference bill, which exempted it from the House rule. The bill passed and Gov. Barbour signed it last Thursday.

Irby was an honorary CAFB Wingman and was a recipient of the Columbus Exchange Club’s Book of Golden Deeds Award.

Packet #820 - March 26, 2009

Bianca Smith and Tiara Williams talk to Jonathan Williams (no relation) while waiting for
an ambulance to arrive at the scene of last Sunday morning’s accident on Hwy 45 South.
Williams was seriously injured in the accident.

A young Columbus man was killed and two friends were critically injured when their car ran off Hwy 45 South early last Sunday morning and hit a concrete box culvert. Anthony Skipper, 20, also known as “Tony” and “Skip,” was pronounced dead at the scene. Javante “Monkey Man” Williams and Jonathan “Jon Jon” Hughes were taken to BMH-GT and remain hospitalized at press time.

The accident occurred a little after 3:00 a.m. just south of Springfield M.B. Church on Hwy 45 South (a half-mile south of Gilmer-Wilburn Road). Skipper, Williams and Hughes were northbound in a 1999 Camry that went off the left (west) side of the highway and struck the north wing wall of a concret box culvert. The car then flipped 25 yards and landed upside-down in some undergrowth just west of a ditch that parallels the highway. Hughes remained in the car but Skipper and Williams were both ejected.

Highway Patrol investigators are still trying to determine who was driving the Camry, which reportedly belonged to Williams’s girlfriend.

The Camry was in a line of vehicles that were northbound on the highway. The vehicle immediately in front of the Camry was occupied by several young Columbus men. The driver of that vehicle saw, in his rear-view mirror, the Camry’s headlights veer off the highway and disappear. A car in front of that vehicle carried several young Columbus women. The driver of this car also saw the Camry’s headlights veer away and disappear. The drivers of both of these vehicles turned around and went back to the scene of the accident to lend assistance. One of the women in the second vehicle was Bianca (Mays) Smith, a 2002 graduate of Columbus High School who is now a paramedic in the U.S. Army stationed in El Paso, Tex.

A few minutes before the accident was reported LCSO deputies were dispatched to the area on a report that a northbound car was running other cars off the highway. Lt. Clint Sims and Reserve Deputy Mark McGarity stopped the suspect driver near Burkhalter Rigging just as the accident was reported. Sims helped secure the suspect, Jody Eugene Swartz, and then left him with McGarity and headed south to the accident scene. Deputy Eric Granderson had gone on ahead of him.

Motorists and Transcare EMT Joe Hamiter (blue jacket) help free
Jonathan Hughes from the wreckage

E-911 first reported that a car had flipped near Dan’s County Line Club and the Dist. 4 Volunteers were dispatched to that area. A minute or two later E-911 reported that a car had flipped near Gilmer-Wilburn Road and Dist. 5 Volunteers were dispatched to that scene. A few minutes later it became clear that only one accident had occurred, near Gilmer-Wilburn Road. Volunteers from both VFDs went to the scene.

It took some minutes for the deputies and then the volunteers and ambulances from BMH-GT to arrive. In the meantime, the men and women in the two cars that had been ahead of the Camry tried to help the victims. They were quickly joined by retired Columbus fireman Joe Hamiter, who was transporting a patient from Noxubee General Hospital to BMH-GT in a Transcare ambulance and saw the activity and stopped. His assistant stayed with their patient in the ambulance while Hamiter went to help the others at the scene.

At first the only victim they found was Hughes, who was trapped in the wreckage. Bianca Smith discovered Williams when she ran from the wreck to the Transcare ambulance to get a body board and stumbled over him lying in the ditch in the darkness. He was lying northeast of the overturned Camry.

Sims, Granderson and Hamiter soon arrived on the scene. Sims said that Granderson held Williams’s head out of the water in the ditch while he (Sims) put a C-collar on Williams’s neck. Smith, the Army paramedic, went back and forth to the Transcare ambulance getting items that Sims and Granderson needed. Sims said that it was a great advantage having someone on the scene who knew what he was asking for. Hamiter, meanwhile, was trying to help Hughes, who was trapped in the wreckage nearby.

Williams was placed on a body board (from Hamiter’s ambulance) and carried up to the shoulder of the highway, where Smith and another occupant in her car, Tiara Williams of Columbus, talked to him and tried to keep him engaged

When Hamiter and the volunteer firemen finally freed Hughes from the wreckage the young men who had been in the car ahead of the Camry helped carry him across the ditch and up the bank to a BMH-GT ambulance. It was at this point that one of the victims told rescuers that the Camry had been carrying two other occupants. Everyone with a flashlight then began searching the area from the culvert to the overturned car and well beyond, trying to find the other victims.

Dist. 4 Volunteer Larry Caldwell examines the pool
below the box culvert while searching for missing
victims. The car hit the wing wall on the right and
then flipped 25 yards through the air.

Skipper’s body was finally discovered in the ditch 50 yards north of the wreckage—75 yards north of the culvert. The body was lying face-up in the ditch, which was very small at that point and contained only a little water. Paramedics determined that Skipper was dead.

Additional questioning of Hughes and Williams finally convinced deputies that only three people had been riding in the Camry.

Coroner Greg Merchant pronounced Skipper dead at the scene. He said later that Skipper died of blunt force trauma to the head and chest. One of Skipper’s shoes was found near the culvert and Merchant considered the possibility that Skipper had been ejected near the culvert and had walked north in the ditch until he finally collapsed, but Merchant ultimately concluded that Skipper had been thrown from the vehicle to the spot where he was found. Merchant said that one of Skipper’s legs was broken and that the sock on the exposed foot was soiled from the ditch but showed no evidence that Skipper had walked up the ditch from the culvert.

The rear of the Camry was completely crushed, suggesting that the car spun around before hitting the wing wall going backwards. The rear bumper was stuck 30 feet high in a tree. Merchant said that Skipper would have been “catapulted” out of the tumbling vehicle.

Sims considered the possibility that the wreck was somehow connected with the report that Jody Eugene Turner was runniing people off the highway minutes earlier (the 911 call was made by someone in the Smith vehicle), but he said that he could find no connection between Turner and Skipper, Hughes and Williams.

Turner was taken to BMH-GT at his request, for a cut over an eye, but Sims said that the cut was apparently caused by a rifle scope recoil and occurred earlier in the day. Turner was charged with possession of a weapon by a felon, possession of a stolen firearm, DUI, switched tag, no insurance and no driver’s license.

Sims praised Smith and the others who stopped and provided assistance after the wreck. He said that with their help he and Granderson had Williams “packaged” and on the shoulder of the highway by the time the first BMH-GT ambulance arrived. [I neglected to get the names of the young men who helped rescue Mr. Hughes and Mr. Williams. Ed.]

Carter’s Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements for Skipper’s funeral, which will be Saturday at Southside M.B. Church.

An MSU student from Columbus and a Byram native who recently earned his masters degree at MSU died from injuries received in a two-vehicle accident last Sunday afternoon on Hwy 25 near Carthage.

Bradley Gibson, 26, of Starkville, died at University Medical Center in Jackson around 6:00 p.m. Saturday evening, just three hours after the accident. Lyndsi Hill, 21, a Columbus native and a senior education major at MSU, died of her injuries at UMC around 9:00 a.m. Monday morning.

A Highway Patrol spokesman said that the accident occurred at 3:10 p.m. last Sunday afternoon near the intersection of Hwy 25 & Red Dog Road, about a mile south of Carthage. He said that Gibson was at the wheel of a northbound 1999 Toyota that was also carrying Hill and Jonathan Chandler, 25, of Brandon. Brandon was in the front passenger seat and Hill was in the back seat.

The Toyota collided with a 1996 Dodge pickup that apparently crossed the highway on Red Dog Road into the path of the Toyota. The pickup was driven by Derrick Moss, 19, of Pulaski. Three minor passengers were also in the pickup.

All four occupants of the pickup were transported to Leake Memorial Hospital, where they were treated and released. Gibson, Hill and Chandler were transported to Leake Memorial Hospital and Gibson and Hill were then flown to UMC.

The accident is still under investigation.

Hill graduated from Heritage Academy in 2005 and was earning an education degree at MSU. She worked as a waitress at the Mugshots Bar & Grill in Starkville.

Gibson earned a degree in entomology at MSU, graduating cum laude, and recently earned his master’s degree in entomology. He had just been hired by Monsanto Chemical Co. to work in Jonesboro, Ark. His father, Jerry Gibson, is a Caledonia native.

Packet #819 - March 19, 2009

Dist. 3 Volunteers examine the wreckage of the car that flipped on Hwy 69 South last Sunday morning killing
14-year-old Lee Middle School student Jennifer Jackson and injuring five other occupants.

A one-car accident on Hwy 69 South early last Sunday morning claimed the life of a Lee Middle School 8th grader. Jennifer Jackson, 14, died from injuries she received when she was ejected from the vehicle and then crushed beneath it in a water-filled ditch. Jackson’s sister and four other young females suffered minor injuries in the accident.

The accident occurred in light rain near the First Colony Drive & Hwy 69 South intersection. Jennifer Jackson’s 17-year-old sister, Jessica Jackson, was at the wheel of a southbound 2007 Mazda 6 when the car ran off the right side of the highway and struck a field road with a small culvert. The car flipped over the field road and came down on its roof in a ditch on the other side. The water in the ditch was knee deep.

The other occupants of the car were bruised and bloodied but managed to get out.

The accident was reported at 12:41 a.m. Jessica Jackson and the other passengers, Shaquala Boyd and Steronda Boyd (sisters) and Rashada Payne and Lashada Payne (sisters) managed to get out of the overturned vehicle, but Jennifer Jackson’s body was pressed into the ditch beneath the overturned vehicle. It was clear to Dist. 3 Volunteers that she was dead. The volunteers and BMH-GT paramedics tended to the survivors as relatives arrived on the scene. The car was left in position until Deputy Coroner Tim Hamilton and a Hwy Patrol accident reconstructionist could take photos and notes, then a wrecker lifted the car to free Jennifer Jackson’s body.

Hamilton ruled that Jackson died of blunt force trauma to the head and chest. She had been riding in the front passenger seat and it appeared that may have been thrown through the windshield and that the car then rolled onto her.

Jackson was the daughter of Sandra Jackson and Jessie Jackson Jr. Graveside services will be March 21 at noon at Taylor Chapel Cemetery in Victoria. Rodgers Funeral Home in Coldwater is in charge of arrangements (obituary in this Packet).

George Pate is pictured being moved
from his house to an ambulance after
his wife’s body was discovered last
Wednesday night.

George Pate remains at BMH-GT’s Willowbrook psychiatric facility under 24-hour police guard more than a week after his wife was shot to death in their home on 8th St. South. Willowbrook officials have reportedly thwarted police plans to transfer Pate to a cell at LCADC.

Police found Peggy Pate’s body in the couple’s bedroom on the night of March 12, after her sister called from Arkansas expressing concern about her welfare. The sister had not talked to Peggy Pate since late the night before (Tuesday, March 11). Police broke into the home a little after 8:00 p.m., after seeing a key in the inside of the back door deadbolt lock—which meant that whoever locked the door was still inside the house.

Peggy Pate’s body was found in the master bedroom, clad in nightclothes. George Pate was found asleep or unconscious in the room, apparently from a drug overdose.

George Pate was not carried from the house but was helped out the back door and then placed on a gurney and taken to an ambulance on 8th St. in front of the house. A photograph in the last Packet showed Officers Don Holifield and Donnie Elkin flanking the gurney that carried Pate from the house to the ambulance. Holifield was holding a tape recorder near Pate’s head. Pate reportedly was reportedly making unsolicited statements about the shooting at the time. Two police officers rode in the ambulance to BMH-GT. He was put in CCU with an officer always with him.

Coroner Greg Merchant took Peggy Pates’s body to Jackson last Thursday (March 12) for an autopsy. After the autopsy Merchant ruled that she died from a gunshot wound to the head. Shortly after noon that same day George Pate was charged with her murder. He requested an attorney and, in the words of a police officer familiar with the case, he “lawyered up.” Pate was still in CCU at that time but later that afternoon was transferred to a private room at Willowbrook. Police guards have been with him continuously, rotating every few hours. The guards do not carry firearms in the hospital but carry Tasers and pepper spray.

Police hoped to move Pate to LCADC on Tuesday but were reportedly thwarted by Willowbrook doctors. Police spokesman Capt. Fred Shelton said yesterday that discussions with hospital staff were continuing. He referred to “a legal issue” and said that because George Pate apparently tried to commit suicide doctors want to observe him. He added, “But once they give us the all-clear we’ll move him... Regardless of his condition, he’s going to jail.”

Shelton said that Pate could be placed under suicide watch at LCADC.

Merchant said that Peggy Pate died of a large-caliber gunshot wound to the head but he would not say if she suffered more than one wound. He said that Dr. Amy McMaster conducted the autopsy, which revealed no cuts or bruises. Speaking of the fatal wound, Merchant said, “The position of the wound is such that it couldn’t be construed as self-inflicted.”

Merchant said that Peggy Pate’s sister talked to her about 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday night (March 10). Merchant thinks that she was probably shot late that night or early on Wednesday. George Pate apparently stayed inside the house with her body until he was escorted out by police Wednesday night (Mrch 11).

George Pate retired from 4-County Power Assn. three years ago, after a career in which he rose to become supevisor of the Mapping & Engineering Dept. A former subordinate said that he “never raised his voice.” She said that he earned his master’s degree at MSU while working at 4-County and encouraged those working under him to continue their educations. The former subordinate described him as “super-smart and super-nice.” She said he did not hunt and “hated guns” (but he reportedly acquired a handgun recently).

George Pate is currently employed as an instructional design coordinator at Northwest Community College in Senatobia.

Earl Weeks, who was 4-County CEO from 1988 to 2000, remembers the Pates as “a nice, congenial couple, kind of liberal, very progressive.” He went on, “He was almost a pacifist... he is one of the last people in the world I’d suspect of something like this.” Weeks said he had seen the Pates only a few times in passing since he left 4-County.

Peggy was a longtime CECO Building Systems employee, where she was a senior detailer in the drafting department. She would have been 54 on March 12. She was buried last Saturday, March 14.

Packet #818 - March 12, 2009

Officers Don Holifield and Donnie Elkin escort the gurney carrying George Pate from
his house to an ambulance on 8th St. South last night around 8:30 p.m. Pate was
suffering from an apparent drug overdose. At midnight he was in stable condition at
BMH-GT but was still unable to communicate with investigators.

A Columbus woman was found dead and her husband unconsious in their home on 8th St. South yesterday evening. The case appeared to be a murder/attempted suicide but the investigation was in its preliminary stages last night and police and Coroner Greg Merchant had not yet reached any conclusions about what had happened.

The deceased is Peggy Ann Walker Pate, a CECO employee. She would have been 54 today. Her husband is George Henderson Pate, 56, an instructor at Northwest Community College.

Police spokesman Cpt. Fred Shelton said that Peggy Pate had suffered a gunshot wound, but he would not say that that was the cause of death. Police at the scene suspected that George Pate had suffered an overdose, but no such official pronouncement was made.

Police were dispatched to the Pate residence, at 415 8th St. South, around 7:30 p.m. last night on a “welfare check” call. Cpt. Shelton said that Peggy Pate’s sister, who lives in Benton, Ark., had been unable to reach her at home or at work and finally called Lowndes County E-911 to request that police investigate.

Lead investigator Travis Robertson arrives on the scene, in a neighborhood
of neat but modest homes.

Police officers went to the house and saw nothing amiss at first, but on a follow-up visit about 45 minutes later an officer saw keys in a deadbolt lock on the inside of a door—meaning that someone had locked the door from the inside. The officers broke a window in the door to gain entry to the house.

Shelton said that inside the house the officers found Peggy Pate’s lifeless body in a bedroom. They found George Pate unconscious. An ambulance was called and George Pate was taken from the house to the ambulance on a gurney. Paramedics treated him in the ambulance for some minutes before taking him to BMH-GT. Two police officers rode in the ambulance too.

Around midnight last night Shelton told the Packet that George Pate was in stable condition at BMH-GT but was still unable to communicate. He said that a police officer would stay with Pate through the night.

Merchant said that he will take Peggy Pate’s body to Jackson today for an autopsy.

Dot Young onstage with Willie King at the Omnova.
(Photo by Joe Young)

Bluesman Willie King’s last performance was at the Omnova Theater in the Rosenzweig Arts Center last Saturday night to a full house. The next day he died at Noxubee General Hospital of congestive heart failure.

King’s appearance at the Omnova was a make-up show for one that was cancelled on January 8 after he became ill and was hospitalized at BMH-GT for diabetes.

King had planned to eat supper with Joe and Dot Young of Columbus before last Saturday night’s show but was unable to keep the date because he had to take a cousin he looked after to the hospital. Dot Young fixed plates of food for him and his band and took them to the Omnova.

Joe Young, who is head of the LCSO Investigation Division and plays rythm guitar in Footloose, the house band at The Junction, opened for King at the Omnova. Young said that King looked more fit and seemed more energetic last Saturday night than he had in a long time. He said that King usually performed for an hour but last Saturday night performed for almost two hours. Backing him up were Caleb Childs of Louisville and Ed Swan of Starkville on guitar and Willie James Williams of Noxubee County on drums. Fan Quinn Brisline of Columbus sat in on drums during the show.

Joe Young videoed the performance, which included a new song, “Angels in Columbus,” that King planned to record for his next CD.

Young said that he talked to King once or twice a week and that King had gotten his sugar adjusted and had been feeling wel since his stay at BMH-GT in January.

Young said that before last Saturday’s performance “he sampled some of Dot’s pound cake and saved some to take home with him. Dot brushed cake crumbs off his shirt...”

Young said that King was apologetic about missing the dinner engagement and promised to come this Saturday.

Willie King’s last show. (Photo by J. C. Long)

Willie King is being remembered this week as a Blues innovator and a friend to all who knew him.

King, a Noxubee native who found a legion of fans worldwide in recent years, died Sunday afternoon at the emergency room at Noxubee General Hospital.

Close friend Rye Weston of Macon said King came by her house late last Saturday night after playing a gig in Columbus. “It was about midnight and he said then he wasn’t feeling good,” she said. “He acted like he was having a little trouble breathing. I tried to get him to let me take him to the emergency room, but he wouldn’t.”

Weston said King hung around a while before heading home to Old Memphis, Ala. “We sat out on the front porch cause he said he wanted some fresh air,” Weston said. 8 0About 5 a.m. he left and said he was going home.”

It’s not entirely clear what happened after that, but what is known is that someone brought King to Noxubee General Hospital Sunday afternoon where he died about 5 p.m.

Noxubee Coroner R.L. Calhoun said it appears King was a victim of a heart attack. “He apparently had a history of health problems,” Calhoun said.

“I’m really going to miss him,” said Weston, who said they became close friends several years ago when he invited her to accompany him on a trip to Mobile where he was scheduled to perform. “I became his biggest fan after that,” she said.

Never one to be consumed with fame and fortune, King chose to live a simple life at his single-wide mobile home near Old Memphis, just across the county line from his birthplace at Prairie Point.

King, 65, was introduced to music at an early age, but it wasn’t until about 15 years ago that he began playing seriously. The famed “Bettie’s Place” off Prairie Point Road, was his20venue and brought in fans, both black and white, on many Sunday nights. In recent years John Ely’s small club in Macon has been his home base. He had learned to match his guitar playing to his singing voice – a raspy tone that made it sound like he dined on sandpaper.

In recent years he has toured around the U.S. and Europe. All six of his albums, and his documentary DVD “Down in the Woods” helped spread his music and earn critical acclaim from Blues aficionados.

King performed many of his own songs – including several that addressed the injustices blacks had to endure prior to, and during the Civil Rights movement. Although all of his songs weren’t political in nature, many were. In recent years, however, he had drifted away from grudge tunes and was focusing on reconciliation messages in his songs. He lived that in his life, too. The chip that was once on his shoulder had been knocked off long ago.

Many of his local fans are now recalling how special it was back last August when he joined fellow Noxubee Native Eddy Clearwater at the dedication of the Blues Trial Monument in downtown Macon. When they joined each other on stage to jam together – in mutual admiration – history was made.

“He was very special,” said record producer Jim O’Neal of Kansas City. It was O’Neal who discovered King at a festival at Eutaw, Ala. in 1987. The two stayed in touch over the next 13 years and O’Neal gave King his big break in 2000 when he recorded his now famous “Freedom Creek” album, live at Bettie’s Place.

“It really breaks my heart to know he’s gone,” said O’Neal.

Along with his music, King was dedicated to the improvement of his people through his Rural Members Association that sponsored classes in music, woodworking, food preservation, and other traditional African-American traditions.

Visitation is planned Saturday, March 14 from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. at Willie King’s home in Old Memphis. Funeral services are set for Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m. at Aliceville City Hall. For more information call Lavender’s at 205-373-2420.

Noxubee County native and internationally known bluesman
Willie King performs at the Omnova Theater last Saturday
night. The next day he died at Noxubee General Hospital.
(Photo by J.C. Long)

Columbus native and musician J.C. Long wrote this tribute after learning of the death of Willie King:

I was home for a drum lesson with my old college teacher and dear friend, Dr. Robert Damm the weekend of the 7th of March, and to visit family. As I left my lesson with Dr. Damm, I learned that the North Mississippi All-Stars were going to be playing at Rick's Cafe in Starkville that night. The revered bluesman R.L. Burnside's son and grandson have both played with that band. As I was making plans to attend, I got word that Legendary bluesman Willie King would himself be playing in Columbus that evening. Something told me I ought to attend, and I made some phone calls to see if I could get tickets. The wonderful organizers of the event reserved two tickets for me, so I brought my dear friend Jeremy Dayton along, whom is pictured. The Dayton family has been a treasure not only to me, but also to this great nation, as Jeremy's brother made the ultimate sacrifice in Baghdad nearly five years ago. I know Jeremy was also ready to receive Willie's message, which is simple yet profound. Willie said, "My grandparents passed this stuff down to me, and they said, 'pass it on'... If everybody in this room was to be opened up on the inside, you'd see that on the inside, we're all the same... we're all the same." I promised Willie that I'd "pass it on", and so to me, the message means that it doesn't matter what color your skin is, how much money you have right now (he mentioned growing the sweet potatos back in the old days, down in the woods). It does not matter if you have a congested heart or a congested spirit. Every one of us at some time faces some kind of adversity, some of us more than others. It does not matter if you have hurt someone and need forgiveness, or if you have been hurt and need to forgive someone else-- on the inside, we're all the same. And so I pass on his message, and I will continue to 'pass it on', the rest of my days. I don't know why I was in the right place at the right time, but I am grateful I was ready to receive his message. I think everyone in that audience was ready, and I hope that each person reading this can receive the wonderful message of the late great Willie King. My warmest sympathy goes to his band mates, who make such beautiful music, and to his friends and family. I am honored to have been in his presence-- I learned more in those three hours...

Packet #817 - March 5, 2009

Jonathan Ellis, Chris Broussard and Garrett Cash (foreground) slide on the embankment at the Hwy 45 North-Hwy 82 Bypass interchange Sunday morning. They used an old skateboard board and a plastic garbage bag for sleds. Snow began falling in the Columbus area around 3:00 a.m. last Sunday morning. The snow stopped for awhile and then began falling more heavily and was still falling well after dawn, swirled by heavy winds. The snow melted on streets but accumulated on bridges. The skies started to clear around 8:00 a.m. but the temperature remained cold throughout the day. Patches of snow were still visible in shady spots late Tuesday. The last substantial snowfall here that anyone could remember was ten years ago.

Hearn leaves the courtroom.

Retired Columbus and Noxubee County schoolteacher Lanell Hearn was sentenced to 38 years in prison Monday for a shooting rampage on 18th Ave. North on February 29, 2008 that left his wife, Dorothy Hearn, former city councilman Rev. Kamal Karriem and Police Officer Guy Taylor wounded. Hearn himself was wounded with a shot to the head, but the bullet mushroomed and did not penetrate his skull.

Minutes before Hearn was sentenced Rev. Karriem left the building after a two-day hearing on a petition to get out of prison (his probation was revoked soon after he was wounded by Hearn, for failing a drug test) [I attended most of the Karriem hearing but didn't have time to work up a report this week. Ed.].

In the Leap Day rampage, Hearn shot his wife and Karriem near the 18th Ave. SOCO gas island and then chased Karriem north across the parking lot to the strip mall. Karriem ran into 1B Beauty Supply. Hearn was reloading, preparing to follow Karriem inside, when Taylor drove up and confronted Hearn. The two exchanged gunfire and Taylor went down with a bullet to the abdomen (five other slugs hit his vest). Police Chief Joseph St. John emerged from the nearby Fitness Factor and took up the gunfight with Hearn, who managed to flee in Taylor's car. Thirty minutes later Hearn was discovered walking north from Wal-Mart and Deputy Marc Miley and Police Lt. Keith Worshaim chased him through the slough north of Wal-Mart and exchanged gunfire with him. Hearn went down with a bullet to the back of the head.

Karriem was shot three times in the rampage and Dorothy Hearn was shot once but Taylor's wound was the most serious of anyone's. Taylor underwent emergency surgery after the shooting and underwent more surgery last month in an effort to repair damage caused to his stomach by Hearn's bullet. Taylor, who has not yet returned to work following this latest surgery, was in the courtroom when Hearn made his plea. Taylor did not speak—he had told D.A. Forrest Allgood that he would like to know why Hearn did it, and Judge Jim Kitchens asked Hearn that question. Hearn was charged with five oth

er counts connected to the shooting and taking a police car to make his getaway. Those charges were retired to the files.

At the sentencing hearing, Kitchens asked Hearn if he had anything to say.

"I'm sorry for what happened," Hearn responded. "I had no indication to harm anyone and I apologize to everyone involved. I beg for forgiveness."

"Why did you do this?" the judge asked. "What caused a man who served his country in the Army and taught school to do something like that?"

Hearn tried to explain what happened that day: "Once I came to the service station—they came after I did—I told them to come to talk to me and he [Karriem] became hostile. He wanted to know what it was about and said he was here to get gas..." He said that Karriem made a move toward him.

The judge asked, "Did you think they were having an affair?"

"Yessir."

The judge said, "You know that I don't condone the shooting of Mr. Karriem, but why on earth did you shoot Officer Taylor?"

"I was going off in my head. I could hear shouting in my head [saying], ‘Get out of here, they're trying to shoot you.' I just panicked."

Responding to the judge's questions, Hearn said that he served in the artillery in the Army, leaving the service in 1966 and then becoming a teacher.

Kitchens told Hearn that if he thought his wife was having an affair with Rev. Karriem he should have filed suit against them. He added, "But shooting them?" He asked Hearn, "If I were sitting there wearing that yellow jumpsuit and you were up her, what would you sentence me to?"

"Eight or ten years," suggested Hearn.

"You'd be a much more kind judge than I am," the judge replied. "You endangered everybody's life in the shopping center that day... I read [In the Packet. Ed.] where you went into Wal-Mart and bought more bullets."

"Yessir."

"I have to decide, can I ever safely trust you back into the community again."

"I have no problem with anybody involved," said Hearn.

Kitchens said, "We always equate forgiveness with turning people loose... I forgive a lot of people for what they do in front of me... I wish I could give you what you want here, but I can't. When you did this the die was cast. The most dangerous people are those who will kill their mothers and fathers and police officers. Do I think you were under extreme emotional distress, yes, but when the officer was in front of you you should have put the gun down."

Kitchens sentenced Hearn to eight years for one of the counts involving Karriem and to 30 years for shooting Officer Taylor. He said the terms are to run consecutively. Hearn is 72 and will therefore have to live to be 110 to ever get out of prison.

"Mr. Hearn, I wish I hadn't met you this way," said the judge.

A young woman said to be Hearn's daughter collapsed sobbing in the hallway as Hearn was led away.

Aaron Pulsifer planned to plead guilty to defrauding Medicaid of over $1 million in a scam but then decided to go to trial instead. It was clear from the beginning that Pulsifer had no answer to the state's evidence. He was scheduled to take the stand last Friday morning but instead opted to end the trial by pleading guilty. Judge Lee Howard sentenced him to a total of 20 years in prison on seven counts of fraud. The judge did not ask him what happened to the $1.14 million he stole. Pulsifer is pictured outside the courtroom as bailiffs attempt to put handcuffs and leg irons on him. The cuffs and irons were too small to go around his wrists and ankles. [I have a lot of notes on the trial and still hope to work up a report. Judge Howard accepted the guilty plea (he didn't have to) and then did not ask what happened to the million dollars. He could have checked tax and property records to see where some of it went. And Mr. Pulsifer did not plead guilty to count 1, identity theft, which was arguably the most serious charge. The plea and sentence happened quickly. Ed.]

Firemen and Police Officer Ben Sanders work to free Erica Harris from a mud hole last Sunday morning at 8th Ave. North & 14th St. Harris's foot became stuck in very soft mud on a lot where a house was burned last year, after torrential rains had fallen, followed by snowfall (more on this unusual rescue inside).

Torrential rains last Friday night washed out the culvert on Steens-Vernon Road just east of Tim Hudson's farm and about a mile from the Alabama line. The branch that crosses under the road does not have a name. Hudson's nearby pond (south of Steens-Vernon Road and west of the branch) empties into the branch. Hudson's dam held but he said that during the downpour the water in the pond was higher than he had ever seen it (meaning that it was higher in the spillway than ever before). Walt Willis, former longtime Dist. 1 Supervisor, said that the culvert last washed out in 1984 after the dam on Hudson's property failed (before Hudson owned it). The old tube was 5' in diameter and 60' long and was heavily rusted on its underside. The Lowndes County Road Dept. tried to restore traffic last Saturday morning by putting two temporary tubes in the blowout, one 30" in diameter and one 48". The runoff was much diminished by this time and the two tubes had enough capacity to handle it but they were only 30' long—not long enough to provide for a roadway and sloping banks. A 5' x 60' tube was ordered and was installed in the cut yesterday.

Packet #816 - February 26, 2009

Paramedics wheel Jim Rhodes from the firing range quonset hut to an ambulance yesterday
morning about 7:15 a.m. Rhodes was shot through the upper left arm when an officer's pistol
discharged accidentally following shooting practice.

The supervisor of the city's Work Program was wounded yesterday morning in an apparent accidental discharge of a weapon near the Police Dept.'s firing range on MLK Drive South. Jim Rhodes, 56, was treated and released at BMH-GT for a bullet wound to his right upper arm.

The accident happened around 7:00 a.m. in the quonset hut adjacent to the firing range. CPD spokesman Cpt. Fred Shelton said that Rhodes, who is also a reserve police officer, was struck by a bullet that passed through two partitions before passing through his arm and then lodging in a wall. Shelton said that the .40 cal. bullet came from the gun of a police officer in another room in the quonset hut but he declined to identify the officer.

The Packet has learned that the bullet came from the service weapon of Charles Johnson, who had many years of service with the West Point Police Dept. before joining the Columbus Police Dept. four years ago.

Shelton said that the bullet passed through a fleshy part of Rhodes's arm and did not hit a bone or joint.

Jim Rhodes

Police Chief Joseph St. John was at the scene immediately after the incident. The Lowndes County Sheriff's Office was called in to conduct an investigation and Investigator Tony Perkins arrived minutes later.

Shelton provided a few details about the situation at the time of the shooting. He said that five police officers went to the range yesterday morning to fire their five-week qualifying course. Fifty rounds apiece are required to qualify but yesterday morning each fired 100 rounds. After firing on the range they went into the nearby quonset hut, which houses a room where officers can clean their weapons. Shelton said that one of the officers' semi-automatic pistols discharged inside this room. The bullet passed through two partitions and entered Rhodes's office; it passed through his arm and then lodged in a wall.

Citizens working off fines through the Work Program started to arrive at the scene shortly after the shooting.

Shelton has been on the police force for 20 years and said he did not remember another case in which someone was wounded at the firing range. He said that several years ago a pistol discharged in the cleaning room but in that case the bullet passed through an outside wall and disappeared. That hole is still in the wall.

Shelton said that the officers who were present at the time of the accident will participate in a "critical incident stress management meeting" this morning.

Chuck Newell of Vernon, Ala. is escorted to the court-
room for the start of his trial Tuesday morning by
Bailiff Don Hudson. The jury will begin deliberations
in the case this morning.

James Charles "Chuck" Newell of Vernon, Ala. went to trial Tuesday for the shooting death of Adrian Boyette of Sulligent, Ala. at the Slab House on May 14, 2008. The testimony ended late yesterday afternoon and the jury will go into deliberations this morning.

Boyette died after being shot through the chest around 9:00 p.m. that night. Newell was taken into custody by Alabama lawmen an hour-and-a-half later at his home on Sailor Cemetery Road near Vernon.

The Slab House is located near the intersection of Hwy 12 & Cal-Vernon Road, near the Alabama line.

D.A. Forrest Allgood reportedly was willing to offer Newell a 15-year recommended sentence prior to the start of the trial but Boyette's mother, Peggy Boyette, refused to agree to it. Peggy Boyette was at the trial, along with Diane O'Mary, Adrian Boyette's girlfriend since middle school. O'Mary said that Boyette lived with his mother, who has cancer, and did body work.

There was never any question that Newell shot and killed Boyette, 31. The issue at trial was whether Boyette threatened Newell before Newell shot him. Only three people were present when the shot was fired: Newell, Boyette and Jason Hollis, a lifelong friend of Boyette's. Jimmy Wright, owner of the Slab House, was inside the building when the shot was fired. When he emerged Boyette was lying in the parking lot, fatally wounded.

Newell and Boyette did not know each other. Testimony showed that Newell thought that his wife of two weeks, Diane, was seeing an old boyfriend, Tony Hays, and that she and Hays were at the Slab House. Newell tried calling his wife and a man answered the phone. He went to the Slab House and found his wife's pickup truck there but she and Hays were not there. Instead, he found Boyette and Hollis and asked them what they were doing near his wife's truck and if they had answered the phone. This led to a response by Boyette and the fatal shot.

Both Hollis and Newell testified at trial. Hollis testified that Newell and Boyette exchanged words in the parking lot before the shot was fired. Newell testified that Boyette slammed a truck door on his leg, beat on his pickup truck and threatened to cut him (Boyette had a pocket knife in his pocket).

The state, represented by Asst. D.A. Rhonda Hays Ellis, wanted to include phone messages that Newell had left for his wife on her cell phone the day of the shoting and statements that Newell made to Alabama lawmen when they went to his house to arrest him after the shooting. Newell's attorney, William Starks of Columbus, filed a motion to suppress these statements. Judge Jim Kitchens conducted a hearing on this motion to suppress before the jury came in and the trial actually started.

In the hearing on the motion to suppress, Lamar County deputies and a Vernon police officer testified about what occurred when they went to Newell's house to arrest him after the killing, including Newell's statements about the shooting. Starks tried to argue that when Newell was making these statements he was in police custody or under police control and that the lawmen had not read him his Miranda Rights, but the lawmen all said that when he was making the statements he had a gun and was threatenting to shoot himself and was not yet in custody.

Judge Kitchens ultimately rejected Starks's argument, saying, "I've looked at the [legal] authorities and I don't see this is any different that when somebody is holding a hostage and they say they're not coming out or ‘I'll kill everybody if you come in.' You can't argue that the defendant is in custody when he has a gun and you don't want him to kill himself or us kill him or he kill an officer... It's like somebody barricaded in—obviously he's not free to leave, but you don't have to Mirandize him. I don't feel it was violative of his 5th Amendment rights of self-incrimination. Clearly if he invoked the right after he was in custody, those statements won't come in. But statements he made while he was holding a gun... And they were not custodial interrogation-type questions that Miranda governs."

Starks also sought to suppress recorded statements that Newell left on his wife's telephone on the day of the shooting. In one, he told her, according to Starks's memory, "Diane, I think I'll come and pop a cap in your ass—and his [Tony Hays] too." In a subsequent message Newell said, "Nevermind—neither of you are worth it."

Starks wanted these messages kept from the jury because they were "not relevant," were privileged messages from a husband to a wife and because they presented "authentication problems."

Kitchens said it appeared to him that the messages indicated that Newell "was intent on going to the Slab House and killing them."

Starks responded that the messages were "not relevant... This doesn't involve the victim. Neither Tony or Diane was present. It's a bad action in itself but he didn't have any ulterior motives with Mr. Boyette. It's more prejudicial than probitive, and it's violative of the Mississippi Code, since we've never been gien an opportunity to consent to it or not... If he was attempting to shoot his spouse at the scene and he shot a third party it might be admissable. It was intended for her alone and nobody else."

Kitchens asked if Newell went to the Slab House looking for his wife and Hays. Starks admitted he did but said that neither was there.

Ellis argued that the tapes showed "a deliberate design to kill. Prior to going to the Slab House he intended to cap somebody and he ultimately did. It's a statement, not a bad act. It goes to his intent, what he intended to do when he got to the Slab House."

Kitchens asked if Newell "had an expectation of privacy on his wife's phone?" and Starks said that she was "the only recipient of the message."

Kitchens said the messages would be admissable, "to show motive and intent." He added, "Any prejudice will be outweighed by the probitive value as to intent and plan..."

Lamar County Deputies David Sullivan and James C. Smith and Vernon
Police Officer Jeff Patrick outside the courthouse on the first day
of Chuck Newell's murder trial. They facilitated Newell's surrender
after he shot Adrian Boyette and then threatened to kill himself.

Under the tree with a gun
Several lawmen testified twice about what happened when they went to seize Newell at his home on Sailor Cemetery Road after the killing. They testified first at the hearing on the suppression of statements and again in front of the jury.

Vernon Police Officer Jeff Patrick said that he was the first to arrive at Newell's home, which was down a short trail from Newell's sister's house on Sailor Cemetery Road. He said he had been dispatched to the scene on a suicide report. He said that Newell was sitting against a tree in front of his house with a gun to his head. Patrick was closely followed by Deputy James C. Smith. They were there "for a minute or two" before Deputy David Sullivan arrived and took over the negotiations. He said that Sullivan was a longtime friend of Newell's.

Patrick said that Newell had a gun in his hand. Asked what Newell said, he responded, "Excuse my French, but he said, ‘F--- uy'all motherf---s. You're gonna have to kill me. I'm not goin' anywhere."

He said that he and other officers backed off when Sullivan arrived and that Sullivan "was just talking to him, and in the course of it they talked about what had happened." Ellis asked if Newell made demands or requests and Patrick said he wanted a cigarette and they gave him one. And he wanted to know "if the person he had shot had died. We didn't know but we said no. And he wanted fingerprints taken from his pickup [where Boyette had hit it]. We complied with all his requests." Patrick said that Newell was threatening to shoot himself or them. "There was quite a bit of conversation about what had happened."

Patrick said that Newell said he had called his wife's cell phone and that a man had answered "and he went down there and there were two men [Hollis and Boyette] in the parking lot and he asked both if they had answered the phone and they wouldn't admit it and one guy banged on his truck and said he'd f--- his world and he'd finally had enough and flung the door open and popped a cap." He said that's what Newell said, and that he volunteered all of it."

Smith testified that Newell told them under the tree that no one would believe him about the shooting and that "everybody at the Slab House would say he murdered him because they were not his friends. He started offering up information—unsolicited information, we didn't ask him..."

Ellis asked if he heard Newell say that he "got into words with an individual and he out out of his truck and popped a cap in his ass."

"I heard it," said Smith.

"Did anyone give him his Miranda Rights?" Starks asked.

"No," said Smith. He said that Sheriff Terry Perkins took Newell into custody when he finally put his gun down and surrendered.

Sullivan talked to Newell because he had known him a long time. He said that Newell was telling him things and he was asking questions.

"He wasn't free to leave, was he?" asked Starks.

"No."

"What was he telling you about his wife, Diane?"

"He thought she was messing around with Tony Hays."

William Starks

"He wasn't backing down"
Jason Hollis testified that outside the Slab House Newll asked them what they were doing beside a truck in the parking lot (his wife's pickup) and Boyette and Newell got into an argument.

Starks asked if Boyette "was participating in the heatedness?"

"He wasn't backing down," Hollis replied. "But he never pushed or shoved him."

Starks asked, "After the first exchange Mr. Newell walked to the car, didn't he? And opened the door and was getting in thecar?"

"He was standing in the doorway when Adrian shut the door... but I didn't completely observe the whole situation."

"Is that the only act of physical aggression you saw?"

"He saw the shooting," said Ellis.

Starks said, "You were busy icing down the beer adn were a distance away and befor the shooting you thought everything was over, so you quit watching?"

"Yessir."

Ellis asked, "Mr. Hollis, could you tell from the volume if Mr. Newell was yelling?"

"You could tell he was ill [angry]."

"And at some point he calmed down, and then you heard the gunshot..."

[I have many pages of notes but don't have time to work it up. Ed.]

Packet #815 - February 19, 2009

Firemen and paramedics mix with Valentine Day diners at Ryan's Restaurant minutes after a
deer crashed through a dining room window and ran amok among the tables last Saturday night.
The young woman in the lower right of the photo was among four people taken to BMH-GT for
injuries (she had a cut on a foot).

Ryan's Restaurant in Columbus was thrown into pandemonium last Saturday evening when a deer crashed through a window and ran amok among the tables in a room full of diners. The deer then ran down a short hallway and into an unoccupied party room, where it crashed about for some minutes before escaping into the night. Four people were taken to BMH-GT after the invasion but none was hurt seriously.

The incident began a few minutes before 6:00 p.m. when Ryan's was packed with several hundred Valentine's Day diners. The large doe crashed through a north window into the northeast "party room," a room that holds more than 50 diners and which is used for meetings and parties. On this night, because of the large crowd, it was being used as a dining area. The room is on the northeast corner of the building. It is separated from the main dining area by a partition made up of windows mounted on a low wall.

Ryan's diner Joe Myers saw this unidentified
woman tossed into the air by the deer after it
crashed into the northeast party room. Her
injuries were not thought to be serious, however.

Joe Myers was eating in the main dining room but could see through the windows into the party room. He said that the deer first jumped against the northeast corner of the building, which caused some diners sitting near that corner to move away from the windows. The deer then jumped again and crashed through the window. Myers said that the deer whirled around in the middle of the room and came up under a woman and tossed her into the air.

Officer Ric Higgins holds the folding door
to the party room while the deer thrashes
around inside.

The deer then ran down a short hallway into the second party room, on the southeast corner of the building, which was unoccupied—luckily, the folding door to the party room was open. After the deer entered the unoccupied party room restaurant manager Keisha Petty pulled the folding door shut behind the terror-stricken animal and held it until police arrived on the scene. Officers then manned that door (to the hallway) and a second folding door that opens into the main dining room.

Looking across the northeast party room toward the window that the deer
came through.

The only other door into that room opens to the outside of the building and it was locked, but when the deer lunged against the emergency bar on the door the door opened briefly and Lt. Oscar Lewis, who was standing outside, pulled it open and allowed the deer to escape. The restaurant was evacuated but most of the diners returned about 40 minutes later and were served again, at no charge.

Waitress Wilma McCarter has worked at Ryan's since it was built in late 1995. She was surprised that a deer could crash through the window, because she remembered that once when a .22 bullet was fired at Motel 6, next door, the slug did not penetrate through both panes of a front restaurant window.

Firemen peer into the southeast party room while Officer Kenneth Brewer
holds the folding door to the main dining room.

The restaurant opened as Ryans but was a Fire Mountain Restaurant for several years before becoming a Ryan's again. The restaurant can accomodate 466 diners. Each of the party rooms holds 50.

The restaurant was at capacity on Valentine's night except for the second party room. Diners were waiting for seats. Everyone who was present agreed that if the deer had run into the large dining room instead of into the empty party room there would have been many injuries and much more damage.

The deer wrecked the empty party room. It was bleeding from cuts sustained when it crashed through the window.

Johnny and Edna Waldon's house on Court NW in Vernon was still circled
with crime tape yesterday afternoon (Packet photo by Matt West).

A Vernon, Ala. couple died yesterday of apparent gunshot wounds to the head. Police believe that Johnny Wayne Waldon, shot his wife, Edna, and then shot himself in their home on Court NW, near the First Baptist Church of Vernon.

Police Chief Ted Collins released this statement yesterday afternoon:

On 2/18/09, at approximately 12:25 hours, an officer with the Vernon Police Dept. (VPD) responded to 401 3rd Court NW, Vernon Al to conduct a welfare check on an individual who had not reported to work. Access was gained to the home. Upon entering the residence, 51-year-old Edna D. Waldon was found in the master bedroom bath. She had sustained an injury to her head which was consistent with a gunshot wound. Johnny W. Waldon, 62, also located in the bath, had sustained an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Johnny Waldon was pronounced dead at the scene at 13:05 hours by Lamar County Coroner Marshall Guyton. This is a pending investigation; further details will be released after the completion of the case. This case was investigated by the Vernon Police Department, with the assistance of the Lamar County Sheriff's Department and the 24th District Attorney's Office.

The Packet has learned that Edna Waldon was transported by helicopter directly to Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa. According to a hospital spokesman, she died there yesterday soon after arrival.

It was Edna Waldon, a beautician, who did not show up for work. Johnny Waldon was an antiques dealer who had a stall at Faulkner's Antiques Mall in Vernon and also sold antiques at Carol Duran's Antiques Mall in Caledonia.

Noxubee Coroner R. L. Calhoun, with help
from the Macon Police, the Noxubee Sheriff's
Department, the Brooksville Police Department,
Transcare Ambulance, and Lee-Sykes Funeral Home,
remove the body of Judy Weston last Friday
afternoon after she was murdered by her estranged
husband. (Beacon photo)

Henry Weston Sr. apparently couldn't live with the idea of his wife spending time with another man, so he picked Friday the 13th and took matters into his own hands by shooting her and his son before killing himself.

Macon Police converged on the Weston house at 303 Walnut Street in Macon about 2 p.m. last Friday after reports of gunshots inside the house. When they arrived they discovered the gruesome scene just inside the front door. Henry Weston and Judy Weston were both dead from gunshot wounds. They were both lying in pools of blood, just inches from each other, near the front door.

Henry Weston Jr. managed to escape the melee and commandeer a ride to the Noxubee General Emergency Room from a passing motorist. He was quickly transferred to a Columbus hospital, suffering from three gunshot wounds, according to Asst. Police Chief Lucious Mason. Henry Weston Sr., 53, and his wife, Judy, 54, had been separated for some time, according to friends. He had moved out of the house and Mrs. Weston and her son were the only ones living there. The younger Weston told police that his father had become angry over reports that his wife and been seeing another man. Friends said Henry Weston Sr. had also been dating someone else.

Henry Weston Jr. 22, reportedly told police he had run into his father last Friday morning and he had made threats against him and his mother regarding the sit uation.

Friends who knew the couple said they knew they had argued in the past, but were shocked that he would get violent.

Henry Weston Jr. told police that he was sitting on the couch when his father walked in the front door last Friday about 1:45 p.m. He told them he reached in his pocket and pulled out a pistol. He shot the son twice and then shot Judy Weston twice as she entered the front room from a side room. He then turned the gun and shot himself in the head.

Noxubee Coroner R.L. Calhoun said he believes Henry Weston Jr.'s story and says there was evidence of powder burns on the elder Weston to indicate he shot himself at point-blank range.

The bodies were sent to Jackson for an autopsy, but results weren't back20at presstime Tuesday. Toxicology tests were also performed to try to confirm or disprove rumors that Henry Weston Sr. had been drinking before the shooting.

Mrs. Weston, an Aliceville, Ala. native, was well-known around Macon. She was a longtime employee at First Baptist Church's Tender Years daycare where she cooked. She was fondly known as "Miss Judy" by the children there.

Funeral services for Mrs. Weston are planned Friday with Lavender Funeral Home of Aliceville in charge of the arrangements. Services for Henry Weston are set for Saturday with Lee-Sykes Funeral Home of Macon in charge.

Asst. Chief Mason said the incident was among the most disturbing he's investigated in his 17 years as a member of the Macon Police force. He offered thanks to the Noxubee County Sheriff's Department and the Brooksville Police Department for their quick response in assisting last Friday.

Packet #814 - February 12, 2009

The scene from Tuesday's wreck shows what's left of Skelding's
rolling home and the 18-wheeler in the background (Beacon photo).

A note to our readers: Even though we live in a somewhat isolated area, we're blessed with many fascinating people to report on each week - and others who pass through. In recent years we've covered a Washington man who was running across the country, pushing a three-wheeled baby stroller loaded with his possessions. A few years later his parents came through following his path on an adventure of their own. And, there were the two brothers from Wisconsin traveling through on their antique riding lawnmowers, camping and visiting along the way. So, we weren't surprised, but fascinated, when we met Bob Skelding and his team of draft horses Monday morning as they prepared to continue their journey south. We had a great visit with him at his campsite at Macon Stockyard and prepared the story and photos at left for this week's paper. He had attracted a lot of attention and we figured his story was worth telling.

Now, we're heartbroken following Tuesday morning's tragic accident on Hwy. 45 just south of Shuqualak. After much thought we made the decision to continue with our original plans to publish the story of his travels. What follows below is what we've been able to find out about the accident.

Wagon master Bob Skelding and his four draft horses, just shortly after leaving Noxubee County Tuesday morning, were involved in a horrif ic accident with an 18-wheeler just south of the county line.

According to an eyewitness, Skelding's rig was rear-ended by a tractor-tanker-trailer rig on Hwy. 45 about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. The crash immediately killed two of Skelding's prized Percheron draft horses. The other two miraculously survived and were treated at the scene and retrieved by DeKalb veterinarian Billy Calvert.

Skelding and his team travel south through Noxubee County before the accident (Beacon photo).

Skelding's homemade wagon/camper disintegrated upon impact with the truck, scattering debris and all his personal belongings over a 200-yard area along the southbound lanes of the highway. That stretch of the highway is flat, with no hills.

The 18-wheeler driver was uninjured after his rig jacknifed and landed in the ditch on the west side of the highway. He was visibly shaken as State Troopers questioned him about the accident. His tanker was reportedly empty at the time. Another driver with the same trucking company who was just ahead and saw the accident in his rear view mirror, said they use the rigs to transport "drilling mud."

Skelding was conscious and talking to paramedics from Transcare Ambulance Service as he was loaded for transportion to Rush Hospital in Meridian. He was listed in stable condition at presstime Tuesday after undergoing surgery for broken bones. Skelding, 49, left his home in New Hampshire last August on his "dream trip" to travel around the country, with his horses leading the way. Also along for the ride was Clementine, his 18-year-old poodle. Clementine was uninjured. They had logged nearly 1,800 accident-free miles before Tuesday's crash.

The skies were overcast at the time of the accident and a light rain had just started in the area.

Skelding had camped near Shuqualak Monday night and was making his way toward Meridian. His wagon rig had flashing lights on the rear and a reflective triangle to warn approaching traffic.

In an interview Monday, Skelding told The Beacon he favors traveling two-lane roads, but occasionally finds it necessary to travel four-lane freeways. He said he feared 18-wheelers.

Investigators from the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol were on the scene for several hours Tuesday piecing together details of the accident. The two horses that died were reportedly buried nearby by a crew from the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

Several of Skelding's family members were enroute to Meridian late Tuesday from the Northeast.

Doc, here smiling for the Beacon, survived
the accident. (Beacon photo).

A local benefit fund has been established to help Bob Skelding pay for his medical expenses and the care and recovery of his surviving horses. You can contribute at any Citizens National Bank in Mississippi or mail to Citizens National Bank, "Bob Skelding/Wagon Teamster Benefit Fund", P.O. Box 426, Macon, MS 39341, 662-726-5861. For branch info go to www.yourcnb.com.

Packet editor's note: The Commercial Dispatch, in an article about the accident, quoted a Highway Patrol reconstructionist as saying that the accident occurred over the crest of a hill and that two big rigs were traveling "side-by-side." Scott Boyd reports that the road was flat. Another Highway Patrolman was quoted in a website article as saying that a distant hill had nothing to do with the accident. Here is a letter sent to the Beacon from a truck driver who witnessed the accident:
Despite protests to the contrary from those who read articles in distant newspapers about the accident, and wish to argue facts of which they do not have personal knowledge, I must say that you can't believe everything that you read in the papers. Let me set Katie and anyone else straight and state for the record. The Macon Beacon reporter is correct as to his description of the locale. There was no hillcrest to limit visibility. There were no 'two trucks running side by side'.

I saw the accident occur. I drive a gasoline tanker for a company based in Columbus, MS. At approximately 11:30 cst this morning, I was southbound on US 45, 6.7 miles N. of Scooba, MS, when I came upon Bob. I recognized his rig immediately as I'd seen it this past weekend North of Columbus. I changed lanes left to pass the vehicle. As I checked the right mirror, I observed a T.K. Stanley vehicle changing lanes left to pass Bob also. There was a second T.K. Stanley vehicle following close behind the first. This second vehicle did not change lanes. There occured the impact which blocked the highway for approximately an hour and a half. Two of the beautiful horses were dead at the scene. I cared for=2 0Bob until the arrival of emergency medical services. Bob asked about the condition of his horses and of Clementine. I found Clementine and brought her to him until he was being prepared for transport from the scene to Meridian.

There was no one at the scene who appeared to be willing to take custody of Clementine. So, I sent my information with Bob to tell him when he recovers where Clementine is. I transported Clementine to Columbus and gave her to my wife who promptly took her to the vet. As of this writing, Clementine is staying at the vet's overnight for observation. The vet did say that for a dog of her advanced years (a woman never discusses her age) she is doing remarkably well given what she's just been through. She was ambulatory and her kidney/bladder funtions appear normal. If things progress as well in the morning, she'll get a bath and much T.L.C. until she can be reunited with Bob.

My thoughts and prayers are with Bob and for his speedy recovery.

Gene Coleman

Ward 3 Councilman Gene Coleman, who filed for reelection on January 6, declared personal bankruptcy three days later under pressure from creditors to repay money that he and some associates borrowed to establish a string of pharmacies in North Mississippi. The business enterprise failed and the entrepreneurs are being pursued for repayment by drug companies and the Bank of Vernon of Vernon, Ala.

The Bank of Vernon sued Coleman and his associates in Lowndes County Circuit Court on December 19, 2008 for $301,095.01. Named as defendants were Coleman, Richard Nenneau of Caledonia and James Gable of Columbus, all of whom were involved in Pharmacy Management Group LLC. Court records indicate that the corporation was established in early 2007 with backing from the McKesson Corp. and Bellco Drug Co. Also involved in the enterprise were Amy C. Weathers of Columbus and Ronald Harris of Tupelo.

Coleman, a pharmacist, owned New Hope Pharmacy and had a reported ownership interest in Southern Drugs in Columbus. Weathers practiced pharmacy at both drugstores. Gable reportedly is the principal owner of Southern Drugs. Along with Nenneau and Harris, they purchased several other drugstores: Alford Drug in Columbus; Barrett Hodges Drug in Greenwood; Family Meds in Fulton; Family Meds in Okolona; Family Meds in Winfield, Ala.; Family Meds in Pontotoc; Family Meds in Starkville and Family Meds in Water Valley.

Court records suggest that the start-up company never really got started. Within just a few months McKesson was filing suit in Lowndes County Circuit Court to take possession of collateral—apparently the stores and inventory that Pharmacy Management Group had acquired with the borrowed money.

According to Packet sources, last September Dutch Pharmacies of Columbus (one of Joe Gillis's companies) stepped in and "bailed out" Coleman and his associates. But not completely, because Coleman and the others were still being pursued by creditors.

Court records show that last June the McKesson Corp. filed suit in Lowndes County Circuit Court to collect approximately $650,000 from Pharmacy Management Group.

On October 28, 2008, Bellco Drug Co. filed an application for default judgment against Pharmacy Management Group LLC, and Ronald Harris of Tupelo,jointly and invidually, for $73,712.90. Two days later, on October 30, 2008, Amy Weathers declared Chapter 7 voluntary bankruptcy in federal court in Aberdeen.

The Bank of Vernon filed suit on December 19, 2008 asking for $301,020.00 from Nenneau, Gable, Harris and Coleman.

Coleman submitted a petition for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on January 9. Coleman declared bankruptcy just three days after he and Mayor Robert Smith and the other incumbent councilors qualified as a group for reelection. He declared bankruptcy as William E. [Eugene] Coleman.

Asked about the Bank of Vernon suit at the council meeting last week, Coleman said, "We made some bad business decisions in our drug business and I'm having to pay the price for it personally and professionally. Unfortunately, the Bank of Vernon was involved in our business."

Coleman is represented by Columbus attorney Jeff Turnage, who is also the attorney for the City of Columbus.

Packet #813 - February 5, 2009

Shane Smith makes obscene gestures to the Packet photographer after being captured by deputies last Thursday night off the end of Fowler Drive after trying to outrun deputies in his pickup truck. The incident began at Yorkville Road & New Hope Road about 9:00 p.m. when Deputy Toby Rickert tried to stop Smith's pickup and Smith raced west on Yorkville Road in an attempt to escape capture. Rickert and a passenger, Reserve Officer Jimmy Banks, followed Smith west on Yorkville and then north on Fowler Drive. When Fowler Drive ended Smith turned left and drove about 400 yards through a pasture before running his pickup into some pine trees. Smith then jumped out of the pickup and tried to escape on foot but he was outrun by Rickert and Banks.

Dixie Towing owner Bill Cole talks to Rickert in the pasture prior to towing Smith's pickup (Cole's company, Dixie Towing, was next on rotation when the call came in). Smith, 37, of 109 Maxwell Lane, was charged with DUI-3 (felony), disorderly conduct, false information, suspended DL, reckless driving, no insurance and failure to yield to a blue light (misdemeanor). He will appear in court on February 24.

[Mr. Smith's photo was left out of the felony arrest sheets that were forwarded to the Packet this week. We'll try to include it next week. Ed.]

In 2008, Rickert made 110 DUI arrrests, the most by any LCSO deputy.

Miller

Columbus police recently made two arrests in connection with the November 30, 2008 robbery of the 45 Express Mart (Smitty's) at Hwy 45 North & Wilkins-Wise Road. One of the robbers carried a shotgun in the robbery but no shots were fired.

Harrison

Yotyler Miller, 18, was arrested on January 23 but although he had an initial appearance in city court three days later and his bond was set at $5,000 the arrest was not announced at the time. Miller lives at 3305 Wisteria Drive.

On January 30 police arrested Nathan Harrison, 18, of 117 Crepe Myrtle Drive. He is scheduled to appear in court on February 19.

Each of the suspects is charged with one count of armed robbery.

Three Caledonia High School teens miraculously survived Tuesday afternoon when their Mitsubishi car flipped several times in a pasture after leaving Wolfe Road. Emily Jackson was at the wheel of the car, which was southbound on Wolfe Road when the accident occurred around 2:45 p.m. After going down the hill near Mayor Whitten's house the car went off the left (east) side of the road and into a short-grass pasture.

A witness said that the car flipped four times and that an occupant was ejected. Impact marks in the pasture supported the report of flipping, but the only heavy damage to the Mitsubishi was to its front. People at the scene speculated that the car may have done a series of 360-degree end-for-end flips, the front of the car striking the ground each time.

Jackson was the occupant who was ejected. She reportedly lay about 15 yards from the vehicle when emergency responders arrived. Her frontseat passenger was Kalyn Weaver and the backseat passenger was Ciandra Arnold. Like Jackson, they are also 15. None of them was wearing a seatbelt. All three were transported to BMH-GT by ambulance. Their injuries were thought to be relatively minor but the Packet was unable to get reports on their conditions later. Jackson was reportedly involved with an accident involving a school bus near Caledonia last semester.

Packet #812 - January 29, 2009

A little after 3:00 a.m. Monday morning a motorist driving on Yorkville Road West saw flames coming from a house about 200 yards south of the road. The motorist called 911 and reported the fire, which was at 122 Friendship Lane (which runs off of Yorkville Road West). Officer Kenny Brewer was the first person to arrive and he found the residence fully engulfed in flames. Dist. 3 Volunteers fought the fire, supported by Columbus firemen. Jerry Bolin lived in the house alone and his car was in the carport. Firemen feared the worst and when the flames were extinguished Bolin's body was found on the floor near his bed. Coroner Greg Merchant ruled that Bolin had died of smoke inhalation. Merchant said it was likely that Bolin got out of bed and then collapsed. Bolin, 60, had worked for many years at Johnston-Tombigbee and later at Old Hickory Steak House. He rode a bicycle for transportation until recent years and was long a familiar figure on the city streets on his bike. He cared for his elderly mother until her death and continued to visit friends in nursing homes after she died.

Mike Mooney, Senior Vice President of Boyd Group Inter-
national, GTRA Executive Director Mike Hainsey and Mike
Doil of Delta Airlines at Tuesday's announcement of new
Memphis flights at GTRA.

Area leaders gathered at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport Tuesday morning to hear airport and Delta Airlines officials announce that Delta is adding a direct connection to Memphis International Airport. The connection will include two round trips per day to Memphis. Delta will also eliminate one of three current round-trip flights to Atlanta.

Delta is guaranteed against loss on the new route by a $500,000 U.S. Dept. of Transportation Small Community Air Service Grant and a $150,000 match from the local entities that own the airport, for a total guarantee of $650,000. GTRA Executive Director Mike Hainsey said that Delta doesn't expect to have to tap any of the guarantee money.

The planes plying the GTRA-Memphis route will be 32-passenger Saab turboprops flown by Mesaba, a Delta subsidiary. The flights to and from Memphis will take 35 minutes, take-off to landing.

Present for the announcement was Michael Doil of Delta Airlines and Mike Mooney, Senior Vice President of Boyd Group Interntational, a consulting firm that helped GTRA land the Memphis connection. In making the announcement, Hainsey said to Mooney, "Mike, if it weren't for you we wouldn't be having this announcement today." Hainsey went on, "This is a big day, the culmination of more than five years of effort... a cooperative effort. It comes at a time when airports like this are not necessarily growing, but we're a mirror of the growth in our area, which is the result of everybody working together."

GTRA Board Chairman Robin McCormick of West Point said that the Memphis connection "continues GTR's history as a regional success story that started 40 years ago when community leaders recognized that we needed an airport... and it carried over to today. It shows that smaller communities can pool their resources and achieve success."

McCormick noted that the local economic renaissance began with the establishment of the Eurocopter plant next to GTRA (it was a GTRA-initiated recruitment), and she noted that Eurocopter Phase 1 had seven different funding sources. She said that Eurocpter was followed by SeverCorr, Aurora Flight Sciences and now Stark Aerospace, which is building a plant north of the Eurocopter facility.

Doil said he was at GTRA on behalf of 70,000 Delta employees. He noted that Delta "flew here for the first time in 1984, almost a quarter-century ago, and we're pleased to expand the partnership by introducing Memphis service. We're excited about being able to offer a truly omni-directional pattern of service to customers here. We pride ourselves on providing good quality service and partnering with communities."

Doil said that more than 200 flights a day go in and out of Memphis International Airport and that Delta intends to expand that hub. He referred to the unusual amount of economic activity that is occurring in the Golden Triangle. "My hat's off to you guys for making things work. Your area seems to be growing and we recognize that. We hope you'll use our new Memphis service starting May 4."

Hainsey said that changes and upgrades have been made and planned at GTRA to keep pace with the economic activity around it. "Since 2003 we've spent over $12 million on infrastructure," he said. "We've added two ramps and rehabbed tow and added a $1.6 million control tower. We repaved the parking lots and added a commercial hangar. In the last year we've purchased over 200 acres of property. And we're not done yet. We're working on a 1,500-foot runway expansion, at $10 million." He said that the waiting area will be expanded from its current 58-passenger capacity to accomodate 180 passengers. "We're working to keep up with the growth," he said. "We're here to help people fly out and be comfortable and safe. We're optimistic and excited." He said that the new flights "are already in the system" and that people can make reservations on them now.

Roy Lee Hamilton is wheeled to an ambulance in the 400 block of Main Street around 2:45 a.m. Monday morning with knife wounds to the head and left elbow. Hamilton was allegedly knifed at the nearby Gilmer Inn and then walked across the intersection to an upstairs apartment at 404 Main St., where people he knew lived. Hamilton was sitting at the top of the stairway when police and firemen arrived. He had a severe cut to the left side of his head, and a stab wound to his left elbow. Hamilton reportedly identified his attacker as Fayetta Dozier but said that he didn't want to press charges against her. Police began looking for Dozier but could not find her. Later Hamilton told police that he wanted to charge Dozier (felony charges could be brought by police but they would need Hamilton's cooperation to proceed against her). The case is still under investigation and Dozier has not been charged.

Motorists on the Hwy 82 Bypass have a ringside view of a project that is transforming an overgrown tract along Moore's Creek into a hotel/restaurant complex. The 13-acre site east of the Bypass and north of 18th Ave. is being developed by Mark Castleberry of Castle Properties.

Two Marriott-franchise hotels will be built on the east bank of the creek: The Courtyard, with four stories, 113 rooms and a 3,000-sq.-ft. meeting facility and bistro-type restaurant, and The Fairfield, with 87 rooms and threes stories. A foot-and-traffic bridge over Moore's Creek will offer access to the land between the creek and the Bypass, where Castleberry will create "a dining destination" with up to four restaurants.

Castleberry is partnering in the development with the Peachtree Hotel Group of Atlanta (50/50 ownership). Burns Dirt Construction is doing the site work and A. Mason & Associates, a Tuscaloosa construction-management firm with experience in hotel construction, will be the general contractor on the hotels.

Castleberry said, "We'll more than likely sell the restaurant sites, but we'd also build to suit." He said that the entire project will represent an investment of more than $30 million. He pointed out that the last motel/hotel built in Columbus was the Wingate, 12 years ago. He said that the two hotels will be finished by the spring of 2010 "and we think that two restaurants will be up by then too."

Castleberry is building the streets, the bridge and water/sewer systems with "tax increment financing" assistance from the city—when both hotels and 10,000 sq. ft. of restaurant space is finished the city will reimburse Castle Properties through bond proceeds; the bonds will be retired with the increased property taxes that the site will generate. The huge project is but one of several developments that Castleberry currently has under construction in Columbus

[I interviewed Mr. Castleberry three weeks ago and will have more about him and his projects next week. Ed.]

The 9th Annual 2009 Holy Hip Hop Awards and Artist Showcase was held in Atlanta, Ga. January 15-17. Attending from Columbus were Juvante Burks, Eddie Turner Jr. and Frederick "BiggTone" Price. Price and Dimarco "Twice Born" Baskin of Clinton performed on the second day of the festival in the Center Stage Arena. They were among over 100 Gospel Rap Artists from different states and foreign countries. They said that one of the big highlights was Hip Hop Legend Minister Kurtis Blow being honored with an award. Pictured are Eddie "E-Love" Turner, Jr., Juvante Burks, Minister Kurtis Blow, and BiggTone

An elderly man Caledonia man was found dead in a pond near his house last Saturday morning in the Lone Oak community. Authorities concluded that Claudis Eugene Jones, 82, drowned after his clothes became hooked to a trotline while fishing. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Deputy Coroners Tim Hamilton and Rochelle Murray.

Jones lived by himself at 1749 Lone Oak Road. The house was near the pond where he died. Coroner Greg Merchant said that a brother-in-law talked to Jones almost every day and last talked to him last Thursday, Jan. 22. The brother-in-law did not talk to Jones on Friday and when he could not reach him by phone Saturday morning he called one of Jones's cousins and they went to his house to investigate. They saw Jones's four-wheeler near the pond and thought they saw his body in the water and then called 911. Dist. 1 Volunteers and LCSO deputies responded.

Jones died in water about three feet deep while working a trotline that was attached to the bank and to a stump about 50 yards from the bank. A hook had caught in the front of his overalls, near his waist, and another hook had caught in one of his socks. He was not wearing shoes. Neither hook penetrated his flesh. A garden hose that he used to draw water from the pond was wrapped around one foot. Merchant said that he was not tangled in the trotline itself.

Merchant said that Jones had had both hips replaced. The water was cold but the temperature was not noted in the report.

Packet #811 - January 22, 2009

At the Obama inauguration Tuesday. Columbus attorney Wil Colom took this photo of the
Capitol terrace where Barack Obama and Joseph Biden took the oath of office. Colom and
his wife, Judge Dorothy Colom, were among a number of Columbus residents present at the
inauguration

Barack Obama was not the first presidential candidate to campaign in Columbus but he was the first to campaign here and then win the presidency. A number of other presidential candidates have campaigned here and then lost. One won the presidency and then came here and another passed through as president.

Obama came to Columbus last March 10, when he was still locked in a hard-fought primary contest with Hillary Clinton but was beginning to prevail. Now that he is president, Obama is one of two men who became president who visited Columbus. The other, William Howard Taft, is the only sitting president to come to Columbus.

Taft came to Columbus in 1909. Local Historian Carolyn Burns said that his Secretary of War, J. M. Dickinson, was a Columbus native. A stage was set up in Downtown Columbus for the event. [The mayor was E.S. Donnell. His son, Jack, was a little boy then and used to tell me that he presented the president with a bouquet of flowers. Jack Donnell said that the president's aidede- camp looked after him during the ceremony and he said that this aide later perished in the sinking of the Titanic. Jack Donnell died about 20 years ago, when he was in his late 80s. Ed.]

Barack Obama campaigns at MUW's Pohl Gym
last March on his way to the nomination.

Burns said that contrary to popular belief Andrew Jackson never set foot in Columbus. She said that he met his troops on the Gulf Coast and then, after the Battle of New Orleans, sent some of them to build Military Road.

Ronald Reagan came to GTR Airport when he was campaigning for the presidency in 1980 but never entered Columbus. Wil Colom recalls that Reagan came again in 1984 for a Tenn-Tom ceremony.

George H.W. Bush spoke at MSU as president and was apparently driven from CAFB to MSU, meaning that he passed through Columbus.

Gerald Ford was at GTRA in August 1974, at about the same time that Richard Nixon resigned (it may have been the same day—Don Depriest remembers Ford telling him at the airport that he was in the air when he was informed that Nixon was going to resign).

Lloyd Bentsen, who ran for vice-president, came to Columbus more than once when he was in the Senate, and spoke to the Rotary Club.

Presidential candidate George McGovern got married in Columbus when he was in the Air Force.

Jesse Jackson campaigned in Columbus when he ran for president in 1988.

Vice-President Dick Cheney made a speech at MUW three years ago.

Dan Quail attended a fundraiser at Don and Sandra DePriest's home in 1992 (when he was decrying "Murphy Brown's" pregnancy).

Savage

Brooksville native who had moved to Columbus was murdered outside a private club in Hobbs, N.M. early last Sunday morning (Jan. 18). Yurhonnd "Ron" Deloach, 28, died of multiple gunshot wounds. The shooter escaped but was soon identified as Aubrey Savage, 25, a Hobbs resident well known to police. He was captured early Tuesday morning.

Deloach is the son of former Brooksville town clerk Alvina Deloach and Tony Deloach. He was working construction in Hobbs. News of the murder was released by the Hobbs Police Dept. The Hobbs Chief of Police is J.D. Sanders, who was formerly chief of police in Columbus.

The shooting was reported at 2:29 a.m. last Sunday. Deloach was pronounced dead in a local hospital. Police offered a $500 reward for information leading to Savage's whereabouts.

Officer Mike Stone, public information officer for the Hobbs Police Dept., said that Savage was captured without incident around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning (Jan. 20) at an apartment on East St. Anne Street in Hobbs. He said that Hobbs police officers, including SWAT officers, entered the apartment and placed Savage under arrest. He is being held in the Hobbs City Jail without bond.

Stone said that Savage has "a long record- --we've dealt with him for years." He said that at the time of Deloach's murder Savage was out on bond for "a shoot-out" last Labor Day. He said that in connection with that incident Savage was charged with assault with intent to commit a violent felony, dueling, felony possession of firearms and tampering with evidence. Stone said that Savage might not be granted bond in the Deloach murder because he was out on bond when it was committed.

Stone said that Savage is a member of the Bloods gang and that he was with some fellow gang members at Forrest's Place when Deloach was killed. He said that the gang members "started harassing some construction workers" inside the club and then "kept pressing the issue" when they and the workers exited the club. He said that Deloach was shot from the front multiple times with a large-caliber weapon. He said that none of the other Bloods have been charged in the case.

Stone said that Forrest's Place is a private club that the owner rents out for parties. Guests do not pay admission and bring their own drinks. He said that the building was formerly an Elks lodge and is not a large building.

Stone said that the police do not know where Savage went immediately after the shooting but later received information that he was in the apartment on East St. Anne. He was in the apartment by himself when police went there.

Stone said that in addition to the Bloods Hobbs also has an active Crips gang and several Mexican gangs. He said that Hobbs had only one murder last year but that Deloach's murder was the second so far this year.

Carter's Funeral Services of Columbus is in charge of arrangements for Deloach's funeral.

Spectators climb onto the pedestal of the Grant equestrian statue for a
better view (photos by Wil Colom or members of his party).

A number of Columbus residents attended the inauguration of Barack Obama in Washington Tuesday, prominent among them Mayor Robert Smith, Director of Federal Programs George Irby, attorney Wil Colom, who is a member of Obama's Financial Committee, and Colom's wife, Chancery Judge Dorothy Colom.

Irby and Wil Colom spoke to the Packet after returning to Columbus yesterday. Both were awed by the vast crowd—estimated at around two million people.

Asked if being among that many people was unnerving, Irby said, "If everybody hadn't been civil it would have been unnerving."

The sea of people was the most memorable part of the experience for many.

Irby stayed with his son, Serapis, who lives in nearby Maryland and is an accountant with a firm that monitors agencies worldwide. Another son, Joseph, who lives in Memphis, joined them.

In November, Irby and the mayor went to Washington for a Cowboys-Redskins game and stayed with Serapis (they were guests of Nick Katsiokas, a former Columbian who now works for the owner of a commercial construction compan who has a suite at the stadium). While there,they got commitments from Congressmen for inauguration tickets. The tickets were for seats in the "purple" area, except for one "yellow" area ticket given to Smith. Wilbur Colom, as a member of the Finance Committee, had a number of tickets for the "yellow" section, which was slightly closer to the Capitol.

Irby had to pick up his tickets in person Monday and he said later that lines of people seeking tickets stretched around the House and Senate office buildings.

Smith stayed Monday night in a Baltimore motel. Irby and his sons went to pick him up early Tuesday morning and they took the Metro to the Mall, but when they arrived security forces would not let passengers out of the underground terminal. They learned later that it was because a woman had fallen in front of a train. By the time they emerged onto the Mall security forces would not let anyone cross Pennsyvlania Ave. to get to their assigned seats. They watched the inauguration as part of the vast standing crowd. None of their tickets were used, but there's no question that someone sat in those seats—young people nearby climbed onto bronze statues to get a better view.

At the Southern Ball at the D. C. Armory. In the center of the photo are
Judge Dorothy Colom, Wilbur Colom and Megan Exum.

Wil Colom said that the inauguration was "historic and interesting" but that what was most apparent was how difficult it was to stage. "Logistically, it was a nightmare," Colom said. He and Judge Colom were in the yellow section but did not have adjoining seats (after the ceremony there were no buses or taxis and Judge Colom had to walk 30 blocks to their motel, where they reunited). He had a good seat but said that a huge media tower partially obstructed his view of the terrace where the oaths were administered.

Colom had offered to pay the way for any employees in his office who wanted to attend the inauguration. Accountant Nanteen Robinson and secretary Megan Exum took him up on the offer and he got them purple tickets. He gave yellow tickets to some friends, including Abdul Kinana, a former speaker of the Parliament of the East African Union, and Nimrod Mkono, whom Colom described as "one of the most powerful members of the Tanzanian Parliament." He said that the Tanzanians couldn't deal with the bitterly cold weather and left early.

First Lady Michele and President Barack Obama at the
Southern Ball at the Armory. The Obamas attended ten
balls and then rose in the morning to attend a prayer
service.

"From where I was, everyone was interested more in the crowd [behind them] than what was going on in front," Colom said. He said that the crowd was "incredible." Awoman with binoculars let Colom and others look through them back toward the Lincoln Memorial. "Just standing there, you couldn't see the end of the crowd," Colom said. He added that there was no trouble. "The people were absolutely orderly."

Colom said that the crowd was estimated at 1.8 to 2 million people and doubtless was "the largest gathering in the history of the country." He said that he thinks that the crowd was "skewed toward the young, but others had other impressions." He said that African-Americans were "over-represented" in relation to their percentage of the nation's population. He noted that while blacks make up only 13% of the population they probaly accounted for 40% of the people at the inauguration.

Hank Tolbert (President of Genesis Press), Andre
Tyler, Abdul Kinana (former Speaker of the Parliament
of the East African Union) and Wil Colom preparing to
enter the ball.

Colom said that Obama's speech was not the most inspirational that he has heard him give. He said that the only awkward part of the event was when outgoing President George Bush was introduced and many in the crowd started singing, "Na na na na, good bye." He said that Obama people snuffed it out by appealing to people not to be rude.

The Coloms and their guests attended the Southern Ball Tuesday night at the D.C. Armory. It was one of ten balls that the Obamas and Bidens appeared at. He said that the new president and first lady were there about 15 minutes. Obama said a few words on the stage and then danced with his wife and they then left for the next ball. About 5,000 people were at the Southern Ball. Colom said that he saw Sharon Lewis of Columbus at that ball, and Ike Brown and some others from Noxubee County. Columbus native in Newsday Below is an excerpt from an article in yesterady's New York Daily News (Dewanda Nelson is a granddaughter of George "Happy" Irby of Columbus. The grandmother referred to is his daughter, Linda (Irby) Jones, who still lives in Columbus—he is a sister of George Irby, the Director of Federal Programs for the City of Columbus. Dewanda is a triplet— her sisters are Denise, who earned a PhD in Chemistry from Georgia Tech and teaches at Samford University, and Dione, who is a school administrator in Jackson. Dewanda is a housewife—her husband manages a pharmaceutical company.)

By midparade, many of the bone-chilled spectators were gone, with memories they will cherish for a lifetime.

"I got to see the President! The first African- American President," said 8-year-old Zachary Nelson, who came from Collegeville, Pa., with his mother and grandmother from Mississippi.

"It was just amazing," said his mother, Dewanda Nelson, 36. "You can't even describe it, and you saw it with your own eye."

Jill Biden and Vice-President Joseph Biden at
the ball.

Barbour issues statement on transition of power:
"I want to thank President Bush for his service to our nation these past eight years. Our nation is more secure because of his unwavering leadership. Equally important for Mississippi, President Bush worked hard to help our state recover from the worst natural disaster in American history.

"Now, as President Obama has assumed our nation's highest office I wish him great success for our country. His inauguration was uplifting and inspirational. I look forward to having a positive, productive relationship with him and his team."

Wicker comments on inauguration
"I congratulate President Obama on his historic achievement, and I look forward to working with him on the challenges facing our nation. As President Obama spoke today about the challenges before us, he reminded us that America's path to prosperity has never been easy. The president rightly told Americans that despite our troubled economy, future generations need not lower their sights. America has been tested before. And as we have done in the past, we will persevere, remaining the most prosperous nation in the world.

"As we work through these difficult economic times and take on large budget deficits, it is more important than ever to better manage taxpayer dollars and streamline government. I agree with President Obama that we should take a hard look at government programs. Programs that are duplicative or do not work should be ended.

"Additionally, I was glad the president spoke to the world about America's resolve in the war against terror. We have and always will defend our nation against those who wish to do us harm.

"As there always is in our democracy, there are bound to be healthy disagreements and arguments in the weeks and months to come. However, we can and should come together as a country to solve our problems together. I am optimistic we can do so in the bipartisan manner the president called for today."

Packet #810 - January 15, 2009

Glen Pate questions the Clay County Board of Super-
visors about their agenda policy and meeting announce-
ments. In front of him are Chancery Clerk Robbie
Robinson, left, and District 3 Supervisor RB Davis,
right.

A vacant Pheba building and allegations of unannounced meetings caused Clay County citizen Glen Pate to take the board to task during their January 8 meeting.

Pate, a former supervisor himself, demanded to know what the board planned to do with the old Allied Enterprises building in Pheba. The 14,000+ square foot building has sat vacant for years and is slowly deteriorating, Pate said.

"I come before the board about 13 months ago and asked y'all to go out to Pheba and check on that former Allied building and see if y'all could do something," Pate said. "I haven't heard from anybody to this day. It's going to take some money to protect it. I don't know if y'all have money in the budget or not. I don't know if anything's being done, because I left it up to y'all to take care of it.

"Y'all budgeted about $474,000 last year for public buildings," Pate continued. "To my knowledge, looking at the budget, I can't tell that you spent a nickel on thatbuilding out there. How does the board determine what priority goes where?"

"I have been out there to check on that building," said District 5 Supervisor Floyd McKee. "I've been several times. Just two weeks ago I went out there and looked at it to get a price on it."

"It's an eyesore," Pate said. "The roof's falling in. The cornice work is falling off. The door's wide open. Nothing's been done. In the last 16 years, ain't been a nail drove on it. I can't understand why other buildings are so much more important. If that building is no good, and y'all don't want to fix it, you ought to make provision to sell it at some price.

"I hope y'all will see fit to do something with that building," Pate said. "It just ain't good for the county to let it fall down. There are vacant buildings all over this county, and some of them are falling down for lack of money. That building out there is over 14,000 square feet, and there's probably $80,000 to $90,000 worth of concrete in it, if not more. Once the roof falls in, you'll start to lose your walls and it's gone."

"We are going to get a bid on that building this year," said District 4 Supervisor Shelton Deanes. Deanes went on to say that he had been out to the site twice to look at the building.

Pate then went on to criticize the board's agenda policies, as well as level charges of unannounced meetings.

Prior to January 2007, the supervisors had a very lax policy governing appearances at their meetings. Individuals wishing to address the board, more often than not, simply showed up the day of the meeting and were recognized to speak without having to be placed on the agenda. That changed on January 4, 2007, when the board reinstituted a neglected policy requiring those wishing to speak to contact the chancery clerk by 5 p.m. the day before the meeting and ask to be placed on the agenda; only people who appeared on the agenda would be allowed to address the board. On March 5, 2007, the supervisors voted to begin enforcing another neglected policy, this time requiring speakers to not only contact the chancery clerk to appear on the agenda, but also to inform the clerk why they wished to address the board.

Since then, the policies have been sporadically enforced. While members of the public are generally required to go through the clerk's office and be placed on the agenda, others-usually county officials-may appear before the board at will.

Additionally, the board routinely discusses items that do not appear on the agenda in any form. After the listed agenda items are addressed, individual supervisors and the chancery clerk often bring up other matters that have not been previously announced.

"When I came before the board, y'all specifically told me that I had to get on the agenda if I wanted to talk," Pate said. "y'all set the rules, and I understand that. I think y'all ought to have to play by them. I know there are people who walk into this board room and make a presentation and are not on the agenda. If I'm wrong, y'all tell me I'm wrong. I'm open for criticism just like y'all are.

"And another thing, y'all aren't giving people notice on these special meetings," he continued. "You're supposed to post notice, aren't you?"

"I'm not aware of any special meetings that they've had," said attorney Lee Coleman.

"Anytime there's three supervisors in the courthouse on business, it's a special meeting," Pate said.

"I'm not aware of any," Coleman reiterated.

"Well, I am," Pate shot back. "The E-911 was approved at four o'clock in the afternoon. y'all remember that? Y'all met that morning, and then at four o'clock in the afternoon some of the members of the E-911 board was appointed. There's no way...just let me ask you this. Why can't y'all publish an agenda and let the people know what's going to happen at this board meeting? The only way people in this community know what's going on is to come after the fact and read the minutes. That's after the fact. If you published that agenda, if there was something on there that one person was interested in then he could come in and participate. But after the fact, there's no need of him coming. Once you make a decision, that's it. But 98 percent of the people don't know what's going on. Now, don't you have to give notice of these special board meetings?"

"Again, I'm not aware of any special meeting," Coleman said.

"That ain't what I asked you," Pate said. "I asked if you have one, don't you have to announce it? You're evading the question a little bit over there. You're being a lawyer and wrapping me around your finger. You didn't answer what I asked."

"I'm not aware of any special meetings that have been conducted, and this is the first I've heard of it," Coleman replied. "I'll tell you one thing, you go in there and check those minutes and you'll see a lot of things that didn't happen in this board room," Pate said.

"To answer your question, there are procedures that need to be followed (for a special meeting)," Coleman said.

The board then heard a request from Edward and Anne Martin of Chickasaw County, who have recently purchased AJ's Bar and Grill in Montpelier. The Martins are having difficulty in getting a beer license because of a county ordinance that states that applicants must have resided in Clay County for at least a year before a license may be granted.

The Martins said that the Clay County Sheriff's Office refused to perform a background check necessary for the beer license because they weren't county residents. Coleman told the Martins that the ordinance was still valid.

"This ordinance was adopted many, many years ago," he said. "It does appear that the ordinance the sheriff cited is correct. On the books, it requires that you be a resident of the county for one or more years. At this point, that does appear to be valid. While I was looking it over I noticed some other things, and we might want to adopt a new beer ordinance. These things don't have anything to do with the Martins' situation, but we might want to consider the ordinance in totality."

"So you're telling me we can't get a beer permit in Clay County?" Anne Martin asked. "I don't live in Clay County. The state law doesn't say anything about being a resident of the county."

"I understand that," Coleman said. "I have read the code section, and there is a question I have on it about our ordinance. If I understand, the procedure is that you have to apply with the state, and one of their procedures is that you have to be approved by the sheriff."

"The sheriff has to do a background check," Anne Martin said. "That's all they're required to do. They refused to do it." "You have a complex issue here, and I'd like to talk to the sheriff and the attorney general's office about this," Coleman said. "We're going to call the attorney general today," Anne Martin stated. "We bought a business, that we can't operate."

"Any business owner has the obligation to check through the local and state laws," Coleman said.

"We did check the state laws," she said. "That place has been there and has sold beer..."

"The local ordinance requiring that a person be a resident for one year has been on the books for many years," Coleman said. "Apparently y'all didn't make any enquiries into what the local ordinances are. There's a state statute that gives the local board the power to pass ordinances governing the sale of wine or beer. We have the right to enact additional regulations.

"There appears to be a conflict in the different statutes," Coleman said. "One is that the requirements of being given a beer license are governed by one statute. On the other hand, another statute gives us the power to enact a local ordinance. The question is, are they in conflict? I can't answer that question right at this moment."

"Y'all just built a new Wal-Mart Super Center here in Clay County," Edward Martin said. "They sell beer. Do the people who own that Wal-Mart have to live here in Clay County in order to sell beer? We're trying to put money in this county and make a living, and y'all are depriving me of making a living. The last four owners (of AJ's) did not live in Clay County. The man who owns the building does not live in Clay County."

"I know nothing about the previous owners," Coleman said.

"I have read over our ordinances to try to have an answer for you today. There is a complex legal problem here. If our ordinance is in conflict with state law, then the state law will prevail."

Coleman said he would call the state attorney general's office and get an opinion. "If their opinion is that there is a conflict between the two statutes, then my recommendation to the board will be to revise our ordinance," Coleman stated.

Coleman agreed to authorize the sheriff's department to begin the background check while he was waiting for the attorney general's response.

"This board will do everything we can under the law to help you," stated District 3 Supervisor RB Davis. "You're doing this in good faith."

CMSD Supt. Dr. Del Phillips presents Taylor
Christian with a plaque for winning the 7th
and 8th grades geography bee. Christian, a
7th grader and the daughter of Edward and
Yolandra Beck, will now compete in the state
geography bee in Jackson.

The Columbus Municipal School District is considering outsourcing its transportation, according to Superintendent Del Phillips.

At the board's January 12 meeting, Phillips was granted permission to advertise for proposals from entities interested in managing the district's buses.

"We've been talking for the better part of the last year or so about outsourcing transportation," Phillips said.

Bids would be due in March, Phillips said.

"We'll take about a month or so to review those and then we'll come forward with those bids and a recommendation," he said.

While the district had to jump through many hoops with the state department of education to outsource food service, transportation would be much less complicated, Phillips said.

"What we're trying to accomplish here is to be more efficient with our system," he explained. "I think with some routing and some other things we could a lot more efficient. I also think they could help us with parts inventory and that sort of thing."

Outsourcing would lead to "more efficient use of our diesel fuel," Phillips said. "Right now it's come down from its highs of $3.80 or so a gallon, but it could go back up just as much.

"We'd also like to update our fleet, if possible," he continued. "Right now we have a good situation where we allot dollars throughout the year to rotate our buses. We do have some buses that could probably be replaced, especially the ones that are older than ten years old."

New buses would have numerous improved safety features, Phillips said.

"We'd have video cameras and GPS units," Phillips said, "so we can locate the bus at any point along its route. Those are things that people around us don't have but are available in other, larger cities around us. I have talked to a superintendent of another system who uses these, and parents even had access to the (tracking) system through a web portal. There are a lot of neat things that can be done."

Phillips was careful to state that no current employees would lose their jobs.

"All current employees would remain employees," he said. "I want people to understand that the employees that are currently employed will remain employed. Anyone that's hired after the contract date would be hired by the company and not by the district." [I can't imagine that people who drive buses before the takeover remain district employees and that those who are hired after the takeover are company employees. We didn't have time to check this statement out. Ed.]

The board unanimously approved Phillips's request with no discussion or questions.

Rosalynn Jones Hodge was honored at Monday's CMSD
board meeting for becoming a National Board Certified
Teacher. Many friends and family members were present
for the recognition and afterward presented her with
a bouquet of flowers. She is pictured with her mother,
Irma Jones (left) and sister Tresa Butler. Hodge was
recently named Stokes-Beard Teacher of the Year. One of
Hodge's fellow Stokes-Beard teachers, Nancy Edwards, also
won her national board certification but was unable to
attend Monday's board meeting.

West Point, Claiborne County, Hinds County, Madison County, Gulfport and Natchez-Adams County school districts all already outsource transportation.

The CMSD's current transportation budget is $2 million.

West Point Schools did it in 2008
According to Assistant Superintendent Eluster Wicks, the West Point School District outsourced their transportation to First Student effective July 1, 2008.

"We were looking for ways to save money, and based on what we were hearing from other school districts we thought that was something we could look into," he said.

Almost all of the district's transportation employees were hired by First Student, Wicks said.

"Our bus shop mechanics, our transportation director and our drivers all kept their jobs," Wicks said. "They hired everyone in place. They had to go through screening and a background check, of course, but all of them were rehired with one or two exceptions."

First Student took over the district's 31 regular routes and two special education routes, Wicks said.

"Right off the bat they brought in 20 new buses," he stated. "There is no way the district could have afforded to replace that many buses at once. On top of that, we no longer incur any liability insurance."

The district's four-year contract with First Student states that buses will be replaced when they reach 10 years of age, Wicks said.

"They provide much better bus service than we can," he said. "All of the buses are air conditioned, and they all have enhanced safety features. For example, the buses have the 'child checkmate' system in place. Before a driver can shut down a bus, he has to walk through it and open and close the emergency door (at the rear of the bus). This ensures that no children are inadvertently left in the buses. If the drivers shuts the bus off before without performing the check, it sets off an alarm."

The buses all have video cameras and two-way radios, Wicks said, and they will soon have a GPS tracking system.

In addition to the enhanced safety features, the district is seeing a substantial savings.

"I'd estimate that we've saved about $200,000 this year," Wick said.

Packet #809 - January 8, 2009

Police blocked off the north end of Lehmberg Road yesterday morning but some motorists drove around the barricades. The water was still rising after 10:00 a.m. when Jim Cook ignored police orders at the north end of Lehmberg and tried driving south on the flooded road. He made it to Hardin's Body Shop before his engine went dead. Cook got out and pushed the car back to shallower water. Police had the car towed and gave Cook a ticket for running the barricade. The water continued to rise in this area until late last night. The view is north on Lehmberg toward Dutch Village.

Chief St. John

Police Chief Joseph St. John returned to work yesterday following a two-week leave of absence to deal with personal problems. The nature of the problems has not been addressed officially but the Packet reported last week that the chief took the leave of absence because of alcohol abuse.

St. John took the leave of absence after meeting with Mayor Robert Smith and Ward 5 Councilman Jay Jordan on December 23, 2008. At least one council member, Susan MacKay, learned that the chief had taken a leave of absence after a friend saw it reported on WCBI-TV's Midday Show.

Although Mayor Smith has not said what St. John's problem is, he did say this week that when the agreement was reached with St. John that St. John take a leave of absence the mayor stated in a letter to the chief that before the St. John would be allowed to return the city "needed something from a professional, a physician" stating that St. John was ready to return. Smith added, "I and the city are not going to be liable" for anything that might happen if the chief was not fit to return to work.

Last Sunday's Commercial Dispatch carried this front-page headline: CPD Chief to return to post next week." The article, by Kristin Mamrack, did not state that St. John would return. Mamrack wrote: "Following a brief leave of absence, Columbus Police Chief Joseph St. John likely will return to work early next week." She quoted St. John: "I'm hoping to come back next week. I appreciate everybody's support during this personal time. I appreciate everything everybody has done for me, and I'm ready to come back and serve this community."

The news apparently caught other city officials by surprise. Council members MacKay and Gene Taylor said they learned from the Dispatch article that the chief planned to return this week.

"I haven't understood the whole process," said MacKay Tuesday afternoon. "I understood that he called the mayor last week and said he wanted to come back but the council hasn't been informed. I hope they'll explain it all to us tonight-we need to know the details."

Mayor Smith indicated that the Dispatch article was news to him as well. He said that after the article appeared St. John called to talk to him about it. Smith said that the chief told him that "Kristin kept pestering him about giving a statement and that he said it was up to the mayor and council." But, the mayor added, "he is ready to come back. He wants to come back."

The chief met with the mayor and council in executive session following Tuesday's council meeting. Smith said later that the council voted unanimously to reinstate St. John. Smith stressed that the council voted to do it and indicated that he is uncomfortable with the fact that St. John was only on leave for two weeks. Smith said that St. John did present a letter from a physician (or counselor) stating that he is continuing treatment.

When St. John took his leave of absence the second-incommand in the Department, Asst. Chief Joe Johnson, was on vacation. Lt. Carroll Culpepper was put in charge until Johnson's return. Johnson returned on Monday at 7:00 a.m. and was in charge of the Department until the council voted to bring the chief back the next evening.

Sylvester Harris

Supporters of the Oasis club appeared at Monday's Clay County Supervisors meeting to respond to allegations made last month by an angry local resident.

On December 24 Paul Damratoski, who lives in a trailer near the Oasis, appeared before the board to complain about the club's operating hours, loud music and erratic gunshots. Damratoski claimed that he was kept up until the early morning hours by the club's operation, and that sporadic gunfire from the parking lot posed a danger to motorists passing on Highway 45.

Monday morning Dr. John Bennett, who owns the land, and Sylvester Harris, who leases the building, rebutted Damratoski's claims. They were accompanied by a number of supporters, including Clay County citizen Jessie Ivy.

"I'm not here to get into a wild goose chase," Harris told the board. "I'm not going to get into a he said, he said. I want to respond to the allegations that the Oasis is a nuisance to a gentleman who lives across the road in a used trailer. He lives right on the highway, and I'm quite sure the 18-wheelers that roll through there 24/7 make more noise than we do up there two or three nights a week. He claims the music disturbs his peace. I don't doubt that he hears the sound, but my dispute is that the sound disturbs his peace. I have worked with Sheriff Huffman and his deputies from day one when the complaints started coming in."

Harris said that deputies were unable to hear the loud noises that Damratoski described.

"I took a deputy and we drove over to a nearby community and we could not hear the sound," Harris said. "He don't hear the music. There's a possibility that he's hearing the bass, but I dispute the fact that he's actually hearing the music."

Bennett was given the opportunity to address the board but declined, instead submitting a written statement. His statement reads:

The purpose of this letter is to give voice to my sense of outrage and indignation resulting from the media reports on the discussion matters relating to the New Oasis Club that took place at your most recent meeting of the Board. Some of the most outrageous infractions that took place appear to have had your consent since there was no evidence of your objection to obvious inaccuracies. There was no evidence of your putting forth any effort to obtain any opposing points-of-view or opinions. To the contrary, there was ample evidence of "pilingon" by at least two board members who committed themselves to assisting in the destruction of the New Oasis business!

As a citizen and a taxpayer of the county, I would like very much to feel that if the need ever arose, I would be able to come before the Board and get a fair and equal treatment at your hands. I am especially upset because I have a vested interest in this matter. I own the subject property, but Mr. Sylvester Harris owns the business. I may need to underline business since there may be sinister attempts to taint the use of the term club. Regretfully, neither of us were contacted before, during or since the attack was launched upon us. It should suffice for me to point out that business has existed at the same location since 1968. Over the 40-year period of time, many changes have taken place in the operation of that business which have required changes and accommodations to assure the coexistence of all affected parties were possible.

The complaining party in this instance, appears to have selectively investigated the organization and operation of the New Oasis Club to create false impressions that would gain some type of a personal advantage in an imaginary conflict. A subsequent article in the local newspaper seems to me to debunk the claims that were put forth to this Board. I am especially concerned because since it appears that the presentation was made in a libelous and slanderous manner. I would think that some sincere and contrite apologies should be offered, along with appropriate retractions, to get this matter back to an appropriate resolution point.

I am equally perturbed by the behavior of the local press. The press attend the official meetings of the board and walk away with biased opinions that lead to the display of dereliction of journalistic duty by their reporting of matters coming before the Board. I did not see any of the journalistic "weasel words" such as allegedly, reportedly, apparently, or other such terms being used to establish the appropriate context for what took place during that meeting. As a result, it makes the whole matter as reported in the media appear to be unquestionable facts. However, I have been pleasantly surprised by how many persons saw through the ruse and felt they have been violated by what was considered as an unwarranted attack on one of the limited number of recreational businesses in our county.

I am restraining myself in making comments to avoid the presentation any hyperbole that will exacerbate the situation. This matter, as in many other cases, can be easily resolvedif it is approached in the appropriate manner. Mr. Sylvester and I are available to discuss this matter and, hopefully work out any problem that may exist.

Finally, we the citizens of Clay County, have every right to expect capable and competent leadership from our board members. As a matter of fact, if all the reports of the previous meeting of the Board are true, it represents a gross failure of leadership by the Board.

Jessie Ivy, who often attends board meetings and weighs in on matters before the board, voiced his support for the Oasis.

"Mr. Harris has been at that location for a while," Ivy said. "I've visited the place when we had political events there. I know Mr. Harris. He's a businessman, and he's been paying taxes here for a long time. Why would the county want to take action on something that's left up to the court system to do? It is not up to this board whether Mr. Harris relocates or shuts his business down. I would ask the board to let the court system address this."

Among the many claims leveled by Damratoski on Christmas Eve was the assertion that Harris did not pay taxes and did not have the proper permits to operate a business. District 1 Supervisor Lynn Horton said that, following last month's meeting, he checked out Damratoski's claims and found that the Oasis was completely legal.

"I spoke with Mr. Harris on the day of the allegations and I got with him and went to the Oasis," Horton said. "He does have a license, and all his taxes were paid up.

"I got a call from him [Damratoski] the Friday after Christmas that the music was too loud," Horton said. "I called a deputy and sent him up there, and the deputy told me that it was calm in the parking lot and he didn't know what he [Damratoski] was talking about."

"We can't open or close any business," said District 2 Supervisor Luke Lummus. "Our counsel advised him [Damratoski] last month that the only thing we have is the 1:00 a.m. curfew. Counsel advised him [Damratoski] that if he wants further action he needs to go to the court system."

Harris told the Packet that many of Damratoski's assertions were false.

"He told the board that when the sheriff's deputies come out there and tell me to turn the music down that I turn it up and dare them to arrest me," Harris said. "That ain't no way true."

"We are only open two days a week," Harris explained, "Thursday and Sunday. The only time we're open on Friday or Saturday is if someone has rented the place out. We close at 1 a.m."

When asked about Damratoski's description of loud, long after-parties, Harris scoffed.

"We cook some food afterwards, but people just get food and go," he said. Harris also denied Damratoski's claims of gunfire.

"That don't happen at all," he said. "We haven't had a fight out there in over a year. Those things he said ain't true at all. He's making it sound like the OK Corral out there."

The club also has all the necessary permits and pays all necessary taxes, he said.

"Supervisor Horton checked into that himself, and we are legit," Harris stated. "We've got all the state and local licenses we're supposed to have."

Packet #808 - January 1, 2009

Deputy Bo Shelton was northbound around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday morning when he swerved to miss a deer just north of Springfield M.B. Church. The car went off the right (east) side of the highway and hit several small trees and spun around before coming to a stop. It just missed a large tree. Shelton used his two-way radio to inform E-911 that he had been involved in a wreck. He said that he didn't think he was injured but his speech was very slow and it was evident to the dispatchers that he was at least stunned. Deputies, Dist. 5 Volunteers and BMH-GT paramedics raced to the scene and found Shelton behind the wheel, unable to get out of the vehicle. He was extricated through the front passenger door and strapped to a body board and carried up the embankment to an ambulance. His injuries were not serious; he was treated and released at BMH-GT. Chief Deputy Greg Wright said that four or five cars have been totalled in deer accidents in the past year. Just one month ago a car was totalled and another heavily damaged in separate accidents. Yesterday afternoon CPD Investigator Travis Robertson struck a deer in his CPD car on his way home on Hwy 50 West. He was not injured.

Holt

At a habeas corpus hearing Monday, Judge Jim Kitchens reduced the bond of a Caledonia woman charged with rape and lustful touching of teenage males, but the bond remains high and will likely be increased if, as expected, new charges are filed.

Melissa Holt, 37, was arrested in October on a charge of raping a 16-year-old male and touching a 14- year-old male. Justice Court Judge Mike Arledge set her bond at $180,000 ($100,000 for the rape and $80,000 for the touching). On Monday, Kitchens reduced her bond to $90,000 on both charges, but D.A. Forrest Allgood said that Holt will probably be charged with two counts of exploitation of a child. He said that bonds will be required on both of those counts too. Holt remains incarcerated in LCADC.

Allgood said that the "exploitation charges are intertwined with the other charges." He said that Holt is accused of sexual contact with members of friends' families. He said that Holt has been married for 4 1/2 years and has apparently not worked in that time. He said that she claims to be bipolar and takes medication consistent with that condition. She also claims to be disabled and receives two disability checks.

Clay County resident Paul Damratoski complains to the Clay
County Board of Supervisors on Christmas Eve about the Oasis
nightclub. Damratoski said that loud music emanating from the
club keeps area residents awake at night, and that sporadic gun-
fire in the parking lot poses a hazard to passing motorists.

Clay County citizen Paul Damratoski about the operation of the Oasis nightclub at the December 24 meeting of the Clay County Board of Supervisors. Damratoski claimed that the Oasis, which is operated by Sylvester Harris, constantly flouts local ordinances about noise and alcohol sales, and that gunfire from the parking lot poses a danger to nearby residents and to passersby on Highway 45. He also complained that the club operates far past 1 a.m., the hour at which bars are required to close.

Harris also operates the Crossroads, a nightclub located near the Lowndes/Oktibbeha county line.

"In October I purchased some property on Highway 45 north," Damratoski said. "It is approximately 200 yards across the street from the Oasis nightclub. The first week that I moved in over there there were gunshots in the parking lot. It was like the OK Corral at 12:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning. I called the sheriff's department and they went over there and got the 'we don't know anything' answer and so nothing was ever done about it. They play their music so incredibly loud that the walls of my trailer vibrate until one or two or three o'clock in the morning even though I've been informed by the sheriff's department that county law states they're supposed to be shut down by 1 a.m. and yet this man continues to do whatever he wants until he decides to shut the place down."

Damratoski said that he complains to the sheriff regularly.

"I continue to bother the sheriff with a phone call every Thursday and Sunday," he said. "They are over there blasting their music and so forth and I can't get to bed. I work a very important job at Baptist Memorial Hospital and I have to get up at 4:30 in the morning and I can't go to bed until after one or two o'clock due to these disturbances. The sheriff's department has worked with me very diligently, but they cannot do anything to this individual because there are no laws on the books at this time to control the noise levels in the county. The only thing they can do is if I file charges against this man, and that is in the process right now. Hopefully we'll be signing the papers in the next few days to do that."

Damratoski said that there is a history of complaints from people in the area about the Oasis, and yet nothing has been done.

"There are a lot of people along Northwood Forest Road who have been battling this individual for over 10 years," he said. "There have been a couple of deaths. There have been multiple shootings and arrests of every kind from drugs and alcohol to underage drinking. There have been petitions signs and lawsuits had, and for 10 years all this has been going on right on the highway yet that man is still open and still doing business.

"I question this," Damratoski stated. "What does a man have to do to be considered an unlawful or unsafe business in the county? They're not out in the boondocks anymore. There is a neighborhood, I'm less than 200 yards from the driveway, there are businesses. There are thousands of 18- wheelers that pass by there daily. What's going to happen when a stray round hits an 18-wheeler carrying some obnoxious chemical? You're going to have a cloud over this town. I live in a trailer and my neighbor lives in a steel home. Bullets can fly right through those buildings."

Damratoski also questioned whether the business was being run in a legal manner, stating that his research indicated that the club was not paying any sales tax.

"I have gone and talked to the state tax commission," he said. "There are no records of this man paying taxes to this county or this state for sales tax, but yet he sales food without a food permit. He sells alcohol, beer, wine, yet there are no taxes being paid. There is no record in this county of this man paying taxes on any of this stuff. He does not live in this county and he does not purchase any of his goods in this county. This county does not benefit from this business other than property taxes.

"This has gone on long enough, gentlemen," he said. "They know who I am, they know that I've been complaining. My name is public record now that these charges are being filed and I am going to have to stand before this man in court even though I have never met this man. I've got calls in to the IRS and the attorney general's office to address this issue. I'm going to go to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms because he's transporting liquor in his vehicle across county lines.

"Something's got to be done," Damratoski stated. "I don't know what your legal bounds are and what you can or cannot do, but I'm asking you to get involved in this fight to protect myself, my neighbors and our sanity. That booming, bumping craziness that goes on over there until all hours of the morning is unacceptable behavior by any business. No matter what the sheriff does that man goes back to doing whatever he does and the most that has ever happened to this gentleman is a fine."

Damratoski argued that fines are meaningless in this situation.

"A fine means nothing," he said. "That man is making thousands of dollars. If he has to pay an $800 fine, it means nothing. It's like one of us having to pay a parking ticket. Anything less than closing him down or revoking his business license isn't going to help. It's time that this business was moved somewhere else. It's a danger to everyone that lives out there and it's a danger to everyone passing up and down that highway."

District 1 Supervisor Lynn Horton, in whose district the Oasis is located, said that he will speak with the owner and try to work something out.

Jennifer Miller hosted 17 members of the First Presbyterian Church of Starkville
at a high tea and Victorian home tour at the T.O. Burris home on December 20. The
turreted home is located at the corner of 5th Ave. South & 5th St. Some of the
guests are pictured in the parlor: Betty Wilson, Pequita Denson, Sara Wilson and
Carmen Haynes. Sarah Harmon of Columbus is playing a violin in the background.

"I try to keep District 1 safe and clean and try to keep my eyes on activity going on out there," Horton said. "I know the guy that owns that club and I will try to speak to him about it and let him know there are some complaints."

Damratoski said that the operator, Sylvester Harris, has been uncooperative when asked to close down or reduce noise.

"When the police or the sheriff's department goes out there he just dares them to arrest him," he said. "He turns the music up rather than down. They have a terrible time dealing with this individual. On Saturday at 1:05 a.m. I called the sheriff's department and told them that the club was still open for business. I called back at 1:20 and asked if they sent someone out and the lady that answered the phone said that they had sent somebody out and they had talked to 'Mr. Sylvester' about considering shutting down. It was 2:15 before that business was closed and the sound was down. I'm kind of confused. Since when did the law become negotiable? Since when did (the sheriff's) hands become tied behind his back so that he can't go out there with an iron hand and say close your business now. I'm kind of confused about the sheriff's department is having a hard time enforcing the law against this individual for some reason. The sheriff's deputies come to me at my house and tell me that they can't do anything unless I file charges."

"[Harris] cooks food up there," Horton said. "Can he stay in that parking lot as long as he wants to as long as he's serving food?"

Sheriff Laddie Huffman explained that, while alcohol sales must cease at 1 a.m., food can be served 24 hours a day.

"The county ordinance is that he has to be out of the business at 1," Huffman said. "But he does have a separate place up there where he sells food. That's a gray matter that the board is going to have to address. If you serve food, you can stay open 24 hours a day. You just can't serve beer or liquor."

"Where are his permits for having a food-based business?" Damratoski asked. "Where did he get permission from this county to have a business beside his club to sell food? Where are these permits? If he doesn't have them, he's breaking the law. And he can say that he's not selling liquor, but it's widely known that he sells out of the trunk of his car."

The noise level is still high after the Oasis itself closes, Damratoski said.

"They're at an open-air pavilion outside," he said. "Does he not have to have a permit to have a live band outside, separate from the club? That's a whole other issue."

"There are no noise ordinances," said board attorney Lee Coleman. "There is an ordinance we had to pass years and years ago along the Tombigbee in order to get a grant. Other than that, we don't have any noise ordinance."

"The sound issue isn't necessarily the one that's the most important," Damratoski said. "There are several other issues. First is safety, because gunshots go off there on a regular basis. Two, he's in violation of the law because he is not paying taxes on a cash-only business. If you can find one record that that man has paid sales tax on anything he sells over there, then I'll apologize to you because I've done my research and I can't find it. Yet he's standing out there every single weekend with his hand out collecting cash for that business. There are all kinds of things that are going on out there that need to be addressed."

"You're not the first one that's come to this board and explained every one of those issues," said District 2 Supervisor Luke Lummus. "We try to be considerate towards everyone as far as noise and what time they go to sleep. If he's out there disturbing the peace ... we can't have that."

Damratoski suggested the board consider revoking the Oasis's business license.

"He has a county business, and he has a county business permit for the Oasis club," he said. "Not the barbeque joint, not the pavilion, not the after-hours stuff, but for the club to operate. What I'm saying is, he is in violation of that particular license. He sells food and runs music in a pavilion like an outdoor concert, and he doesn't have permits for those things. The simple answer would be to revoke his business license. That would solve everything, because then he couldn't function."

Lummus suggested Damratoski file charges for disturbing the peace against the club.

"You can file papers every time he does it," Lummus said. "If you sign that affidavit that he's causing problems, you can have him arrested."

"You should have him declared a public nuisance," Coleman recommended.

The board took no action.

Packet #807 - December 25, 2008

Jeffery Jackson of Crawford shot this bobcat near Caledonia Tuesday morning with a .273 magnum rifle while deer hunting in a stand with Clay Jones.

The cat weighed 27 1/2 pounds and when Jackson held it up for photos on Lawyers Row motorists stopped and courthouse employees came out to take photos. Jackson is self-employed and Jones works at APAC.

[Packet business manager Aimee Shaw was among those who went out to look at the bobcat. She phoned her husband, Kenneth, who works at APAC, to tell him about it. Kenneth said that last summer Clay Jones was with an APAC was paving a road near Starkville when he spotted a bobcat kitten near the road. Kenneth said that Clay put on some gloves and said he was going to capture the kitten.

"He caught it and like to not got rid of it," Kenneth recalled. "It had ahold of him and he was trying to sling it off but finally it let him go. We told him it was good the mama was not around." Ed.]

Easley

Jamarquis Easley, who burst into local prominence one year ago in a series of teen fights and shoot'emups, has been charged in connection with last Wednesday night's attempted armed robbery of the Pizza Hut on Hwy 182 East. Police are still seeking an accomplice.

Police investigators quickly developed Easley, now 20, as a suspect in the Pizza Hut case. They were trying to find him when CHS security guard Sureta Richardson (a former CPD officer) spotted him among the spectators at the game last Saturday night (Dec. 20). Because of earlier incidents, Easley had been banned from CHS athletic events. Richardson called police and Officer Paul Garrett responded and arrested Easley at 9:25 p.m. The arrest was routine but some of Easley's friends reportedly followed him and the officers out to the transport cruiser.

Easley, who lives at 803 Spruce St., was arrested on outstanding misdemeanor warrants but while still in police custody was charged with the Pizza Hut robbery. Municipal Judge Curtis Austin set Easley's bond at $50,000 in the judge's chambers Monday. Later in the day Easley went before the judge on the misdemeanor charges and was then returned to LCADC.

The Pizza Hut robbery occurred around 10:30 p.m. last Wednesday, Dec. 17, when two young males walked into the store through the side door with a handgun. One of the males was wearing a Michael Myers mask and the other had a scarf over the lower part of his face. They fled without taking any money and police were unable to find them. [I had to look Michael Myers up on the internet to find out who he is. He is a character in Halloween slasher films who debuted in 1978. Various masks are pictured on the internet. Ed.]

On December 7, 2007, Easley, then 19, and two other male teens were arrested at New Hope High School after an altercation involving some NHHS males. Deputies concluded that Easley had gone to the school "back up" his brother, who had had a run-in with some New Hope students. (The initial altercation likely occurred on Ward Road a week or two earlier, where shots were fired, but there had also been an incident at a CHS basketball game.) The other two teens arrested at NHHS with Easley were Dustin Evans, 18, and Dennis Ellis, 19.

On Christmas night, 2007, Easley was wounded in the left foot when shots were fired outside the Grey Goose, on 22nd St. South. Also wounded were two of Easley's friends, Jonathan Durrah, then 17, who was wounded in the left knee, and Greg Thomas, who was wounded in the right thumb (he was apparently holding a cup of beer when a bullet passed through it). Devin Thompson, a NHHS student then 17, who lives on Tabernacle Road, was charged in those woundings. School officials would not say that he was expelled but the Packet learned that he did not return to school after the incident. [I later learned that a bullet hole was found in a mailbox across the street to the westnorthwest of the Grey Goose, which suggests that someone in the Easley party was shooting back. Also, Packet readers may recognize the name Jonathan Durrah. He's one of the BGF members who met with Mayor Robert Smith three weeks ago and then served as a sort of gang spokesperson on a WCBI-TV report. He was later arrested for his involvement in a shooting incident at the Starkville McDonald's after a Starkville- CHS basketball game that left two people with bullet wounds, one of whom was an innocent bystander. Ed.]

Easley was arrested again on January 1, 2008 after shots were fired in the parking lot of Skate Zone on Lehmberg Road. Minutes after the shots were fired deputies stopped a car carrying Easley and two other young males on Lehmberg, about a halfmile south of the Skate Zone. The car was driven by Fred Butler, then 19. The other passenger was a 16-year-old juvenile. A .357 magnum revolver with one unfired cartridge in the cylinder was found on the transmission hump. The males admitted to firing the gun into the air during an altercaation and Easley was charged with a misdemeanor. At this time Easley was still on crutches because of his Grey Goose foot wound.

Easley dropped out of the news for six months but reappeared again on July 6, 2008, when shots were fired at night in the 1600 block of 7th Ave. South (west of the old Seminole Mfg. plant). Devin Thompson, who was at 1615 7th Ave. South, was grazed by a bullet while standing between his house and the house next door, 1613 7th Ave., occupied by T'Shunni Robertson and Alonzo Selvie and their children, including an infant. Thompson told police that a person shot at him from the back yard. Three bullets fired at Thompson hit the Robertson-Selvie house, one of which landed on a bed where the infant had been sleeping earlier. Easley was quickly identified as a suspecaat in the shooting— he and Thompson had reportedly had a confrontation earlier at the Juneteenth Festival. Easley was later charged with one count of aggravated assault and one count of shooting into an occupied dwelling in connection with this incident. Police found a number of empty small-caliber casings near the street, but they could not determine whether those rounds had been fired in the July 6 incident or sometime earlier.

Around 9:45 a.m. last Sunday morning shift supervisor Jim Dierking (right) was manning the check-out counter at Rite Aid on Hwy 45 North when a 2001 Toyota slammed into the wall behind him, driving the back shelves almost against the front counter. Dierking was left standing, unhurt, in the small gap between the shelves.

Customer Bridget Alexander of Columbus was approaching the counter when the car came through the wall. She was hit on the legs by some flying merchandise but was not injured.

The car was driven by Wanda Hamby, 53, of 138 Pleasant Drive. She told police that she thought she put her foot on the brake but then heard the engine rev "and then she was in the building."

Paramedics checked out everyone involved but no one required hospital treatment.

Jim Dierking (having his blood pressure checked) narrowly escaped seriously injury when the car crashed into the Rite-Aid store.

Packet #806 - December 18, 2008

Murder suspect Aaron Colom arrives at the Justice Court
Building for his initial appearance yesterday.

A member of one of Columbus's most prominent families was charged Monday with capital murder in the shooting death last week of Michael Gordon in a mobile home on Bill Walker Drive. Charlton Aaron Colom, 31, known as Aaron, is charged with capital murder.

At Colom's initial appearance yesterday morning, Justice Court Judge Mike Arledge did not grant him bail. Arledge noted that Colom was already charged with a probation violation for carrying a concealed weapon.

Colom was not represented at yesterday's hearing and because he did not demand a probable-cause hearing the state was not required to present evidence and he was not asked to make a plea. As he was being led from the building after the hearing he repeated several times that he did not murder anyone, and he said that investigators should try to find out who did. He reportedly contends that he was in Ripley when the murder occurred, and a female friend supports the alibi.

Colom is the son of Columbus dentist Dr. Roland Colom, who ran for mayor in the 1990s. An uncle is attorney Wilbur Colom, who is a confidant of Presidentelect Barack Obama. Wilbur Colom's wife, Dorothy, is a long-time chancery court judge.

Michael Gordon's mother is a sister-inlaw of Columbus dentist Dr. John Robinson, and she has worked for him as a secretary for many years. Gordon's fiance, Shannon Lee, told the Packet last week that Gordon must have know his killer because when someone knocked on their door at 2:30 a.m. Gordon only asked once who it was, then opened the door. Lee said that after the intruder shot Gordon he went through Gordon's pockets, then pointed the gun at her and a cousin demanding money. They said there was no money and the killer left. But later, after Gordon died, investigators reportedly found over $1,500 in one of his shoes. Michael Gordon had served time for a drug conviction.

Aaron Colom has been in trouble before too. In September 1999, he pled guilty to sale of cocaine and was sentenced to five years in prison. On May 31 of this year, when undercover officers staged a raid on the apartment of one of Colom's friends, James Brown, on 27th St. North, Colom allegedly threw a pistol into some undergrowth. The weapon discharged, which led to the charge of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. Colom has a Feb. 18, 2009 court date on that charge.

Chief Deputy Greg Wright and LCSO Investigator Tony Perkins declined to say what evidence led to Colom's arrest. Wright told the Packet yesterday, "We had sufficient evidence to charge this person at this time, but the investigation is still ongoing and I anticipate possible other arrests."

Lt. Colonel James Brashear (center left) hands Colonel Timothy J. Hilty the keys and
aircraft log book for the 50th UH-72A as David Haines (far left), EADS North America
Vice President of Rotorcraft Programs, and Marc Paganini (far right), President and
CEO of American Eurocopter, look on. Hundreds of area leaders and plant employees
attended the ceremony at the Eurocopter facility. Also present was Col. Neil Thurgood,
U.S. Army Utility Helicopters Project Manager. (Eurocopter photo by Jeffrey Dronen)

Colom fits the description of the killer that was given to deputies soon after Gordon was killed: a black male with a light complexion, over six feet tall and with broad shoulders.

About 15 deputies and U.S. Marshals raided the apartments at 1600 27th St. North late last Friday afternoon in an attempt to arrest Colom (after first trying unsuccessfully to find Titus Little at Eveningside Apts.). The lawmen surrounded the apartments but Colom was not there (two people tried to run and were arrested on outstanding warrants).

Last May officers staged a similar raid at those apartments. The main target was James Lamontay Brown, a friend of Colom's. When officers jumped out of a UHaul truck Colom tossed a pistol into some undergrowth and it discharged, leading to his arrest.

LCSO investigators have questioned Brown in connection with the Gordon murder. Cooper said that other inviduals are also being questioned.

Cooper would not say what evidence led to charges against Colom. He added that a female friend of Colom's "says he was with her and couldn't have done it." Cooper added, "The investigation is by no means closed."

Wright said that at least two investigators have been working on the case from the beginning. He added, "It's still very active. We're still running down any information we receive." He asked that anyone with information call the Sheriff's Office at 329- 5817 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-530-7151. Arledge says no bond.

Colom appeared before Judge Arledge yesterday with two other males. Arledge said that the prisoners could demand a preliminary hearing or waive it (and let the charges go directly to the grand jury).

When Colom was brought before the judge Arledge asked him if he understood the charge against him.

"I understand what they charged me with," replied Colom.

Arledge said that because Colom had been indicted for possession of a weapon as a convicted felon, and because the new charge against him was capital murder, "there'll be no bond-okay?"

Colom asked about the investigation.

"I'm sure it's ongoing," said the Judge.

"This [the hearing] is just one part of it." Wilbur Colom said yesterday that he knew very little about the case. He said that he had never represented his nephew in the past and added, "I would never represent a relative of mine."

[One of the other men who appeared before Judge Arledge was Mark Fortune, a former Marine who is accused of molesting a child-reportedly an 11-year-old female. Fortune's last job was at the Navistar AMRAP plant in West Point. He told the judge that he quit "because of the way they were treating people." Mr. Fortune said he had talked to the victim's mother. Judge Arledge set his bond at $50,000. He said that if Mr. Fortune does not make bond and asks for a preliminary hearing more details will come out "and we can make a better informed decision" on the bond amount. Ed.]

Titus Little

Police have charged a second suspect with capital murder in connection with the September 17 shooting death of Cornelius "Neal" Cunningham on 14th Ave. North, but they are not saying what evidence led to the arrest.

Titus Tavirus Little, 18, who lives at Evenigside Apts. B-4, turned himself in to police last Saturday morning after getting word that lawmen were looking for him. Little had been a person of interest in the murder from the beginning and had been questioned but never charged until last Saturday.

Little is a close friend of Leemajor Wilder Jr., who was charged with Cunningham's murder on September 18.

Cunningham, 29, was shot once in the head around 9:35 p.m. on September 17, while he sat in a lawn recliner in front of an apartment at 2114 14th Ave. North (he actually lived at 4180 Hwy 373 Lot 304). Cunningham died at BMH-GT a short time later.

From the beginning, police suspected that robbery was the motive for the killing. They quickly developed Wilder as a suspect. Wilder had recently returned to Columbus after years in Jackson, where he was being sought in connection with a shooting there. Columbus police arrested Wilder the next afternoon (Sept. 18) on College St. near the Sandfield Cemetery. He resisted arrest and had to be shackled for transport.

Leemajor Wilder Jr.

About 30 minutes after Wilder was arrested someone fired shots at his friend Little, who was at a relative's house on Mill St. Little ran from the residence and was not hurt. He told police that the shots were fired by Quinton Brewer, a friend of Cunningham's. Brewer was arrested a few hours later at his grandmother's house on 23rd St. North. Brewer was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon but Judge Curtis Austin set his bond at just $10,000 and he was soon back on the street.

Three days later, on September 21, Brewer was involved in a shootout with another teen, Jarvis Alexander (16-year-old son of veteran CPD Officer Louis Alexander, who has since retired) near Brewer's grandmother's house. Brewer was wounded but Alexander was not. Both were charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Austin again set Brewer's bond at $10,000; he set Alexander's bond at $2,000. Both made bond through Summerville Bonding Co. (which is owned by Mayor Robert Smith's longtime companion and business partner, Susie Summerville). (Brewer was not indicted in the Alexander shootout; his charge in connection with his alleged attempt to kill Little has not yet been presented to a grand jury.)

Lt. Jeff Guyton, head of the CPD's Criminal Investigation Division, told the Packet yesterday that investigators have been working on the Cunningham murder since it occurred and by last week had developed enough "probable cause" to obtain a warrant for Little's arrest for capital murder. He declined to release information on the evidence, saying that it is to the investigators' advantage to keep the information secret for now. He said that if Little asks for a probable-cause hearing some of the evidence will be presented.

Guyton said that it is obvious to investigators that some people have information about the case, and he said that he hopes that anyone who does will contact the police or call Crimestoppers at 1-800-530- 7151.

On Tuesday, Judge Austin set Little's bond at $1 million. Little remains in jail.

Soon after his arrest Wilder was transferred to the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, where he remains incarcerated.

Guyton emphasized that the investigation is not over.

Packet #805 - December 11, 2008

BMH-GT Paramedic Rodney Sullivan wheels Michael Gordon to an ambulance after
Gordon was mortally wounded early Tuesday morning on Bill Walker Drive. Gordon
was pronounced dead at BMH-GT about an hour later.

A 25-year-old Lowndes County man was shot by an intruder early Tuesday morning in a residence off Hildreth Road and was pronounced dead at BMH-GT about an hour later. Coroner Greg Merchant said that Michael Gordon died of a single gunshot wound to the "upper body." Chief Deputy Greg Wright confirmed that Gordon was shot in the neck aera. Gordon was reportedly shot at pointblank range.

LCSO investigators are following leads in the case, but Wright said that they think that witnesses could be more helpful. "I do believe that the people in the house know a little more than they're telling us," Wright said. "It would be very beneficial to have them give more information to help us apprehend the individual who did this." He noted that Gordon was fully clothed when he answered the door and was shot around 2:30 a.m. Wright said that there was no forced entry, which suggests that Gordon knew the gunman. "I feel that Gordon knew who it was and that people in the residence quite possibly know too," Wright said. He said that they might be reluctant to talk because of fear of retaliation.

The shooting occurred around 2:30 a.m. in a mobile home at 111 Bill Walker Drive. Bill Walker Drive is a private, dirt road that runs north off of Hildreth Road about 1 1/2 miles west of Hwy 69 South. The mobile home is owned by Cleo Chism of New Hope (father of Rep. Gary Chism) and is rented by Rosemary Lee. Gordon was engaged to Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee. Gordon and Shannon Lee had a child together less than a year ago. Rosemary Lee, Shannon Lee, the infant and one of Shannon's Lee's cousins were in the residence with Gordon when the shooting occurred.

Michael Gordon

Shannon Lee said that Gordon had left the residence about midnight and returned about 1:00 a.m. She said that around 2:30 a.m. they were preparing to go to bed. She was in the bathroom when she heard a knock at the door and heard Gordon ask who was there. She said that she heard a response but could not understand what the person said. She said that Gordon must have known who was at the door because it was his practice when he did not know a person to ask the person to give his name twice, so she could hear it.

Lee said that almost immediately after the door was opened she heard wha sounded like a firecracker. She ran into the living room and saw Gordon on the floor and the shooter searching his pockets.

"He saw me walk up from the back and asked me where the money was," Lee said. She said there was no money and told him, "Please, my baby is in the house." She said that her cousin was on the couch in the living room and that the gunman then demanded of her where the money was.

Lee said that the gunman then ran from the house and jumped into his car, which he backed into a neighbor's yard to turn around and then sped back up Bill Walker Drive toward Hildreth Road. She said that she ran out the door afer him but could not make out the tag number.

Shannon Lee, fiance of shooting victim Michael Gordon,
talks to Deputy Eric Granderson following the shooting
early Tuesday morning on Bill Walker Drive.

Gordon was lying on the floor bleeding heavily from his neck wound. Lee cradled him while waiting for paramedics and deputies to arrive.

"I was holding him and he was trying to talk," she said. "I knew he was trying to respond to me."

Lee and her cousin both saw the gunman. Lee said that he left what appeared to be a dark-colored Oldsmobile Cutlass. She described him as tall, with broad shoulders. Merchant said that Gordon was 5' 5" and 110 lbs.

Gordon was treated in an ambulance in the driveway until after 3:00 a.m., when another paramedic arrived and he was transported to BMH-GT. Merchant said that Gordon apparently died on the way to the hospital.

Speaking of the robber, Lee said, "He left without getting the money—he had to be shaken." She said that the money was in Gordon's pocket but that the gunman did not find it.

Gordon graduated from New Hope High School in 2001 and attended EMCC in Scooba. He had worked at Hardee's and Sanderson Plumbing Products. Wright said that LCSO records show that he had also spent some time in prison on a 2006 cocaine conviction.

Speaking of the murderer, Lee told the Packet, "I hope they find him—he could easily come back. I am scared."

BMH-GT Paramedic Keith McCann escorts Keith Brown to
an ambulance following a fatal shooting on Ridge Road
Tuesday evening. Brown reportedly struggled with the
gunman.

A Hamilton man died of a gunshot wound sustained during a domestic disturbance on Ridge Road Tuesday evening. Authorities believe that the fatal wound was self-inflicted but as of yesterday they had not made a final determination. Five other people in the house at the time of the shooting, including three children, were not seriously injured.

Coroner Greg Merchant identified the deceased as David Scott, 35, of 40075 Seely Drive, Hamilton. Merchant said yesterday, "He died of a gunshot wound— I'll have more later."

Merchant will transport Scott's body to Jackson for an autopsy today (the state is now using several pathologists who rotate in and out of Jackson to do autopsies).

The shooting occurred in a brick residence at 1541 Ridge Road (a mile-and-ahalf north of Military Road, just outside the city limit) during a wind-driven downpour. The house is occupied by Scott's ex-wife, Kim Scott, and their three children. The Scotts divorced early this year.

Chief Deputy Greg Wright said that Mrs. Scott and the children were in the house with Keith Brown, who reportedly works at BMH-GT with Kim Scott. Wright said that David Scott went to the front door and that when Kim Scott responded her exhusband forced his way into the house with a rifle. Wright said that a struggle ensued between Brown and David Scott and that shots were fired "in the close vicinity of Brown."

Kim Scott, meanwhile, gathered the children and hid in a back room while phoning 911. Deputies, Dist. 2 Volunteers and BMH-GT paramedics were dispatched to the residence at 8:27 p.m. An E-911 dispatcher reported that she could hear shots in the background as she talked to Mrs. Scott. As responders were on the way to the scene the dispatcher reported that the caller had heard one more shot.

Deputies and even two Highway Patrol officers who were in the area began arriving at the scene minutes later, still not knowing what was happening inside the house. While other officers surrounded the house in the heavy rain Deputy Chad Waltmon kicked open the front door and led the way inside.

An ambulance was backed up the driveway. About 20 minutes later Keith Brown, with a blanket over his shoulders, was escorted to the ambulance by a paramedic. Brown was transported to BMH-GT, where he was examined and released. Wright said that his injuries were not serious.

Wright said that he is aware of "both reported and unreported" domestic disturbance incidents involving David Scott, including one in Monroe County. He said that a report in May involved vandalism. He said that Scott was never arrested in connection with the incidents.

Scott died of a single shot to the head. Although investigators clearly think that the wound was self-inflicted, neither Wright nor Merchant would say that yesterday.

Wright told the Packet that Scott "received a single gunshot wound which, from all apparent evidence, caused his death." He went on, "We're still looking into this. I want to make sure that all our Ts are crossed and our Is dotted."

Wright and Merchant were clearly mindful of the recent Laura Lee Holliman shooting death, which was initially called a suicide but was later determined to be a homicide. Merchant told the Packet yesterday, "I have learned a very valuable lesson. I'm only going to say that he [David Scott] died of a guns head wound. I'll have more later."

No charges have been made in connection with the shooting.

Wright said that he did not release any information on the shooting until Merchant had had time to inform Scott's next of kin of his death. Wright also praised Merchant for his professionalism and work ethic: "My hat's off to him. He's been rolling non-stop for several days. He stayed up last night till 2:00 a.m. to make sure that notification of next-of-kin had been made. I have the highest confidence in the coroner and his deputies and want to stay in close contact with him and make sure that all the information is correct and that we're on the same page. I think that Lowndes County is fortunate to have a coroner who will look into situations..." Wright said that in investigations such as this things are often not what they seem to be at first. "You've got to go where the evidence leads you but you can't get tunnel vision—if the evidence leads you to a different avenue you've got to check it out.

Packet #804 - December 4, 2008

Dist. 5 Volunteer Patrick Pridmore wades out to rescue Crystal Lynn Chiles (left) and Kimberly Long
after their Camry sank in a stream near Artesia last Friday night.

Two MUW students escaped drowning last Friday night when they climbed through the sunroof of their car after it sank in a stream on Hwy 45 South Alt. just north of Artesia. Crystal Lynn Chiles of Starkville and Kimberly Long of Macon were rescued about 30 minutes later by Lowndes County Dist. 5 Volunteer Patrick Pridmore, who waded into the chest-deep water and helped them to the bank.

The near-tragedy began around 11:00 p.m. Chiles and Long were eastbound on Sessums Road when Chiles failed to stop at Hwy 45 and her 2009 Camry went across all four lanes and down the east berm into a grass-lined stream. As the car sank the students climbed out through the sunroof and called 911 on a cell phone. They told a dispatcher that their car was sinking. Dist. 5 Volunteers, LCSO deputies, a Highway Patrolman and BMH-GT paramedics raced to the scene as the dispatcher reported that the women were on top of the car. Chiles and Long were unable to tell rescuers exactly where they were, however, and the responders drove up and down both sides of Hwy 45 looking over bridges. They finally located the two victims, who appeared to be standing on top of the water in a small stream. The car's headlights made a slight glow under water. (The stream flows into a ditch that parallels the highway and so there was not a bridge at this point.)

While the responders puzzled over how to get the women from the car to the bank, Pridmore waded across a narrow part of the creek and then peeled off his shoes and waded out to the car to rescue Chiles and Long. It was only about 15 feet from the car to the bank and Pridmore got the women through the water without incident. They were checked out in an ambulance and then left the scene with Chiles's father, Willie Chiles, who had driven to the scene from Starkville after getting a rooftop call from his daughter.

Columbus wrecker operator Bo Jarrett got the call to pull the Camry out of the stream but he reportedly hired a man to go underwater to fasten the chain to the chassis.

Tavares Showers leaves the courtroom during
his trial yesterday. Bailiff Billy Pickens is
escorting him.

Yesterday afternoon, following a twoday trial, 16-year-old Tavares Showers dodged a murder conviction but was found guilty of manslaughter for the December 2007 killing of 18-year-old Jeremy Munson. Showers will be sentenced at 10:00 a.m. this morning.

Munson bled to death at BMH-GT on December 14, 2007, soon after being cut and slashed by Showers in a house on 21st St. North where Showers lived with his mother, sister and step-father. Showers fled the scene but was found by police about two hours later and charged with murder. He has remained incarcerated ever since, and now he faces years in prison. He claimed from the beginning that he acted in self-defense, and his lawyers, Dennis Harmon and Lee Sudduth, made the same argument at trial. Prosecutors Forrest Allgood and Diane Lindsey asked for a murder conviction.

The jury of six men and six women (five black, seven white) had three options: find Showers guilty of murder, find hiim guilty of manslaughter, or find him not guilty. They returned the manslaughter verdict after deliberating for an hour and a half.

Showers's mother, Monica Showers, said after the verdict, "To me the trial wasn't right. It happened so fast. They [the police and prosecution] bunged up stuff. Forrest Allgood gonna burn in hell. The other family got what they wanted but we lost a loved one too. We can't reach out and touch him any more."

Harmon said, "I'm happy he was not found guilty of murder. I appreciate the time the jury was out to give consideration of all the issues. We'd have preferred a not-guilty verdict but in Mississippi when you're charged with murder it's a win. We'll appeal, of course—if we're successful [in winning an appeal] he can't be recharged with murder. Next time it'll be manslaughter or less."

The killing happened at 704 21st St. North late in the afternoon. Munson was a senior at Columbus High School. He was enrolled in automotive classes at the McKellar Center and hoped to take automotive classes at EMCC. He was admired by relatives for dressing and often bathing his mother, a double-amputee, before going to school. He had recently started dating Showers's sister, Laketa Showers, who had recently returned to Columbus after four years in Illinois. Showers was known to police officers as a troublemaker before the killing occurred, but character issues were not raised at the trial.

The defense argued that Munson attacked Showers and that Showers defended himself with a knife that was near at hand. Much was made by the defense of the fact that Munson was 6' 7" tall and weighed 251 lbs. whereas Showers is only 5' 10" and 150 lbs.

The only eyewitness presented by either the prosecution or the defense was Laketa Showers, sister of the accused and girlfriend of the victim—and she, importantly, was not in the room the whole time the fight was going on. Tavares Showers's mother, Monica Showers, was in the room the whole time. Another sister, Taronica [?] Showers, step-father Verntarus Petty and a 16-year-old female friend were in the house but none was called to testify by the prosecution or the defense.

Laketa Showers was called as a witness by the prosecution. Because they had called her, the prosecutors could not question her about possible inconsistencies between her statements in court and a statement she gave police soon after her brother killed her boyfriend. In closing arguments, Asst. D.A. Lindsey told the jury that Laketa Showers was trying to protect her brother in her testimony. Harmon countered in his closing argument that the prosecution put a witness on the stand and then told the jury that the witness lied and that her statements should be ignored.

Although Tavares Showers never took the stand a videotape of his interrogation at police headquarters was shown to the jury.

The only other witnesses called by the prosecution were Pathologist Dr. Steven Hayne and several police officers involved in collecting evidence. When these witnesses had testified it was the defense's turn to present witnesses, but instead the defense rested its case, satisfied where things stood. (If the defense had called the other people in the room—Tavares Showers, his mother and his step-father— these witnesses would have been open to rebuttal by the prosecution.)

So, although six people were available to testify who were in the house when Munson was knifed (including the accused),only one, Laketa, was called upon to testify. And she was not in the room during the entire altercation between her brother and her boyfriend.

Laketa Showers testified that she was 19 at the time of the incident. She said that she and Munson had been dating for four months and that he often came to their house. She said that the incident began when Tavares asked everyone to leave the room. "He'd been in the house for 10 or 15 minutes. He wanted us to leave so he could talk to my mom. He said, ‘Would you please leave?'" Asked by Allgood how he was acting, Laketa replied, "He was acting normal to me."

Allgood asked her if that meant he was throwing a tantrum. She replied, "Yessir."

Around 6:00 p.m. Tuesday evening Lisa Dennison of Columbus was west-
bound on Spivey Road when she lost control of her 2004 Mountaineer.
The vehicle went onto the right (north) shoulder and then hit the edge
of a concrete driveway slab at the home of Andrew Nichols (899 Spivey
Road). The vehicle sailed across the slabe and into a small cedar tree
that is about ten yards beyond the slab, striking the tree about eight
feet above the ground. The front of the Mountaineer was stuck in the tree
and the rear dropped to the ground. Gavin Dishongh was a couple of
hundred yards behind the Mountaineer when the accident occurred. He said
that he saw the taillights rise into the air and then fall again and
disappear (they disappeared from his view because the rear of the vehicle
dropped into the ditch below the level of the driveway). It took Dist. 2
Volunteers some minutes to remove Dennison from the vehicle. She was
wearing her seatbelt but the airbag did not deploy (the driveway impact
was below the bumper and the tree offered some "give" when struck).
Dennison, 47, suffered some facial cuts but her injuries were not life-
threatening.

Laketa said that when her brother asked everyone to leave the room everyone left but her mother, who remained on the couch, and Munson. Laketa Showers herself went into her mother's adjoining bedroom and called 911. Asked why she did that, she replied, "I was getting scared, the way he was talking." She said that he was "afraid what might happen."

Laketa testified that while she was in her mother's room she heard glass breaking. She looked back into the den and "I saw Jeremy was holding my brother against the wall by his neck. They were in the doorway of the kitchen." She said she saw Tavares cut Munson two or three times on the arm, "I think with a steak knife." She said that Munson continued to hold Tavares even though he was cut, but then when Tavares said, "Let me go," Munson released him.

Laketa said that she followed Munson out the back door and found hm standing next to a pickup in the back yard. "He said he could hardly breathe." She said that it took the police "a long time to arrive. [I went straight to the scene and many police officers were there when I arrived. Ed.]

On cross-examination, Harmon noted the size difference between Tavares and Munson. He then asked if Tavares couldn't expect a houseguest to leave the room when he asked him to. Laketa said that when her brother asked Munson to leave Munson "got up off the floor but made no effort to leave."

Harmon asked, "What did the family normally do when he asked them to leave?"

"We'd get up and leave," Laketa replied. She added that Munson would stay, however.

Harmon said, "So he did the opposite of what he [Tavares] asked him to do. You hear glass breaking and you came back adn Jeremy had him against the wall with his hands. The knife was in Tavares's right hand and he was slashing [at Munson]. And you saw him attacking the arm that was choking him."

Dr. Hayne testified that the fatal neck wound was delivered in a downward motion. Harmon got him to admit that this would be consistent with someone stabbing in self-defense over arms that were holding him.

In closing arguments, Lindsey said that although Munson was dating Laketa he was still "an outsider" and that it is natural for a family to "circle the wagons" and "protect their own." She noted that although Laketa said that her brother was acting "normal" she (Laketa) also admitted that it was normal for him to throw tantrums and that he was acting up enough that she called 911. Lindsey said that Laketa testified that she saw Munson with his hands around Tavares's neck and saw him stabbed in the arm several times. Lindsey went on, "This means that she didn't see anything that she's willing to tell us about between leaving and seeing three cuts on his arm. It means that the lethal wound occurred when she was not in the room." She added that Laketa was "a big sister trying to protect her little brother."

Lindsey said that the only mark Tavares had on him when he was arrested a couple of hours later was a slight cut to one hand. She said that he only admitted to "poking" Munson with the knife and that although he claimed that Munson struck him in the face with his fist there were no marks on him to corroborate that. She reminded the jury that Tavares, in his taped statements, "never once said that Jeremy Munson touched his neck—he never said that, ever... There were seven stab wounds—that's malice. The only evidence we have of self-defense comes from his sister."

In his closing arguments, Harmon began, "In 23 years of practicing law I've never seen anybody come and say, ‘I've got two eyewitnesses but I'm not gonna use them.'" He said that the prosecution offered a witness (Laketa) and then told the jury that she was a liar. "They lose the weapon that was on him [A knife found on Tavares Showers when he was arrested was photographed and then lost. Ed.]l and they say don't believe the eyewitness, then they say the police can't tell you what happened..."

Harmon offered an account of what happened in the room: How the much-larger Munson, who "was not much of an outsider," came at Tavares. "What happened next, we don't know," said Harmon. "We know there was breaking glass and Laketa returned. She saw the 6' 7" Jeremy choking Tavares and Tavares hitting him on the arm with a knife... I've been in fights and had shiners, and it doesn't take much force to cut off your wind. You're scared to death... and I've never had a 6' 7" man trying to choke me." He said the fact that Munson didn't let go when Tavares stabbed his arm was evidence that Munson was angry and full of adrenalin. "There was no motive, no ill will, no malice, nothing, till Jeremy Munson crossed that room. Why, I don't know. What's happened is a tragedy. Tavares didn't intend it and I don't think Jeremy intended to die. The state can't tell you how it happened. Nobody saw him strike the fatal wound. They're asking you to believe the lawyers, not the witnesses... But we know there was a fight, we know Jeremy crossed the room... Jeremy finally let him loose and went out back and Tavares got out of there... He got away from the attack, because his home was no longer safe. That's what happened. The state didn't prove their case..."

Sudduth made a closing statement too. Unshaven, with his tie loose, his collar lunbuttoned and his hands in his pockets, he told the jury, "You might not believe it, but when I was young I sometimes went places I shouldn't have been, and once I got cut by a knife. When that happens, you're mad and you don't feel the pain. It leads me to believe Jeremy Munson was very angry."

Sudduth said it wasn't hard to believe that Detective David Criddle might have missed seeing some marks on Tavares, since he also lost the knife that Tavares was carrying when he was arrested.

Sudduth concluded, "Murder didn't happen. Manslaughter didn't happen. A tragedy happened. I'm not blaming Jeremy Munson for anything, but we have to decide if Tavares Showers murdered him, and he did not."

Packet #803 - November 26, 2008

Brian Holliman sits in the courtroom yesterday with his attorney,
Steve Farese. Judge Lee Howard reduced Holliman's bond on a murder
charge from $1 million to $200,000.

Brian Holliman, who is charged with murder in the October 25 shotgun death of his wife, Laura Lee Holliman, posted bond yesterday and left LCADC after Judge Lee Howard reduced the amount of his bond from $1 million to $200,000. Holliman's original bond was set at $1 million by the late Justice Court Judge Phillip Owen Robertson. Sheriff Butch Howard let Holliman out on what amounted to a recognizance bond but an outcry from Holliman's family prompted the sheriff to rearrest Holliman. On November 11, following the death of Judge Robertson, Justice Court Judge Peggy Phillips refused a request from Holliman's attorney, Steve Farese of Ashland, to reduce the bond. Holliman remained in jail and Farese scheduled yesterday's hearing in circuit court to have the bond reduced.

Dozens of friends and relatives of Laura Lee Holliman and Brian Holliman were at the courthouse yesterday morning before 9:00 a.m. The hearing was held in the larger of the two downstairs courtrooms, but it seats only about 40 people and many of the people who were at the courthouse had to wait in the hall.

Holliman sat next to Farese in an orange LCADC jumpsuit. The state was represented by Asst. D.A. Rhonda Hayes Ellis.

Judge Howard began by saying that this was a habeas corpus case and therefore took precedence over all other cases on the docket. "I'm required to clear my docket and clear everything and have a hearing," said the Judge. He added that the habeas corpus clause "prevents people from being arrested and detained without bond prior to trial." He went on, "I understand there might be some agreement between the parties." Howard noted that Holliman had been arrested "for murder, not capital murder." All agreed that the law that applies to such cases is Article 3, Sect. 29 of the Mississippi Constitution.

Howard said that Sect. 29 states that "excessive bond shall not be required" and that the only people who can be denied surety bond are those who are facing the death penalty or who have previous convictions. He went on, "This defendant has no previous convictions of a capital offense or an offense punishable by 20 years, so bond is allowable." [There are cash, surety (property) and corporate (bonding company) bonds. I may have missed something in the judge's comment about surety bonds. Ed.]

Howard said that he had checked bonds in the district for the past ten years and found that they ranged "from $50,000 to a maximum of $200,000 for straight murder, in 2005. So those are the ranges of the bond." He added that everyone who posted such bonds appeared as scheduled. He went on, "Bond must be set in an amount that is reasonable under the circumstances." He said that "the agreed-upon amount is $200,000-correct?"

Howard added some other conditions for Holliman's release: that he post "corporate bond," that he have no contact with Laura Lee Holliman's relatives or with witnesses and that he observe an 8:00 p.m.-to- 6:00 a.m. curfew, those hours to be passed at his parents' residence.

"The bond is returnable to the grand jury on Feb. 9, 2009," said the judge.

The corporate bond condition meant that Holliman must post bond through a licensed bonding agent and not post cash or property. After the hearing he bonded out through Montgomery's National Bail Bonding Service.

[Mr. Holliman was probably required to pay his bonding company 10% of the bond, or $20,000. He will not get that money back. With the $1 million bond, which had no conditions, he could have posted $100,000 in cash and pledged another $900,000 in property (through legal documents and deeds, not just with a promise to pay, as Sheriff Howard apparently allowed); but if he showed up for court he would have gotten the $100,000 back. I'll add that I always thought that a person's financial condition is an important factor in setting bonds-a $200,000 bond might be a great amount to one person but not to another. Not many wealthy people are charged with murder. Mr. Holliman probably does not have much money but his grandfather reportedly owns a good bit of farmland. The Hollimans have now spent $20,000 to bond Brian Holliman out of jail and they will not get that back. • • The judge ordered Holliman not to have contact with witnesses or his late wife's family, but he did not address the matter of the children specifically. Laura Lee Holliman already had two children when she and Brian Holliman married and they had one child together. Two of the children were at the residence when Laura Lee Holliman was killed. Steve Farese said that the judge's order prevents Brian Holliman from having contact with Laura Lee's two previous children but not from the baby he had with her. Ed.]

Doss

Last week, after accepting Shawn Doss's guilty plea on a felony marijuana charge, Judge Jim Kitchens allowed Doss to remain free on bond until his sentencing hearing three days later, but the judge warned Doss to show up, saying, "If you embarass me I'll embarass you in the long run."

Doss understood at that Tuesday hearing that he would receive a 24- year sentence on Friday.

Doss was scheduled to appear again before the judge at 9:00 a.m. last Friday. His attorney, Rod Ray, was at the courthouse 15 minutes early. So was Greta Gardner, who represented Summerville Bonding Co., which had $50,000 on the line if Doss didn't show. The clock ticked toward 9:00 a.m. and everyone watched the doors for Doss to appear, but he did not. Gardner worked her cell phone but did not appear to be getting results.

Judge Kitchens finally convened court at 9:30 a.m. Ray was at the witness table by himself and D.A. Forrest Allgood was at the prosecution table.

Rod Ray (left) and Gretta Gardner (right) look toward
the stairs while waiting for Shawn Doss to appear for
court last Friday. He did not show up.

Judge Kitchens said, "I gave him time to get his affairs in order and he's failed to appear." Speaking to bailiff Joe McWilliams, he said, "You called him and his bondsman three times?"

McWilliams said, loudly, three times, "Susie Summerville, produce the body of Shawn Lamont Doss."

Kitchens told McWilliams to go into the hallway and downstairs and repeat the cry. McWilliams could be heard walking through both floors of the courthouse calling out for Summerville and Doss. He returned a few minutes later and said he'd gotten no response. He asked Kitchens if he wanted him to bring Gardner into the courtroom.

Kitchens asked if Doss's father and Gardner had been able to reach Doss. "Is he en route?" asked the judge.

Bailiff Jim Lawrence said that he had talked to Gardner, and he added, "He's on his way."

"Did she say what country he was on his way too?" joked the judge without smiling.

Ray told Kitchens that he tried to reach Doss by cell phone. "All I got was his voice-mail," said Ray.

Kitchens said for the record, "He was told in open court to be here... and his bondsman. She has not produced his body. The bailiff called for him on both floors and his attorney tried to call him and all he gets is his voice-mail." Referring to the report that Doss was "on his way," Kitchens said, "I don't know where he's on his way to, but it's obviously not here. I'm inclined to sentence him now."

Kitchens said that he did not blame Ray for his client's non-appearance. He said that he gave Doss time to take care of family matters "and I informed him of the consequences" if he did not appear. Kitchens noted that Gardner "is somehow kin to him" and he added, "See if Ms. Gardner will come in."

Gardner entered the courtroom and told Kitchens, "I tried to call him. I talked to his mom and dad and his dad said he was on his way. His dad is going to go see if he had trouble on the highway."

On the morning of November 16 cattleman Billy Livingston found one of his
cows lying dead in a pool of water about 60 yards from Ridge Road, just
north of the Cherokee Road intersection. Deputies Kevin Brown and Paul
Greggs are pictured with Livingston in the pasture. The cow had apparently
been shot with a high-power rifle from Ridge Road during the night. Gregg
said that several cows had been shot in Lee County in the weeks preceding
this incident. The case is under investigation and the Sheriff's Dept.
welcomes any information from the public.

"I expect he had trouble with his direction," said the judge, again without a smile. Kitchens noted that the time was now 9:40 a.m. "I said he was to be here by 9:00 a.m. His bondsman can't reach him. His dad has indicated he's enroute but we've received no calls from him."

Kitchens addressed Ray, "Mr. Ray, do you know of any law that says I can't sentence him" in his absence?" Ray said he did not. Kitchens then sentenced Doss to 50 years in prison for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute (Doss was subject to an "enhanced" sentence because of a previous trafficking conviction in Oklahoma). Kitchens said that he was not imposing the extra 26 years because of "frustration" but because Doss had given him his word that he would be in court for sentencing.

Kitchens added that Doss had two previous felonies: for possession with intent and possession of a firearm. He went on, "Mr. Ray got an excellent plea agreement for him." Kitchens tacked a $5,000 fine on to the sentence, to be paid at the rate of $100 a month when Doss leaves prison.

Kitchens added, "If he is here before this term ends and there is some explanation for his absence-if he had a car wreck or was in the hospital-I'll amend it. Mr. Ray, you told him and I certainly told him."

After the sentencing Allgood told the Packet that a judge has the authority to sentence someone in absentia. "We've done it when there was a criminal trial at the same time," Allgood said. "A guy fled his trial date when he jumped out a window." Allgood said that the legislature enacted new rules several years ago about sentencing in absentia but that it had never been done in Lowndes County prior to Doss's case.

Allgood said that if and when Doss is found he will not return to the Lowndes County Courthouse but will be transported to a Mississippi penitentiary to begin serving his 50-year sentence.

An attorney said that if Doss had appeared on Friday and been sentenced to 24 years he probably would have been out of prison is six or eight years.

Summerville Bonding Co. now has 90 days to produce Doss or pay $50,000 to the county. But the court usually grants a 90-day extension, so Summerville Bonding Co. realistically has six months, not 90 days. If Doss or his body is not produced by the deadline Summerville Bonding Co. must pay the county $50,000; however, if Doss is then produced (or is found deceased) within the next year the bonding company will get a $50,000 refund.

People out on bond customarily pay a bonding company 10% of the bond amount-in this case $5,000-to guarantee their appearance.

Packet #802 - November 20, 2008

M & K Grocery owner Ann Landers talks to friends outside the
store shortly after she was robbed at gunpoint Monday evening.

A male wearing a gorilla mask robbed the M & K Grocery on North McCrary Road Monday evening and escaped with an undetermined amount of cash.

The robbery occurred just before 8:00 p.m. when owner Ann Landers was in the store alone. She said that the robber entered the store wearing a gorilla mask and gloves and carrying a pistol. Her son and two friends had been in the store a short time earlier helping her stock the shelves, and when the man in the mask entered she at first thought that it was the taller of her son's friends and told him to stop clowning around. The robber pointed the gun at Landers and demanded that she open the cash register and give him her money.

Landers said that the man pulled the trigger on the gun but that it did not discharge. After taking the money the robber ran behind the store and disappeared. The robber was wearing jeans and a dark hooded jacket. Landers could not say whether he was black or white.

Soon after police arrived a young couple who live nearby went to the scene and told police that they had seen a dark, older-model Buick parked on the east side of Gateway Shopping Center around the time of the robbery. They said the car was running and they thought it might have been a getaway vehicle. The shopping center lies about 250 yards west of the convenience store, across some open ground.

Landers bought the store about a month ago. It was formerly called the Quick & Easy Deli.

Police are still investigating the robbery, which does not appear to be connected to an armed robbery attempt at the Wonder Bread Store on Hwy 182 that occurred about 2 1/2 hours earlier.

Right: Officers Tommy Watkins, Lance Luckey
and Rick Jones confer outside of Wendy's.

Three gunmen escaped with an undetermined amount of cash after robbing Wendy's Restaurant on Hwy 45 North early last Friday morning. The restaurant had closed but several employees were still inside when the robbery occurred. Police questioned two suspects found nearby but neither was detained.

Police spokesman Cpl. Donnie Elkin said that the robbery was reported to E-911 at 2:55 a.m. He said that three black males wearing bandanas and sunglasses entered the store displaying guns, that one of the robbers went to the office and took an undetermined amount of cash and that the robbers left running behind the store.

The Packet has learned that the robbers entered the restaurant through a back door that opens into a walk-in cooler that is also accessible from inside the store. The Packet also received reports that the robbers were carrying a rifle or shotgun (or both) and that at least one shot was fired inside the store from a small-caliber weapon. At least one police officer was in the vicinity when the robbery was reported (but minutes can elapse between the time an incident is reported to E-911 and the time the news is relayed to officers in the field). Other officers raced to the scene, but the employees were unable to say where the robbers went or whether they were in a vehicle or on foot.

Soon after the robbery officers were informed that two males had walked across the parking lot to Wal-Mart about the time Wendy's was robbed. The two had been sitting in a car in the Backyard Burgers parking lot and had then walked west to Wal-Mart when the battery on their car went dead and they were unable to start it. The car's engine was still warm but the battery was almost dead. Police searched the area Wendy's and from Wendy's to Backyard Burgers, apparently for weapons that might have been tossed aside, but none was found. The two suspects were questioned at length and then allowed to leave.

The case is still under investigation and police are hoping that anyone with information will call Crimestoppers.

A young male brandishing a handgun started to rob the Wonder Bread Store on Alabama St. Monday evening but left after being told there was no money in the store.

Police said that a store employee called 911 at 5:25 p.m. and said that a young male entered the store holding a handgun and demanding money. The employee told the robber there was no money in the store and the robber left, running behind the store.

The employee told police that the robber appeared to be 15-18 years old and was wearing khaki pants, a purple shirt and a red hooded sweatshirt. The robbery attempt occurred two hours before M & K Grocery was held up at gunpoint on McCary Road, just a half-mile from the Wonder Bread Store, but there appear to be no connections. The case is still under investigation.

This year's Columbus Christmas Parade will be held on Saturday, December 6, and will follow a new route through Downtown Columbus. The parade, long sponsored by the Pilot Club, is now sponsored by Main Street Columbus. This year's parade theme is Christmas Traditions—all participants are asked to follow the theme when decorating their floats and cars. The parade will move out at 5:00 p.m. A detailed parade route map can be obtained on-line at www.columbusmainstreet.com or at the Main Street Columbus office, located at 107 5th Street North.

Main Street Columbus Director Amber Murphee said that the deadline for parade applications is November 17. All planning to participate should return applications to the Main Street Columbus office by the deadline. Everyone is encouraged and invited to participate in the parade. The parade entry fees are the same as last year: $35 for non-profit organizations, walking groups, floats, beauty queens and personalities. The fee for businesses is $50.

"Several bands, floats, Santa Claus, Miz Claus and special characters have already signed up for the parade so this year promises to just as entertaining and successful as last year's Christmas Parade", said Murphree.

"Bobby Harper has been chosen as this year's Grand Marshall by the Christmas Parade committee because of his vast contributions to our community," said Murphree. She said that Harper spearheaded the capital campaign for the Link's Trust and, "because of his esteemed reputation, they were able to surpass their $2 million goal." She said that Harper "has served as a leader throughout the community and is very deserving of the honor of Grand Marshall."

Murphree said that this year the parade will be broadcast on Cable Channel 3 and My MS Cable Channel 4 beginning following the parade (specific dates and times to be announced), and DVDs of the parade will also be available for purchase at the Main Street Columbus office beginning on Monday, December 15.

Parade sponsors are Tampico Bay, CS Digital Productions, CableOne, Comcast Spotlight, K 94.9, WCBI, My MS, Main Street Columbus and The City of Columbus.

Packet #801 - November 13, 2008

LCADC Transport Officer Mary Huggins follows murder suspect
Brian Holliman into the Justice Court Building yesterday
morning.

At Brian Holliman's preliminary hearing yesterday on a charge of murdering his wife, Laura Lee Holliman, Justice Court Judge Peggy Phillips refused to lower his bail from the $1 million set by Judge Phillip Owen Robertson, who died last Sunday. After hearing evidence in the case against Brian Holliman, Judge Phillips also bound him over to the next grand jury on the murder charge.

The request to lower the bail was made by Holliman's attorney, Steve Farese of Ashland, at the 9:00 a.m. hearing in the Justice Court Building. Holliman, who has been in jail since last week, was transported from the jail to the Justice Court Building for the hearing.

Laura Lee Holliman was killed on October 25 and Brian Holliman was arrested for the murder on October 28 (his wife's death was initially ruled suicide). It was on October 30 that Judge Robertson set Brian Holliman's bond at $1 million at his initial appearance.

Laura Lee Holliman

After Judge Robertson set the $1 million bond Sheriff Butch Howard allowed Holliman to leave jail on a signature bond. Howard said later that Holliman's family would be good for the $1 million if Holliman did not show up for court appearances. After an outcry by Laura Lee Holliman's relatives, Howard revoked the signature bond and had Brian Holliman rearrested and held in lieu of the $1 million bond. Howard said later that he had not examined the facts of the case before letting Brian Holliman go free. He said that he had planned to go to the courthouse and check property records to make sure that the Holliman family had enough property to guarantee the bond. (The last Packet reported that Sheriff Howard said that justice court judges had never imposed a $1 million bond before, but Judge Phillips said after yesterday's hearing that there have been million-dollar bonds here in murder cases.)

Yesterday Judge Phillips said that Brian Holliman could either put up $1 million in cash or put up 10% of that amount ($100,000) and pledge property for the balance (she said later that this would require delivering deeds and legal documents) or be bonded out by a bail/bondsman. A bail/bondsman would require a $100,000 fee, which Holliman would not recover even if he appeared as ordered. If he were to put up $100,000 of his own money and pledge property for the balance he would get the $100,000 back if he showed up for court appearances; likewise, he would get the $1 million back if he appeared as ordered.

Holliman remained in jail at press time last night.

Defense attorney Steve Farese (right) talks to Brian
Holliman's parents, Doug & Sarah Holliman, after the
hearing. Private investigator Terry Cox is on the left.

The state was represented at yesterday's hearing by veteran Oktibbeha County Prosecutor Roy Carpenter. Farese was accompanied by his private investigator, Terry Cox of Booneville, and he also had a private stenographer making a record of the hearing.

The first part of yesterday's hearing involved the bond. Brian Holliman was not present at this part of the hearing. Farese said that Holliman's bond was initially set at $1 million and that "an appearance bond was executed by his father [Doug Holliman]... but the following day he was rearrested. We're asking the court to set conditions under which bond could be granted. One million dollars is excessive. I'm not aware of any $1 million bonds that have been ordered in this area. When he defendant was rearrested he was rearrested at his parents' home. They're life-long residents of the county and there's no accusation of flight risk. There's no accusation that he'd be a danger to other members of the community." (But his late wife's relatives told the sheriff that they have such fears.)

Farese went on, "We're asking for a reasonable bond so the defendant will have the opportunity to make bond." He said that "bond was granted and executed but for whatever reason he was rearrested—it appeared that the sheriff had second thoughts about allowing him to be released on an appearance bond by signature..."

Farese asked that the bond be reduced and that Holliman be allowed to pledge sureties and post 10% of the bond in cash.

LCSO Investigator Eli Perrigin (right) talks to Laura Lee
Holliman's friends and family members after the hearing.
Holliman's Grandmother Freda Stacy is in the middle.

Carpenter, the prosecutor, didn't oppose the request. He said that the $1 million bond "seems to be a large amount." He added, "We had a murder in Oktibbeha County yesterday and bond was set at $250,000. I assume he's [Holliman] entitled to a 10% bond, if there are no prior convictions..." and the defendant has "stability." He added that the Court might have "personal knowledge" of Holliman and his family. He said that in Oktibbeha County a bond of $250,000 to $500,000 would be normal in such a case. "The only time it would be $1 million is if there are risks.

Judge Phillips said that the bond was set by Judge Robertson and that she assumed that he had "probable cause" in setting it. "I'll let it remain at $1 million," she said, adding that he could post "cash or sufficient surety."

Farese asked that Holliman be brought to the chamber for the next part of the hearing, which concerned the evidence against him.

LCSO Investigator Eli Perrigin was the only witness at the hearing. He testified that he was dispatched to the Holliman house on October 25 on what was reported as a suicide call. He said that Deputies Steve Hatcher and Larry Swearingen were at the scene (both are Caledonia Marshals as well as deputies and the scene was just inside the city limits). He said that Laura Lee Holliman was on the floor of her bedroom in "a huge amount of blood... with a gunshot wound to the left side of her face." He said that her arms were folded over a shotgun and then said that the gun had been "shoved between her arms."

Perrigin said that different parts of the scene made him question the suicide explanation. He said that Brian Holliman was not there when he arrived, that he had gone to his parent's house, but that he later returned. Perrigin said, "He walked up to me and basically told me it was an accident," that he had forgotten to move that gun. Perrigin testified that Holliman told hi that he kept the gun loaded under the bed with a shell in the chamber. Perrigin said that Holliman "said he was outside and heard a loud noise and came in and found her on the floor." Perrigin said that Holliman signed a statement at the Sheriff's Office and then left.

Perrigin said that he took the body to Jackson for an autopsy and that as soon as Pathologist Lisa Funte (not Fontaine, as was reported earlier in the Packet) saw it she said that the death was a homicide. "She said that because of the pattern of the blast on her face there's no way possible that she could have done it to herself," said Perrigin.

East Mississippi Community College, Golden Triangle campus, hosted its
5th Annual "Proud be an American" Day on Tuesday. This annual event
celebrates Veterans Day and honors the men and women who served and
are currently serving in the U.S. armed forces. The event was initiated
by Jean Gregg, who was then a student and SGA president, in the wake of
the 9/11 tragedy. Instead of a speaker, this year's celebration featured
a musical tribute and hymn to honor each branch of the armed forces, with
a veteran of each branch giviing the creed or motto. Each year a different
high school JROTC in the district is asked to present the colors. This year
West Point's ROTC presented presented them. A highlight of the event was
the presentation of an AROTC scholarship to Cadet James Kimbrell of
Columbus, EMCC's first "contracted cadet." In the photo, 1st Lt. Dustin
Guadagno, a recruiting assistant, is shown presenting Cadet Kimbrell a
symbolic check for the total benefits he will earn during his time in
the AROTC program (including tuition, room and board, books and a
monthly stipend), a total of $70,078.00.

Perrigin said that when he returned he set up another interview with Brian Holliman and that Holliman "basically confessed to shooting his wife. Basically he said he took the gun from the corner and purposely stuck it to her upper body and it went off. He said he was basically trying to scare her when he heard her in the closet."

(Perrigin repeated this last statement a short time later but was never asked to explain it.)

Purchase a copy of Packet #801 for more on this story!

Dist. 1 Justice Court Judge Philip Owen Robertson died in his sleep at his residence early Sunday morning at age 63 of heart failure. He had a history of heart problems.

Robertson had served as justice court judge for more than 20 years. He took Ed Prescott's place on the bench when Prescott became sheriff in 1976. Prior to that, from 1973 to 1977, Robertson served on the Columbus City Council, representing a new East Columbus ward. Robertson also served at different times with the Columbus Police Dept., the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office and the Mississippi Army National Guard. He also owned his own auction business, enjoyed hunting and fishing, collected arrowheads and made knives for friends using deer antlers and blades from old woodworking tools. He had a very large and wide circle of friends—at his visitation at Memorial Funeral Home Monday people waited in line for two hours to pay their respects to his survivors (see obituary in this Packet).

Robertson had suffered from heart problems for many years. In 1997 he almost died from a heart attack but was saved by the late Ward 1 Councilman Jackie Ball. The Packet reported at the time that Ball was putting gasoline in his Plymouth van at a convenience store on Gardner Blvd. when he heard a faint voice calling, "Jackie, Jackie." Ball's first thought was that God was talking to him, but when he answered the spooky voice continued calling, "Jackie, Jackie." It was Judge Robertson, who was slumped in his nearby vehicle. Ball finally followed the voice and found the judge and called 911 and Robertson was saved. The two were longtime friends and both laughed about the incident later.

Robertson had undergone several heart operations over the years and had recently been told by a cardiologist in Birmingham that an implanted stent was not working and that he needed open-heart surgery.

One of Robertson's pallbearers was Tony Burnside, a Laurel native who has lived in Mexico for 26 years on the banks of Lake Emilio Portes Gil (formerly Lake San Lorenzo). Robertson made his first fishing trip to the lake in 1990 and made 62 more trips over the years, usually taking Columbus friends on the 2,500-mile round trip (several of these trips were reported in the Packet). Once the entire Columbus Kiwanis Club went down.

Ron Williams went to Mexico with Robertson for the first time in 1999. He said this week that he and some others were planning to go again on Thursday but that Robertson declined, saying he wasn't up to it, but he was hoping to go again in January. When Robertson died Williams contacted Burnside in Mexico and Williams and Charlie Clark of Columbus arranged to meet Burnside and his son, Roberto, 16, on the Texas-Mexico border, 900 miles from Columbus. The Burnsides left their vehicle at the border and rode back with Williams and Clark, arriving in time for the funeral.

Justice Court Judge Peggy Phillips, who was elected to the bench in 1975 (when judges still were paid through fees), said that she and Judge Robertson worked together for 21 years and "never had a cross word."

Phillips said, "We worked on cases where we might have been getting input from each other, and we talked about it and if there was any question we'd take a recess and look it up. He was very thorough and if he didn't know the facts or law he'd recess and do research. He was fair and firm, but when he'd made his mind up he wouldn't be swayed. He was a good man. He was my friend—he was almost like a brother to me. We're going to miss him."

Funeral services were Tuesday at Memorial Funeral Home with burial in Friendship Cemetery.

Packet #800 - November 6, 2008

Chuck Easley

Lowndes County voters turned out in record numbers for Tuesday's election, slightly favoring Republican John McCain over Democrat Barack Obama in the presidential race on voting that clearly followed racial lines. The Republican-Democrat voting closely followed racial lines throughout the county in all races, not just the presidential race, which featured a historic white-black contest.

Columbus attorney Chuck Easley failed to win a second term on the Mississippi Supreme Court. Easley won a majority of the votes in Lowndes County but was soundly defeated district-wide by David Chandler. Easley was at the courthouse as the results came in and said that he looks forward to returning to the practice of law.

Republican U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, who was appointed to the office by Gov. Haley Barbour last year and was trying to win a six-year term, defeated Democrat Ronnie Musgrove in Lowndes County by a 55%-45% margin (Wicker was in Columbus Monday evening and ate with campaign workers, family and friends at Ruben's Fish House). Republican Senator Thad Cochran won locally over Erik Fleming 62%-38%.

Speaking of Obama's presidential victory, Columbus attorney (and a member of Obama's inner circle) said that what came through the campaign more than anything else is that the American people "are tired of partisanship." He said that Obama's campaign ran on the enthusiasm and energy of young people.

Republican Senator Terry Brown said of the presidential election, "It's a wake-up call for Republicans to get their house back in order. We've gotta get back to our roots and start building from the ground up, stop busting budgets and running deficits and get back to what Republicans are all about: less government."

Circuit Clerk Mahala Salazar said that the local turnout was the largest in the history of Lowndes County. A total of 27,491 people voted out of 43,154 registered voters (these figures are final but unofficial; they don't include about 200 affidavit ballots). The previous record was in 2000 (Bush v. Gore), when 20,895 people voted here out of a total of 38,424 registered voters (there were that many registered voters a few days before that election). The 2000 census gave Lowndes County a population of 61,586, of which 56.47% were white and 41.56% were black. Salazar said that many names have been removed from the voter rolls since 2000 but that many new voters have registered. She said that many registered to vote in the run-up to this year's election.

Salazar said that 2,759 absentee ballots were cast this year a smaller-than-normal number of affidavit ballots were cast on election day—only about 200.

Senator Roger Wicker and his team were returning to Tupelo from the Gulf
Coast Monday evening and when they stopped at Ruben's Fish House to eat
supper. The group included Wicker's wife, Gail, and personal staffers,
local volunteers and Sen. Terry Brown and Alabama strongman Worm Nichols.
Sen. Wicker is pictured with Sen. Brown and Ruben's owner Larry Blakney
(back), a Vernon, Ala. native. Wicker was in good spirits—polls had him
running solidly ahead of Ronnie Musgrove, and it turned out that the polls
were right. The Wicker party traveled on a big bus.

Lines formed at many of the polling places before they opened but few problems were reported. All voting was done electronically and Salazar said there were no problems with the machines.

Traffic problems were reported at several polling facilities, including Lee Middle School, where school officials blocked voters out of the small parking lot near the auditorium, and at Hunt Intermediate School. Salazar said that Sheriff's Dept. deputies and CPD officers responded to help deal with traffic and parking problems and in some cases stayed on their feet all day.

"There were no major problems anywhere," Salazar said. "I'm incredibly proud of everyone involved. I don't know of any situation where people had to stand in line too long."

About 180 poll workers helped manage the election, in addition to county employees and election commissioners. Volunteer poll watchers stayed at the polls throughout the day. Poll workers are paid $20 for a training session and $125 for an election. Those who carry boxes to the courthouse after the polls close receive another $20. Salazar and her team finally left the courthouse just before midnight Tuesday night.

In 2000 the county's population was 41.56% black and 56.47% white. In Tuesday's election Obama received 46.90% of the votes and McCain received 51.99%.

Caledonia, which is ovwhelmingly white, voted 82.47% for McCain and 16.69% for Obama (they gave Greg Davis 68.04% of the vote and Travis Childers 30.87% in the First Congressional Dist. race). The Hunt polling district, which is overwhelmingly black, gave Obama 98.13% of the vote and McCain 1.48%.

Columbus attorney and businessman Wil Colom has known President-elect Barack Obama since Obama was in the Illinois Statehouse. Colom was involved in Obama's presidential campaign from the beginning as one of 50 members of his national finance committe (the committee ballooned to 300 members after the primaries and after members of Hillary Clinton's organization were included).

Speaking yesterday of Tuesday's events, Colom said, "My strongest impressions last night was that McCain was such a class act. I remembered why I liked him. I thought his speech was as inspiring and insightful as Obama's."

Colom went on, "Everybody asks me, ‘Why did you start supportin' this guy [Obama] so early on?' and I've been trying to articulate for awhile what it is I saw in him, and I finally expressed it last night to some people. I said I saw what I call an emotional maturity. Not just intellectual maturity but that maturity you see in somebody who's 70 years old, who's been through a lot and when something happens they say, ‘Oh, this too will pass away' and they understand cycles of life. From the very beginning you sense that, even though he was only forty-something years old he had that emotional maturity."

Ducks Unlimited District Chairman Larry Turman (center)
was honored as Mississippi Chairman of the Year at the
annual Ducks Unlimited banquet last Saturday night at
the Trotter Center. Presenting the award were Dist.
Chairman Keith Hancock of Noxubee County (Noxubee County
and Lowndes County are in different districts). Hancock
will be the next state DU chairman. On the right is
Douglas N. Lasher, DU Director of Fundraising and Volun-
teer Relatiosn for the South Mississippi [Mississippi
River, i.e., Flyway] Region.

Asked what to expect from an Obama presidency, Colom said, "I don't think there's any doubt that he's going to rule from the center. He knows more than anyone else that he cannot rule from the left, because the person he's studied more than anyone else is Ronald Reagan. He understood the power of Ronald Reagan's rhetoric, that words were important, that the guy at the top really doesn't have the ability to manage everything at the street level, that all he can do is be a beacon and a messenger and a leader, and Ronald Reagan had those very strong skills and I think he understands that. And he understands even though Ronald Reagan came in as a very, quote, the Messiah of the Right, he ended up ruling from the center. I think what's he's going to do is rule from the center. I believe that he's going to be the president who tries the hardest at building consensus. And the way that he can do this—and I can tell you this—his contributor base is so large—and even though I can say I raised a lot of money for him, and a lot of people say they raised a lot of money—but when your contributor base is so large that any small group of them leaving you doesn't affect you, you have freedom, and that's what he has. He doesn't owe anybody. He can truly be independent. There's no constituency that can jerk his chain. He's is own guy—that's the one thing I'm absolutely sure of, that he is his own guy. He refused to take the lobbyists' money for a reason, he built this large contributor base for a reason, he built an organization that has thousands of people who run it. This machine can run with him or without him. It exists as an operation about an idea for America. And the central idea—and I think everybody misses it—we're tired of partisanship. If you ask everybody in the campaign, what's the single thing that irritates you most, it's that the country is so partisan that we can't get a damn thing done."

Asked if he has any prospects in the Obama Administration, Colom said, "Yes, I've been in it since early on and I'm sure I can be as involved as my energy will allow me." Colom said that he has been amazed at the capacity for work demonstrated by the young people in Obama's campaign. He continued, "I haven't been asked to do anything yet, but there have been some discussions."

Asked if he would take the Court of St. James, Colom laughed and said he doesn't want "a real job."

Big Joe Williams's only living sibling, Mary May (center) was in atten-
dance Monday when the Blues Trail Marker honoring her brother was
unveiled at Crawford. She's shown here with her daughter, Anita Jackson
(left), and Crawford Mayor Helen O'Neal. (Beacon photo)

Crawford—Native son Big Joe Williams, one of Mississippi's greatest Blues musicians, was honored here Monday when the Mississippi Blues Commission installed its latest "Blues Trail Marker" in his honor.

Mayor Helen O'Neal helped unveil the marker on Main Street in front of City Hall as Williams' only remaining sister and a large group of fans watched and cheered.

Williams, who played his "nine-string guitar" worldwide, was born near Crawford in 1903. He died at Noxubee General Hospital in 1982.

Williams was well-known in Noxubee County. He often visited local stores here and played numerous rural nightclubs during the 60's and 70's.

Williams is probably most famous for his song "Baby Please Don't Go," which was recorded by numerous musicians, including Bob Dylan.

The Crawford marker is the 56th installed around Missisisppi, including one unveiled in Macon in August honoring Willie King, Carey Bell, and Eddie Clearwater.

[There's lots of material on Big Joe Williams on the internet. Ed.]

Gov. Haley Barbour stopped at the Columbus Republican HQ on Main Street Monday afternoon while on a quick trip across North Mississippi to urge Republicans to go to the polls on Tuesday. He is pictured with Rhodes Lipsey, a student in Ms. Robinson's class at Heritage Academy, who was selected to go meet the governor as a representative of the class. Rhodes is the daughter of Jeff and Sheri Lipsey. In brief remarks to WCBI-TV, Gov. Barbour said, "The national media says that Obama has a machine that'll swamp everything, but right-thinking Republicans are gonna turn out too. Our people will turn out in droves.

I think that McCain, Cochran, Wicker, Harper and Davis will benefit." He said that Wicker has a 14-year record of achievement while in four years Musgrove blew a big surplus and put the state in an unprecedented budgetary hole and lost 38,000 jobs. He said that McCain's campaign "suffered" in September but that it started coming back in October. "In the last few weeks people have started to learn more about Obama's record," Barbour said. He said that Obama is more liberal even than a candidate running on the Socialist ticket. He added, "Obama got the longest wet kiss in history from the media. If anyone said anything about him the New York Times attacked them. Obama is so far to the left... and McCain is not as conservative as I am."

As he walked away the Packet reporter asked him if he wished he had run for president. He replied with a smile, "That would have been a year, wouldn't it?"

Packet #799 - October 30, 2008

Monday morning's shootings occurred soon after Taylor Berry's Silverado
crashed into this tree on Old West Point Road around 2:00 a.m. Berry was
not seriously injured in the accident.

A former top Omnova plant official was murdered in his home by an intruder early Monday morning on Old West Point Road and moments later the intruder was killed by a guest in the house.

The homeowner who was murdered was Doug Jones, a Huntsville, Ala. native who until recently was the director of operations at the huge Omnova plant in Columbus. The intruder was Taylor Berry, 25, a member of a family that has been prominent in local business for generations. The houseguest who shot him is Young Kerby, a member of another prominent business family. Kerby is a longtime Boy Scout official who manages Camp Seminole in Oktibbeha County. The Berry and Kerby families both attend St. Paul Episcopal Church, but Taylor Berry and Young Kerby apparently did not know each other. Investigators also have no evidence that Berry knew Doug Jones—and without such a link they have no motive for the home invasion and murder. The case has left Berry's relatives and many friends grasping for answers too.

Kerby, 46, and Jones, 42, were close friends. Jones often volunteered at Camp Seminole.

LCSO investigators have ruled that Kerby was justified in killing Berry but nagging questions remain about this second shooting and the case will be presented to the next grand jury.

Doug Jones

The house where the deaths occurred is at 1277 Old West Point Road. The house, still remembered as belonging to the late Powell Fleming, sits on the west bank of the Tenn-Tom about a half-mile south of the intersection of Plymouth Bluff Access Road and Old West Point Road. The house sits back from Old West Point Road about 100 feet and the nearest neighbor is about a quarter-mile away. Jones bought the house two years ago.

On the night of the killings, Kerby stayed the night with Jones rather than go home to Starkville. His pickup was parked behind the house with Kerby's vehicle parked behind Jones's.

A few minutes after 2:00 a.m. Monday morning Young Kerby called 911 to report that he had just shot an intruder at 1277 Old West Point Road and that two people were dead in the house. Deputies raced to the scene from all over the county. The two nearest the scene coordinated their arrivals so that one approached from the south (from Old Hwy 182, more than a mile away) and the other from the north (from Plymouth Bluff Access Road). The deputies approached the house with guns drawn and saw Kerby inside the front door with a gun in his hand. They ordered him to put it down and he did. Kerby used a key to unlock the door's deadbolt to let the officers in. The wire screen was ripped almost out of the screen door and a large pane of glass had been broken out of the main door.

Deputies found the bodies of Jones and Berry in a Jones's bedroom, which is in the northwest corner of the house. Jones's body was lying on the bed and Berry's on the floor near the bed. Both men were dead.

Coroner Greg Merchant (back to camera) helps load the body of Doug
Jones into the coroner's vehicle around 6:30 a.m. Monday morning.
Lt. Billy Wood is near the porch. The torn screen can be seen hang-
ing from the screen door.

Kerby sat on a sofa in the living room (at the front of the house), where he was watched constantly by a deputy and questioned by investigators about what had happened. Coroner Greg Merchant was summoned to the scene and joined the investigation. The LCSO investigation was led by Tony Perkins, with assistance by Ryan Rickert and Joe Young, head of LCSO's investigation Division.

Meanwhile, outside, deputies investigated a black Silverado pickup truck that had crashed into a large cedar tree just south of Jones's property line. The truck's taillights blinked brightly for 30 minutes after deputies began arriving on the scene. Deputies called the tag number in to E- 911and learned that the truck was registered to Berry.

The crime-scene investigation continued for more than four hours. Merchant removed the first body around 5:00 a.m. and the second around 6:30 a.m., as the sky was beginning to brighten. A few minutes later Kerby left with Perkins for further questioning at the Sheriff's Dept. Kerby was never handcuffed and never charged.

The mysteries of the case begin with the accident: why Berry was on that stretch of road and what caused him to wreck. It is not even known exactly when the accident occurred (though it may be possible to pinpoint the time through the airbag electronics). When the pickup hit the tree Jones was in the front bedroom of the house (on the north side) in his underwear and was apparently awake. The wrecked pickup's flashing taillights could have been seen from the bedroom window or from the front porch, which is 100 yards from the site of the wreck (it takes about one minute to walk from the crash site to the house).

Young Kerby (right) leaves the house with Investigator
Tony Perkins just before dawn Monday morning.

Jones heard the crash. Whether or not he saw the pickup's lights, he went to wake Kerby, who was sleeping in Jones's bed in the back bedroom. Kerby is an Emergency Medical Technician and had an EMT kit in his truck. Kerby told Jones that he would go investigate the accident in his truck (although Jones's vehicle was parked behind Kerby's, Kerby could have driven around it through some grass to exit via the driveway onto Old West Point Road). Perkins said that Kerby got out of bed and got dressed and was going out the back door to his truck when he heard a crash in the front of the house and Jones shout. Kerby ran to his truck to get his .45 semi-automatic pistol, then returned to the house.

Meanwhile, Berry had ripped the screen, smashed the front-door glass and stepped through the dead-bolted door. He apperently then pursued Jones down the hallway toward the back bedroom. Jones kept a .22 pistol under the mattress and he apparently dove across the mattress and grabbed the weapon.

Jones was 5' 6" tall and weighed 165 lbs. Berry was 6' 4" and weighed 276 lbs. Investigators believe that Berry wrestled the gun away from Jones and shot him multiple times. Merchant said that "more than one" bullets hit Jones's head.

Taylor Berry, in a photo taken last
summer when he was helping create
Tapas Restaurant in Downtown Columbus.

Perkins said that "at least seven shots were fired," with three hitting Jones and four going into the mattress and "one or two left in the clip."

Kerby was reentering the house with his pistol when he heard two shots in the bedroom. As he passed through the kitchen he could see Berry and Jones fighting on the bed. Perkins said that when Kerby reached the door to the bedroom Berry was rising up from the bed. Kerby fired at him and the bullet passed through Berry's arm and struck him in the torso.

Perkins confirmed a report that Kerby had said that after he fired the first shot Berry started to get up and said, "You'd better finish me off," and that Kerby then fired again and hit Berry in the head.

Perkins said that Berry's statement, given the context and the fact that a gun was at hand (if not in his hand), constituted a threat. But there are reservations about the second shot—hence the decision to present the case to the grand jury.

Merchant said that the wound to Berry's stomach was very serious but that he might have survived it if he had received prompt medical attention.

Merchant said that shell casings at the scene support Kerby's statement about where he was standing when he fired the two shots. Merchant said that the bedroom is about 20' by 20' and that Kerby was probably standing about 14 feet from Berry when he fired. There were no powder burns on Berry's skin—a .45 will make detectable burns up to about 6 1/2 feet. He said that the trajectories of the bullets support Kerby's statements that Berry was "rolling over or sitting up."

Berry's truck after being pulled away from the tree.

Merchant said that the autopsy showed no injuries to Berry from the vehicle accident. Berry had some cuts on his hands, apparently from climbing through the front door.

Speaking of Berry, Perkins told the Packet, "There's no doubt that he broke in, but I don't understand why." He said that two possibilties are drugs or mental problems. He added, "I'm going to present it to the grand jury, but I think it will be ruled justified."

The Packet was unable to reach Young Kerby for comment on the case. A sister-in-law, Katherine Kerby, commented for a Commercial Dispatch article but did not return a Packet phone call.

Berry was known to people throughout the area as a "gentle giant" with a quirky sense of humor. He played football at Columbus High School and had worked for his father in his furniture importing business. He had recently been helping Fritz Ehrentraut in his new Bar de Tapas, which is in a building owned by Berry's mother.

Paramedic Van Yates (right) briefs Coroner Greg
Merchant upon his arrival at the scene.

Several people who had worked with Jones at Omnova described him as a high achiever and a "super guy." Dick Mahoney said that Omnova hired Jones away from Southwire of Starkville as a process engineering manager. He said that Jones "was probably the quickest study in getting on board our operation" as anyone he had ever dealt with. He added, "But what nobody could train him in was his people skills, how to get people to work together as a team. He rose quickly over four years to become operations manager," which is one of the top jobs in the plant. "In 45 years of working for that company, there were a lot of people I met and respected, but none I respected any more than I did Doug. I feel a loss and a lot of the people at the plant feel a loss too."

Jones was laid off at Omnova about three months ago after disagreements with higher-ups, but many of the employees sided with him. He reportedly had several job offers in other states but wanted to remain in this area to be near his mother, who lives in Dothan. His father suffers from Alzheimer's Disease and a brother committed suicide two years ago.

A former co-worker said of Jones, "He was very devoted to his mother. He was a person who wouldn't be involved with drugs or alcohol." Jones was president of his senior class at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, which led him to make an unsuccessful run for state representative a few years later.

Allen Mitchell, another former coworker, said of Jones, "He was very intelligent and hands-on, as nice a guy as you'd ever find, a super guy."

Packet #798 - October 23, 2008

Officers handcuff Anthony Price at 14th & Main late Tuesday night. Price, 29, of Columbus, was westbound on Main when Deputy Scott Glasgow attempted to stop him near New Home Building Store. Price reportedly activated his right turn signal but continued west on Main and then turned onto 14th St. and stopped.

The car Price was driving had a Clay County plate and carried a female passenger with a small child. Price said the car was not his. Price was reportedly on probation for a meth offense and officers sent for an MDOC probation officer; in the meantime, Price was told to stand nearby. When deputies spotted a corner of a plastic bag near the front seat Price became agitated and swore at the officers, who proceeded to handcuff him and place him under arrest.

The lawmen are CPD Officer Ben Sanders and Deputies Scott Glasgow, Billy Wood and Jeff Harris. The plastic bag contained a number of small, neat packs of what appeared to be meth-Narcotics Agent Archie Williams estimated its value at $800. Price reportedly told lawmen that the meth did not belong to his passenger and she was not arrested.

Williams said that the amount of meth and the packaging suggest that it might have come from outside of the area. Price was charged with possession of meth. The case is still under investigation

Sen. Thad Cochran and Aurora President Dr. John Langford spoke at the
dedication of Aurora's huge new facility at GTRA last Thursday.

Aurora Flight Sciences officially opened its vast new production facility at GTRA last Thursday, with Sen. Thad Cochran cutting the ribbon. The new $7.5 million building has 64,300 sq. ft. of floor space and a pair of hangar doors that slide back to create a 250-foot entrance-wide enough to accomodate Aurora's revolutionary three-piece, solar-powered plane that is designed to stay aloft for five years. Referring to projects like that, Aurora President and CEO Dr. John Langford said that the work being done here "really is exciting and cutting-edge."

The new building was built alongside Aurora's original 21,000 sq. ft. building that Aurora put into operation at GTRA in May 2007. The new building includes 5,000 sq. ft. of office space for greater design and engineering capacity. Aurora has invested $15 million facilities at GTRA. The new facility includes clean rooms, climate-controlled material storage and all other items necessary for high-quality composite aerostructures fabrication. The new expansion will have a cargo bay capable of supporting airframes with wing spans as wide as 250 feet.

With Sen. Cochran on the stage were Rep. Travis Childers, Major Gen. William Freeman of the Mississippi Air National Guard and Aurora Director of Development Greg Stewart. Sen. Roger Wicker was unable to attend.

Aurora's Mississippi operation fabricates composite aerostructures. The facility currently provides airframe design, assembly and integration of the high performance Orion HALL (High Altitude, Long Loiter) hydrogen-powered Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) and other Aurora unmanned aircraft, including the GoldenEye 50 and GoldenEye 80. Manned aircraft work at the Mississippi operation will also include the parts for the Sikorsky Aircraft MH-60 helicopter.

A 130-foot Orion wing was recently fabricated in the new facility. The plant currently has about 30 employees but the number is expected to grow to 300 over the next five years.

Dr. Langford helped develop this pedal-powered plane
when he was still a student at MIT.

A pedal-powered Daedalus aircraft with a wingspan as great as Orion's is also on display in the new facility. The extremely light craft was taken out of storage after many years and will now be used to test solar possibilities. (Dr. Langford was in charge of the team that developed the craft more than 20 years ago, when he was a student at MIT-he even pedaled it aloft).

Dr. Langford said, "We're on the forefront of aircraft technology. You can't have a strong defense without a strong economy. We're celebrating small business, building the economy in Mississippi and a strong national defense." He said that Aurora now has 350 employees in four states and will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year.

Langford continued, "Pretty much everybody in the audience has played a role in what has happened here, and I can't thank everybody." He noted that Aurora came to the Golden Triangle in October 2004, when it opened a manufacturing facility at MSU's Raspet Flight Center. "By April 2005 we were celebrating opening at Raspet; in June 2006 we broke ground on our first permanent home [the original GTRA building]; in May 2007 we dedicated that facility, and now its October 2008 and we're cutting the ribbon on a large expansion. When you see the size of some of the aircraft we're building you'll see why we need such a building."

Langford thanked the Link, Cadence Bank, MDA and the Lowndes County Industrial Authority, the city, the county, GTRA, JESCO Const. and JBHM Architects, who brought the project in "on time and budget."

BMH-GT paramedics prepare to transfer Jerry Tollison
to an ambulance following a bicycle accident on Wolfe
Road late last Saturday morning. Tollison was riding
south on Wolfe Road when he lost control of the bi-
cycle as he approached the Alamar Road intersection.
His left arm broke near the elbow when he crashed to
the pavement. A motorist was on Alamar at the stop
sign when the accident occurred. He said that as
Tollison approached the intersection a red F-150 came
up behind him (from the north) and forced Tollison off
the road and onto the soft shoulder. When Tollison
went down the pickup continued south and disappeared.

In his remarks, Senator Cochran said, "This is just the kind of capability our military has been asking for in order to provide cost-effective airborne surveillance 24 hours a day to our soldiers on the battlefield, and I look forward to the day full production Orion aircraft roll out of this hangar for delivery to the Department of Defense. I am proud to say that Aurora Flight Sciences is a fine example of the type of industry we want in Mississippi. It's a leader in cuttingedge technology."

Cochran said that Orion is "the next generation of unmanned aircraft, one that can stay aloft for four days at a time and provide cost-effective airborne surveillance 24 hours a day. It will help save lives. This is the kind of industry we want here. Thank you for this important investment. We'll continue to do our part to make it a great success."

"We exist for our customers," Langford said. "We have a diverse and growing customer base. Northrup Grumman is a major customer. They build the Global Hawk, the nation's strategic reconaissance aircraft, the replacement for the U-2. There are 30 now and the Navy just placed a large order. The Orion is being designed and fabricated here to extend the performance from 24 hours to 100 hours, to provide constant support for troops on the ground. And we are working on an even more-radical plane that can stay up five years." He said that Aurora is working on the project with the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency. "They really built the internet," he said. "And the first stealth fighter and theh Global Hawk. What they're working on now you'll see in 10 or 15 years." He said that Aurora's solar plane that is designed to stay aloft for five years "will be built in this building and will take up the full span of this facility."

In introducing Major General Freeman, Langford said, "We're part of the industrial base. Troops are the point of the spear."

Columbus biker Hulon David Clower was critically injured last Saturday
night when he lost control of his Harley-Davidson motorcycle on Hwy 45
North in front of Motel 6. Clower was southbound in traffic when the
accident occurred. A motorist who saw him wreck said that he was weaving
in and out of traffic and then she saw him flying through the air. The
impact flung his boots off and he was left lying on his back in the
inside lane. Another motorist skidded to a stop to keep from running over
him as he lay in the highway. Off-duty BMH-GT Paramedic Richard Clark and
ER Nurse Stacy Hall came upon the accident scene moments later and rushed
to aid Clower, who was bleeding heavily from his mouth. They were soon
joined by Columbus firemen and on-duty BMH-GT personnel. Clower was air-
lifted to NMMC-Tupelo, where he remains at press time. He had reportedly
participated in a fundraiser earlier in the day for another biker who had
been involved in an accident.

Gen. Freeman said, "This type of equipment saves our guys' lives." He said that the Mississippi Army Guard now has 9,900 people serving and that the Air Guard has 2,600. Both are at capacity. "Mississippi people are doing their share in the war on terror," he added.

"This is a first-rate facility, with firstrate Mississippi employees. We look forward to growing this business as we compete and win more business," said Greg Stewart, Aurora's Director of Development.

Congressman Childers said, "Aurora Flight Sciences' expansion represents an important investment in Mississippi's economic development and growth, and I am extremely pleased that this is taking place right here in North Mississippi. Aurora could have built this facility anywhere in the U.S. but they chose Mississippi and the Golden Triangle. Your congressman is proud you're here and wants you to be successful. I'm looking forward to working with Senators Cochran and Wicker in the coming years. Twenty years ago I'd never have believed that we'd be building this in Mississippi. The corporation has always been an important part of our community and their expansion represents an ongoing commitment to our future."

Dr. Langford said, "This expansion is a major commitment on behalf of Aurora to grow and build our capabilities here in Mississippi. We're thrilled to be part of the Golden Triangle aerospace complex and growing prosperity of this region and the people who call it home. We also take great pride in knowing that this state-of-theart technology is a valued part of our nation's defense. What we are doing is ultimately helping our warfighters-the men and women of the United States armed forces who are on the front lines in the fight to protect the United States, our families, and the freedoms we enjoy."

Sen. Wicker, who was unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts, commented, "This expansion represents Aurora's commitment to both the Golden Triangle Region and our men and women in uniform. Unmanned aerial vehicles are a high priority for our military because of the critical role they play in protecting our troops and helping them do their jobs more effectively. The work being done by Aurora helps our military meet this critical need while also creating high-skilled, good-paying jobs for Mississippians."

A Blues Trail marker honoring the late legendary Crawford bluesman Big Joe Williams will be unveiled in Crawford Monday afternoon (Nov. 3) at 4:00 p.m. at Crawford City Hall.

Williams was born in Crawford in 1903 and died in Macon in 1982. He traveled the world but many people in Crawford remember him driving an old blue station wagon and carrying a pistol and a roll of $100 bills.

Williams's only surving sibling, Mary May of Crawford, 91, will be at the unveiling. There were seven siblings. Mary was the youngest daughter but she had two younger brothers.

Asked about Williams's crusty reputation, May's daughter, Fannie Wilson, told the Packet, "He was a good uncle. He could be as kind or as harsh as you made him." She said that her Uncle, whom she refers to as "Big Joe," was the only member of the family with a gift for music. She attended some of his performances.

The family has contributed old photos and clippings to be put on display at the unveiling. [There's a lot of information about Big Joe Williams on the internet. Ed.]

Packet #797 - October 16, 2008

Deputy Blake Prescott chases Pea Pie Neely at Yorkville Apts. Tuesday
afternoon after shots were fired. Neely was the intended target of the
shots, not the shooter, but after he was caught he was charged with
failure to obey a police officer.

Shots erupted at Yorkville Apts. late Tuesday afternoon but the intended target was not hit. Neither were dozens of children playing nearby, but two cars were shot up. Deputies quickly arrested the alleged gunman and then ran down the intended victim when he returned to the scene.

Israel Buckhalter of Brooksville is charged with aggravated assault in the case and his apparent intended target, Christopher "Pea Pie" Neely of Starkville is charged with resisting arrest and giving false information. Neely initially told officers that his name was Carlos Neely.

Israel Buckhalter

The shots were the apparent result of unkind things that Neely had said about Buckhalter to his wife's sister. These statements were apparently passed on to Buckhalter's wife, Lakeshia Anderson, who then passed them on to Buckhalter. Investigator Ryan Rickert said that there is undoubtedly more to the story. Asked why Buckhalter came out shooting, Rickert said, "He really didn't give a legitimate reason."

The incident began around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday when Neely pulled up to Apt. K-3 in a Mazda 626 and went to the door of the apartment. Investigators believe that he knocked on the door and, when no one responded, returned to his car. As he reached the car Buckhalter allegedly opened the door and began firing at him with a .40 cal. semi-automatic pistol. Buckhalter also had a 7.62 mm rifle but apparently did not fire it.

Investigators believe that Buckhalter fired four shots. Two creased the hood of a old Plymouth Blazer sitting in front of the apartment unit and four slugs hit a 1997 Crown Vic parked next to the Blazer (it's likely that the two slugs that creased the Blazer's hood went on to strike the Crown Vic). One of the bullets that hit the Crown Vic passed through the front window and the driver's head-rest and then exited by shattering the back left passenger window.

Four slugs hit this Crown Vic.

Buckhalter reportedly admitted firing the shots and he was taken into custody immediately. About 20 minutes later, while deputies were still gathering evidence at the scene, residents informed them that Neely had just returned in an old Suburban, which was parked around the corner from the K unit. The deputies walked over to the Suburban as Neely got out. As they began to question Neely at the rear of the vehicle he suddenly wheeled and sprinted north between two apartment units.

Deputies Paul Greggs, Blake Prescott and Willie Jones escort Neely
back to Yorkville Apts.

Neely's pants were down low on his buttocks and Deputy Blake Prescott stayed on his heels for about 100 yards, till Neely ran through a drainage ditch and Prescott slipped and went down. Deputy Jason Humbers was right behind Prescott and stayed with Neely, with other deputies strung out behind them. Residents from the apartment complex ran to watch the pursuit. Humbers finally ran Neely to ground off the north end of an apartment unit, about 300 yards from the starting point. He said that Neely was too winded to continue.

Deputies had only wanted to question Neely, but now they charged him with disobeying a police officer and snapped shackles around his ankles.

Investigators determined that Neely had left the scene in the Mazda and had parked it at 2659 Yorkville Road and then returned to the Yorkville Apts. in the Suburban. The Mazda was found under the carport at 2659 Yorkville Road. The Mazda is registered to Shanaya Roberts, who lives at that address.

The Blazer is registered to Marvin Buckhalter of Brooksville but apparently belongs to Israel Buckhalter. the Crown Vic is registered to Henry Vincent of 154 Poplar.

Neely, 24, lives at 207 Louisville St. in Starkville. Buckhalter, 27, lives at 512 Buckhalter Road, Brooksville.

A 20-year-old Millport, Ala. man was killed at the Columbus Speedway early last Saturday morning when he was thrown from his four-wheel-drive pickup while driving on the track after the races were over. Carl Thomas "Tom" McReynolds was pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Greg Merchant. McReynolds's only brother, LCSO Deputy Scott Glasgow, was one of the deputies who responded to the accident.

Merchant said that after the races last Friday night McReynolds and a friend, noted race-car driver David Brazeale of Four Corners, went to McReynolds's house in Vernon and then returned to the speedway, where Brazeale had a motor trailer and where they planned to spend the night. Merchant said that McReynolds asked Brazeale to ride around the track with him in his 1999 Chevy Z-71 4WD pickup. Merchant said that the truck had "lifts" and was probably somewhat top heavy.

McReynolds and Brazeale apparently made several laps before the accident. Brazeale became concerned that they were going too fast and buckled his harness just before McReynolds lost control of the vehicle in Turn 3. Merchant said that it appeared that the pickup "barrell rolled in the middle of the track" and then landed on its wheels and rolled down the banked curve to the infield. McReynolds was ejected from the vehicle when it rolled and was killed instantly from massive chest injuries, though Merchant said that he could not determine whether they were caused by the vehicle or by impact with the track. Brazeale sustained some cuts; he was treated at BMH-GT and released.

A man staying in a motor home at the track saw the Chevy's headlights go out of control and called 911. Merchant said that it appears that alcohol was involved in the accident but that he had not yet received toxicology reports. McReynolds's body was not autopsied.

Funeral services for McReynolds were held last Saturday at Chandler Funeral Home in Vernon, Ala., Rev. Jamie Turner officiating. Interment was in Shiloh Cemetery in Vernon.

Just one week before McReynolds's death 16-year-old Presley Pinkerton of Vernon died in a motor vehicle accident o the way home from a high school football game.

Packet #796 - October 9, 2008

Friends crowd around the gurney bearing Jermaine Lowe after he was hit on the head with a hammer and cut with a knife at the Country Air Apts. on Lehmberg Road last Sunday night. A female acquaintance, Teresa Carr (inset photo) was arrested at the scene in connection with the incident. She reportedly admitted hitting Lowe with a hammer but denied cutting him with a knife. The incident apparently began a little after 9:00 p.m. when Carr's boyfriend saw Lowe talking to her and the two males got into a fight in the parking lot. Carr grabbed a hammer and joined the fray, apparently striking Lowe on the back of the head with the hammer. Lowe also suffered a substantial cut on his right lower back and several smaller cuts on his elbow and lower back. A neighbor, Bennie Wilson, said that he heard the commotion and found Lowe lying across the arm of a sofa in a downstairs apartment (not Carr's) and called 911. Carr is 35 and lives in the apartment complex. Lowe is 21 and lives on Gunter Road (off Jack Wiggins Road). Lowe was drifting in and out of consciousness after the fight. He had a sore spot on his head but not evident injury. He has been released from the hospital.

Packet editor's note: This article was supposed to appear in this week's West Alabama Gazette but was left out because of a layout mistake.

Presley Dawn
Pinkerton

Last Friday night a Lamar County student on her way home from a football game was killed in a one-car accident.

According to the Alabama State Troopers office in Hamilton, the wreck happened on October 4th at 12:53 a.m. on County Road 23 in Lamar County about five miles south of Sulligent. The vehicle was a 2005 Chrysler and the driver was Presley Dawn Pinkerton of Vernon, 16. It was a one-vehicle accident. The vehicle left the road and hit a power pole. The accident is still under investigation by the State Trooper office.

Lamar County Coroner Marshall Guyton said that the accident occured near the intersection of Buck Jackson Road and Military Grove Road. She was traveling north on Buck Jackson. Presley was wearing a seat belt. "I pronounced her dead at the scene. The cause of the death was blunt force trauma," said Guyton.

Presley was a junior at Lamar County High School. On Monday the students were wearing purple ribbons in remembrance of her. The students also placed a big poster in the hallway where the students could leave messages for Presley.

Friends and teachers are heartbroken by the sudden loss. Presley was active in the Lamar County Marching Band she played the clairnet and was the section leader.

Lamar Co. Superintendent of Education Jeff Newman said that after the viewing Sunday night the students had a candle light vigil at the school stadium. "On Monday morning we had counselors and local ministries on hand. At the start of school Monday we had an assembly for 7 thru 12 grade students to inform them of what had happen and what was going on and to let them know if they needed someone to talk to, people were here to help.

"We released school at Vernon at 2 p.m. so that everyone could attend the funeral. Full Gospel Church was packed. There were a lot of students, teachers and administartors. You don't ever get over something like this but it helps to have someone to talk to," said Newman.

Lamar County High School Principal Don Harding said that the students had made a real good adjustment by Tuesday. "I think it is because of the things that happened here yesterday. We had nurses, seven local ministers and counselors from all the county schools including Fayette Elementary counselor Ms. White. Everything was really organized and everyone really pitched in and made it happen," said Harding. "We accomplished a lot - students are back on track today as best I can tell. Everything is really running good considering the loss of Presley. One of the most positive things that we had happen to me was after the assembly Monday morning, we let just the band meet and there was such a bonding between the members. I commend the students on how they embraced each other. It was just tremendous. The students really supported each other," said Harding on Tuesday.

Services were held Monday, October 6 at 4 p.m. at Full Gospel Worship Center in Vernon with James Godsey officiating. Burial followed at Fellowship Baptist Cemetery with Chandler Funeral Home directing. She is survived by her parents Derek and Alicia Pinkerton, brother, Matthew Pinkerton and grandparents Larry and Linda Pinkerton, all of Vernon, and Kitty and Willard Pace of Sulligent. She is preceded in death by her grandfather Curtis Reeves.

Joe Higgins

The board of supervisors approved a memorandum of understanding with Stark Aerospace Monday and Link Director Joe Higgins said that Stark would begin construction on its new facility in the Golden Triangle Industrial Park "as early as this afternoon or starting tomorrow." Higgins said that the new plant will employ at least 100 people at a minimum salary of $48,600.

Stark Aerospace, a division of Israeli Aircraft, established a facility to manufacture unmanned reconaissance aircraft at MSU's Raspet Flight Center two years ago and also has a facility on Gardner Blvd. in Columbus where 23 people manufacture cameras, optics and lasers. Both operations will be consolidated in the new plant at the intersection of Airport Road & Charleigh Ford Drive when it is finished. The project had been delayed for months over wetlands issues.

Higgins presented the MOU to the board for approval, saying that Stark plans to invest at least $30 million. The county is putting up 17 acres valued at $20,000 per acre as its match for $1.9 million of Katrina CDBG funds. The county is also applying for a $167,000 DIP (infrastructure) grant and a $150,000 ARC grant and is working with TVA to get a $150,000 grant. Higgins said that the $1.9 CDBG grant requires that the company create and maintain 100 jobs for at least five years. If the company doesn't do that it must pay back the county's investment of $340,000 ($20,000 per acre for 17 acres).

Higgins said that the MOU also includes a ten-year ad valorem tax exemption from the county (school taxes are not exempt). Higgins said that the Stark MOU contains a heretofore unused provision: that Stark agrese to "give preference in employment, where practical, to residents of Lowndes County."

Higgins said, "You're agreeing to be the vehicle for grants and to provide an exemption. The 17 acres is the grant match." Higgins said that if state officials don't approve the acreage match in lieu of cash, "We will recommend that you not provide the match.. If that happens the company and us will decide what Plan B is. But hopefully the state will let us us the acreage as our match."

Harry Sanders asked if Stark had already signed construction contracts. Higgins said it had. He went on, "They're on a very ambitious time frame. They've already signed a contract with West Bros. Construction could commence as early as this afternoon or starting tomorrow. It'll give us a project on the north side of Charleigh Ford Drive-the spec building-and on the south side- Stark."

Higgins said Stark President/CEO David Eudy oversaw the construction of the Eurocopter Phase I and Phase II facilities and will now be in charge of the Stark construction. Higgins said that the facilities belonging to Eurocopter, Aurora Flight Sciences and Stark near GTRA form "a pretty substantial aerospace cluster." He said that two other aerospace companies are "still looking" at nearby sites and he added, "If I'd told you five years ago that there'd be 1,000 aerospace jobs in Lowndes County you'd have thought that I was talking about Columbus Air Force Base." He said that the Stark project means "another 100 high-paying jobs coming to Lowndes County."

Fellow student pilots, Columbus firemen and BMH-GT paramedics transfer
Hernandez from the boat to a gurney at Columbus Marina.

A CAFB student pilot was seriously injured last Saturday afternoon when he fell under a ski boat and was cut by the propeller. Second Lieutenant David Hernandez lost much blood and survived the accident through the efforts of his boating companions and emergency personnel. The accident occurred around 2:15 p.m. on Columbus Lake. Hernandez, 22, who recently began pilot training after graduating from the Air Force Academy, was boating with some other student pilots. He was riding on the bow of the boat when the boat's operator slowed and made a quick turn. When the boat decelerated Hernandez fell foward into the water and was then hit by the propeller as the boat turned.

On Monday Hernandez was flown to an Air Force
hospital in San Antonio, Tex. (Air Force photo)

Hernandez's companions pulled him from the water and raced back to the Columbus Marina. Col. Jeff Dunn said that the other student pilots used first-aid training they had received at CAFB to stanch the flow of blood from Hernandez's deep wounds. The cuts were to the lower part of his back and side.

On Monday Hernandez was transferred from BMH-GT to Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio, Tex., aboard an Air Force medical jet. His condition is serious but stable. He is assigned to the 14th Operations Support Squadron.

Alcohol was not involved in the accident.

Rosalie Scott and Susie Summerville, the mother and sister of robbery
victim Tony Scott, arrive at Scotty's Package Store minutes after Tony
Scott was transported to BMH-GT with a bullet wound to the right leg Monday
night. The women ran past the crime tape and Cpl. Glynn Culpepper (right)
told them to step back.

The owner of a Southside liquor store was shot in a leg in a hold-up attempt Monday evening. Tony "Scotty" Scott was shot through his right leg just above the knee. He was treated and released at BMH-GT.

Scotty's Package Store is located just south of the railroad tracks on 6th St. South. Robert Smith developed the property before becoming mayor. Scott is a brother of Susie Summerville, the mayor's longtime companion and business partner (she now owns the mayor's old bonding company, which has been renamed Summerville Bonding Co.).

The robbery was reported at 9:42 p.m. The robber (or robbers) had already fled when police arrived. Scott was sitting in a chair, which paramedics wheeled to the door before placing him on a gurney.

Scott reportedly told police that two shots were fired, and police found two empty cartridge casings just outside the door to the store. The slug that hit Scott apparently passed through the front of a counter first. Asecond slug apparently caromed off the countertop.

Scott told investigators that a young black male entered the store with a handgun and a handkerchief over his face. Scott said that the suspect shot him and then ran south on 6th St. A witness outside the store reported seeing two suspects fleeing and a property owner nearby reported three strangers running across her property shortly after the robbery.

Lt. Jeff Guyton, head of CID, said that a semi-automatic pistol was used in the robbery but he declined to give the caliber (at least one slug was apparently recovered). He said there was no indication that the robber( s) proceeded past the door.

Guyton said that the police hope that anyone with any information about the incident will call the Police Dept. at 244-3559 or Golden Triangle Crimestoppers at 1-800- 530-7151.

Guyton said there is no indication that the robbery is connected with the armed robbery of Fuqua's Grocery Store earlier the same day, but he said that police are not ruling out a connection. Police are searching for a person of interest in connection with that robbery.

Packet #794 - September 25, 2008

Cpl. Terry Dentry (back to camera) speaks to Investigator Louis Alexander
after Alexander arrived at the scene of a shooting on 23rd St. North late
last Sunday afternoon. Ptl. James Grant is on the right. Alexander's 16-
year-old son, Jarvis, was one of two teens charged with aggravated assault
with a deadly weapon in connection with the shooting, which left the other
male with a slight wound.

Cornelius "Neal" Cunningham, who was pictured in the last Packet being wheeled to an ambulance after being shot in the head on 14th Ave. North last Wednesday night, died at BMH-GT a little before midnight the same night. The death was not reported in the last Packet because official confirmation had not been given of his death.

Wilder

The next day- last Thursday- police arrested a suspect in the case. Leemajor Wilder Jr., 18, is charged with capital murder.

Two more shooting incidents occured in Columbus in the wake of the Cunningham murder. Last Thursday, less than 24 hours after Cunningham was shot, a friend of Cunningham's allegedly tried to kill a friend of Wilder's. Then last Sunday afternoon the same friend of Cunningham's was involved in a shootout with a 16-yearold male and was slightly wounded in the side.

Cunningham was shot around 9:35 p.m. last Wednesday night (Sept. 17) as he sat in a lawn recliner in the parking lot of a small apartment complex at 2114 14th Ave. North. Cunningham was 29 and lived at 4180 Hwy 373, Lot 304. He had served time in prison for sale of cocaine but had been out of prison for some time (two weeks prior to his murder he was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana at a routine traffic stop on 4th St. South).

Cunningham was shot once above his left eye; the bullet exited via the back right side of his head. Deputies assisted police officers at the scene and some witnesses or people who had been nearby when the shot was fired were interviewed. The murder occured directly across 14th Ave. from Family Market, a bustling neighborhood grocery store (the distance from the store to the place where Cunningham was shot is about 30 yards).

Officers William Thrasher & Lance Luckey talk to potential witnesses at the
scene of the alleged shootout between Quinton Brewer & Jarvis Alexander.

Coroner Greg Merchant was out of town at the time of the shooting but Deputy Coroner Tim Hamilton responded and told the Packet this week that Cunningham died shortly before midnight, around two hours after he was shot, of a single gunshot wound to the head.

Cunningham had a wide circle of friends and acquaintances and friends of his told the Packet that although he was known to deal drugs he was not violent and kept a low profile.

Through questioning witnesses, police investigators quickly developed a suspect: Leemajor Wilder Jr.pm, Leemajor Wilder Jr., 18, of 1508 15th Ave North.

Last Thursday afternoon around 2:15 p.m. police located Wilder at 2414 College St. and arrested him. Investigators had to call for leg irons to restrain Wilder when he reportedly tried to kick windows out of a transport car. Wilder was charged with capital murder.

About 30 minutes after police arrested Wilder, police received a call of shots fired on Mill St. Titus Little had apparently been the intended victim and he had run behind the old Johnston-Tombigbee plant just to the east of Mill St. Police found him there.

Little told police that he had been at his house at 210 Mill St. when D'Andre Wright knocked on his door. He said that when he opened the door to invite Wright inside some unknown person started shooting at Wright and that Wright ran off. (But when Little was questioned later that night he told police that Brewer shot at him.) Shell casings were found in the street in front of Little's house.

Police concluded that the shooter had been Quinton Brewer and that Brewer had been shooting at Titus Little. Brewer, 19, lives at 1708 23rd St. North. He and Cunningham had reportedly been good friends.

Little is reportedly a good friend of Wilder's and, according to Packet sources, was with Wilder when Cunningham was shot. Lt. Jeff Guyton, head of the CPD's Criminal Investigation Division, said that Little was a person of interest in the Cunningham case and that he had been interviewed by police.

Brewer was arrested at his home on 23rd St. North around 7:00 p.m. last Thursday night (hours after the shots were fired on Mill St.). He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and went before Judge Curtis Austin the next day for his initial appearance. Austin set his bond at $10,000 and Brewer was bonded out by Dawson Johnson of Summerville Bail Bonding. Johnson is married to one of Brewer's aunts. (Summerville Bonding Co. was until recently Smith Bail Bonding. Robert Smith established Smith Bail Bonding and operated it until he was elected to the city council and was forced to divest himself of the business because of conflict-of-interest laws. Smith turned the business over to his longtime companion, Susie Summerville. Dawson Johnson, a longtime friend of Smith's, worked for Smith Bail Bonding and now apparently works for Summerville Bonding Co.)

Wilder was charged with capital murder and Judge Austin set his bond at $1 million. Lt. Guyton said that robbery was committed in connection with the murder but he declined to say what was taken.

Wilder was transported to Jackson after his arrest. Jackson police had been looking for him in connection with a shooting incident that occurred there several months ago. Because circuit court is in session there, Jackson authorities wanted to bring him back to have his bond revoked.

Wilder's parents are from Columbus but he reportedly spent years in Jackson and only returned to Columbus recently.

Brewer

The next shooting incident occurred around 5:00 p.m. last Sunday, Sept. 21, at 1712 23rd St. North-two doors north of the home that Quinton Brewer shares with his grandmother and mother. Brewer's grandmother was in her front yard when two young males ran across the yard and jumped a fence going north. A short time later at least four shots were fired at 1712 23rd St. North. Quinton Brewer was rushed to BMH-GT in a private vehicle with a wound to the side of his torso, but he was able to walk into the hospital and the wound was found to be not serious.

Police officers rushed to the scene of the shooting and also the the hospital. After questioning people for about an hour they determined that Brewer had exchanged gunfire with a 16-year-old neighbor, Jarvis Alexander, the son of veteran CPD Investigator Louis Alexander. Brewer was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a warrant was issued for Alexander for the same charge. Alexander turned himself in at the police station that evening.

Alexander

Brewer and Alexander both went before Judge Austin the next day (Monday) for their initial appearances. Even though Brewer had been out on bond for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon when the Sunday shooting occured, Austin set his bond at $10,000 for the second assault charge. Summerville Bonding Co. paid the bond and Brewer was released.

Judge Austin set Jarvis Alexander's bond a $2,000 and he was also bonded out by Summerville Bonding Co. (Alexander was already known to police for small-time crimes.) Alexander lives at 2203 Hughes Lane.

The guns used in the various shootings have not been found by police.

Lt. Guyton told the Packet that police are still investigating the connections and motives for the shootings. He said that the top initial priority was to get the shooters off the street [Which the police did, only to have Judge Austin let them out on low bonds. See "A View From the Bridge." Ed.]. Guyton said that police have talked to anyone they believe has knowledge of the cases or who might be involved in some way, but he said there are undoubtedly other people that the police are not aware of who might have important information. He urges people with information to call the Criminal Invetigation Division at 244-3552 and added that the calls will be treated confidentially.

The Packet received a credible report that Cunningham and Little had had a dispute and that two weeks ago Little and Wilder chased Cunningham in the neighborhood where he was later shot.

The Packet also received a report that Little was with Wilder when Cunningham was shot. Lt. Guyton would merely say that Little was one of several "persons of interest we wanted to talk to."

The Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry reported Monday that there was little contamination to be found in neighborhoods surrounding the former Kerr-McGee wood treatment plant on Fourteenth Avenue. The ATSDR announced their findings at two public meetings Monday at the Trotter Convention Center.

The ATSDR looked at contamination through air, soil, water, sediment and fish. In each case, they found that toxic chemicals were in not present in quantities sufficient to cause serious health effects.

Members of the public who were present disagreed, however, with Reverend Steve Jamison accusing the ATSDR of perpetrating a cover-up.

The results of the first study, which focused on contamination of the air surrounding the former plant site, were delivered by atmospheric scientist Greg Zarus.

"Health effects associated with creosote depend on how much of the substance you're exposed to and how it gets into your body," Zarus said. "Some chemical absorb really well through your skin and really have an effect, some come through air and some through accidental ingestion.

"We don't know much about the air," Zarus said. "We have these great toxicological profiles about the chemicals, but we have little data about air from the past. Since 1980 we've been evaluating sites, and we have not done a good job on air. Here we evaluated air that was collected on site by the facility, and because it was closed we also ran out to other facilities that were about the same size and collected air from those communities as well as urine samples."

While contact was the more dangerous exposure, there were exposures through the air, Zarus said.

"From the levels that were present, we expect that there was some irritation," Zarus said. "Primarily this was because of the chemical naphthalene. You're going to hear a lot about PAHs tonight-those are Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. The most likely exposure to PAHs is through contact. Air exposure to these chemicals does not cause long-term heath effects at the levels that we suspect and the levels that we measured at this site and others sites."

Zarus then discussed pentachlorophenol, which was heavily used as a pesticide during the 1980s, and was used at Kerr- McGee's Columbus plant.

"Penta was used as a pesticide in the 1980s, and all of us had a lot of pesticide exposure back then through our food," Zarus explained. "We didn't know about it, but all of us had it in our food. Some of you had it more because there was some in the air and so you got a little larger dose."

When looking at air data, Zarus used data collected at several plant sites that were similar in size to the Columbus operation, including plants in Oregon, New Mexico, Georgia, and another site in Mississippi. The study also looked at people who lived in log homes made of treated wood and at people who worked as woodworkers.

"We also looked at some poisonings," Zarus said. "These were short-term events where people ingested very high levels. In those cases, it was very harmful immediately but they recovered. Our largest concern in this study was actually with woodworkers who had repeated contact."

People near operational facilities had very low levels of air exposure, he said.

"There were times when the facility was cooking and there was a very strong smell in the air, and we collected urine samples from people downwind within three days," he said. "We found low levels. We expect that within a week it was removed from their system. The results when we tested woodworkers were up to 1,000 times higher than in the people who lived next door to the plant."

Teresa Foster reported on the contamination through soil, surface water and sediment.

"The soil is considered to be anything that is not under water," she explained. "The water we're talking about here is not the ground water, it's the surface water in the drainage ditches. The sediment is considered to be what's under the water in the ditch. There is a lot of concern in this community about those ditches, and last time we were here you told us not to come back until we had looked at those drainage ditches."

Foster admitted that the ATSDR does not collect much of the data that it uses in its studies.

"In this case, we did collect some of our data, but usually we rely on data received from other parties," Foster said. She went on to say that data for this study came from the Kerr- McGee Corporation itself, from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Columbus Light and Water Department, private third parties and Lundy and Davis, a law firm that was involved with the Colom Law Firm's litigation against Kerr- McGee several years ago.

"We did not discriminate, we looked at everyone's data," she said.

Foster said her study used data from 26 soil samples collected in 2001; 124 sediment samples collected between 1996 and 2002; and five surface water samples collected in 2001. The study did not take groundwater into account, she said, because people were unlikely to come into contact with it.

"We know that the groundwater is contaminated," she said. "It has been shown to contain creosote in possibly two separate plumes. However, when you talk about groundwater you have to think about how people come into contact with it. It's below the surface, and if you're not pumping it up from a well or some other source then you're not coming into contact with it. Most people here are on the city water supply, so you're not pumping up that creosote-contaminated groundwater."

There were chemicals detected in soil and surface water, she said.

"Some of these chemicals are directly related to creosote," she stated. "We found PAHs, which are signature chemicals in creosote. You find a lot of PAHs in creosote, and they may cause some health concerns. We also found dioxins, pentachlorophenol and arsenic."

Children could come into contact with these chemicals by playing in the ditches and through the soil in their backyards, Foster explained, while adults were exposed through yardwork, gardening and other outdoor activities. The primary exposure routes were skin contact and ingestion.

"By accidental ingestion we don't mean that somebody made a mud pie and then ate the mud pie," she said. "We all have tiny particles of soil that adhere to our skin. When we touch something and put it into our mouth, we transfer small amounts of dirt into our mouths. We all do it. Even the most clean person on the planet will ingest soil."

The amounts of chemicals in the soil were too low to cause harmful health effects, she said.

"Surface water and surface soil were not a problem," she said. "However, when we came to the sediment in the ditches, we did find that there could potentially be problems for children who play in those ditches. The levels of PAHs and dioxins were high enough to potentially cause health effects in children. It's mostly children because their body weight is much lower than that of an adult. These kids who played in these ditches are at increased risk of developmental or reproductive effects, dermatological effects like skin rashes, and possibly developing cancer later in life. We could see some of these effects in adults, as well, but we don't expect the adults to be playing in the ditches and coming into contact with as much of the chemical."

Rev. Steve Jamison asks a question.

Following Foster's presentation, Jamison, who is pastor of Maranatha Faith Center and who is heavily involved in litigation against Kerr-McGee, stood up and voiced concerns about the study and the objectivity of the agencies involved.

"We do not trust the EPA or the DEQ," Jamison said. "These agencies do not have our best interests at heart. They have known our situation for a long time, and nothing was ever done. They only made Kerr- McGee clean up the ditches at the site, and nothing else except for a small area in Propst Park.

"You talked about subsurface water not being a problem," Jamison continued. "I believe that there are outlying areas just outside of the city where people still have wells. Since Kerr-McGee was pumping 30,000 gallons a week out of the site...that debris and underground plumes are pooling up and leaking into something else. How do we know which direction it is going in, and whether these wells are being affected?"

"I think that is probably a question for EPA, but I can give you my understanding of it," Foster responded. "There is a groundwater monitoring plan in place. Every so often Kerr-McGee must test their wells in the area and report that information back to regulatory agencies. They are supposed to encapsulate that plume and make sure that plume is not getting beyond-"

"So we have to trust Kerr-McGee," Jamison said.

"There is some oversight," Foster said. "EPA does that, because we are not a regulatory agency-"

"So there is no oversight," Jamison interrupted. "There's supposed to be, but there isn't. We find that what happens changes depending on who is in the White House, but that's a different issue. What is being done as far as recontamination of that site? I had my property retested last month and we had three hits on our property. We believe that the plant is constantly emitting contaminants whenever it rains. We feel this is an ongoing problem."

"We are not a regulatory agency, so those types of answers and those types of regulatory things are handled by different agencies, like DEQ and EPA," Foster said. "We are an advisory agency, and we rely on these regulatory agencies to do this."

Ken Orloff reported on both fish in Luxapalila Creek and drinking water.

"As (Foster) pointed out, dioxins were one chemical found in the drainage ditches," Orloff said. "If those dioxins were washed into the Luxapalila Creek, the fish would become contaminated and the people who ate those fish would become exposed."

On June 24, MDEQ collected fish for the study at locations specified by ATSDR.

"One of the locations was near the town of Steens, which is about five or five and half miles north-northeast of the Kerr-McGee site," Orloff said. "It is well beyond the range where we would expect to see any contamination of the plant. The second sampling location of fish was from a section of creek east of the plant that might receive surface runoff from the plant. This is the area near Propst Park. It is important to note that these two populations of fish are far apart and are separate and independent. We collected channel catfish and spotted bass, as these are the two species of fish that were most frequently consumed."

Fish tested had very low concentrations of harmful chemicals, Orloff said.

"In fish from both locations, concentrations of dioxins measured from .005 to .150 parts per trillion," he said. "Those are quite low concentrations. By comparison, the state DEQ standard is five parts per trillion. We are well below the state standard. We also looked at the FDA's market survey. The FDA buys fish at locations across the country and test them, and they range from .29 to 3.26 parts per trillion. The fish you get from the creek are well below what most people get from the store across the country.

"There is no evidence of impact," he said. "The concentrations we detected do not pose a hazard for people who regularly eat the fish."

Orloff also reported on the investigation into drinking water. "We had complaints from people who live around the facility that the water didn't taste good, it didn't smell good, or it was cloudy," he said. "We tested tap water samples from people who live around the plant. We collected samples from 16 homes, and we focused on people who lived close to the plant or close to the drainage ditches. We also collected a few samples that were more than a mile away from the plant, which were homes that we did not expect to see any contamination, and we collected samples from the city's water treatment plants."

The ATSDR tested for PAHs, pentachlorophenol, total petroleum hydrocarbons and dioxins.

"We also tested for other parameters that could affect the quality of the water," he said. These parameters included ph, various metals and residual chlorine.

"We did not detect any site-related chemicals in any of the tap water samples from the homes around the plant," he said. "Tap water samples were in compliance with all state and federal regulations."

Jamison again stood and spoke, claiming that he had test results that differed from the ATSDR's.

"I took samples from two houses and had them tested, and we found creosote constituents in the water from those two houses," Jamison stated. "I don't know why you guys didn't find it. I guess my question is, with all these small doses...these small doses in the ditch, the small doses in the water, if we eat and drink and smell all these small doses for 25 or 30 years, doesn't it eventually equal a big dose?

"If you were here on a real mission to help save this community's health, it is time to stop all this beating around the bush and all these questions that have not been answered," he continued. "We know how this process works. You write your reports and then somebody up higher than you tells you that it's too strong and you have to take things out. We have government agencies here who are supposed to protect us, and they cleaned up around Kerr-McGee and nothing else. We don't believe that the federal government or any of these agencies have any interest in telling us the truth or being fair with us or helping us. This meeting has been basically a bust."

Packet #793 - September 18, 2008

Around 9:35 p.m. last night a resident at the small apartment complex at 2112 14th Ave. North (across from Family Market) called 911 to report that a man had just been shot in his front yard. Police and LCSO deputies were on the scene within minutes and found the victim lying on his back in a outdoor recliner and bleeding heavily from head wounds. The victim was identified as Cornelius "Neal" Cunningham. He was transported to BMH-GT in critical condition.

Gill Dishongh (center) leaves court last Friday with his attorneys, Tony Farese and
Rod Ray, after pleading guilty to one count of fondling.

Prominent Columbus businessman Basil Gill Dishongh III pled guilty last Friday in circuit court in Noxubee County to one count of fondling a child and was sentenced to two years in prison and five years of post-release supervision by Judge Jim Kitchens.

Dishongh, known as Gill, was indicted on two counts of fondling a ten-year-old boy-the son of family friends-in Lowndes County and on one count of fondling the same victim in Noxubee County, all in late 2006. Dishongh pled guilty to one of the Lowndes County charges and the other two charges were retired to the files. Each charge carried a potential prison sentence of two to 15 years. (By pleading guilty to the Lowndes County charge he avoided having to turn himself in in Noxubee County or serve time in the Noxubee County Jail.)

The guilty plea stunned some of Dishongh's closest friends. Several gathered with family members at the MDOC offices Monday morning to bid him goodbye when he turned himself in to begin serving his sentence.

Dishongh and relatives built Prairie Pointe Chevron (on Hwy 45 South) and Creekstone Chevron (on Hwy 45 North) and created Sandfield One-Stop (at Main St. & MLK Blvd) by renovating an old convenience store/service station. Last week Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings were entered in federal bankruptcy court for two Dishongh-controlled corporations, Tarra LLC and Greenhead LLC, which are umbrella corporations for the three stores. Gill Dishongh is listed as manager/member on both filings.

Dishongh served a five-year term on the Lowndes County Port Authority but when his term expired three years ago Supervisors Leroy Brooks, Jim Terry and Mike Smith appointed Art Neal to the seat. Dishongh openly considered running for Mayor of Columbus three years ago.

Dishongh, 44, was indicted on the fondling charges in the spring of 2007. The Lowndes County indictments state that he touched the victim to indulge "his depraved, licentious sexual desires." He entered notguilty pleas to all three indictments but his lawyers, Tony Farese of Ashland and Rod Ray of Columbus, then scheduled the hearing last Friday to change his plea to guilty on one count. The victim's parents had informed the court prior to the hearing that they were not asking for Dishongh to spend time in prison. Dishongh and his attorneys had gone to Macon hoping that Dishongh would not get prison time, but Judge Kitchens advised them before the hearing began that he would sentence him to prison.

Dishongh entered th guilty plea flanked by his attorneys. The prosecution was handled by Asst. D.A. Lindsey Clemons. Dishongh's father and wife and good friend Mike Stone were in the courtroom when he entered his plea. The victim's parents sat on the front row and the victim himself was reportedly in another room in the courthouse.

Dishongh entered the courtroom with his attorneys a little after 11:00 a.m. Only a few people were present, including a reporter and a cameraman from WCBI-TV [There was speculation that the victim's parents informed the TV people about the hearing. I learned about it from Macon Beacon editor Scott Boyd, who was at the Noxubee County Courthouse to monitor other cases. Ed.].

Judge Kitchens addressed Dishongh as Dishongh stood before the bench, "When you plead guilty you gaive up your rights to a trial by jury and calling witnesses. When you plead guilty you have to be a witness against yourself and admit you committed a crime. You relieve your lawyers of the responsibility of taking the case to trial."

Kitchens went on, "I could give you two to 15 years and a $10,000 fine on each count if you're convicted by a jury, but you'd have the right to appeal the verdict and the sentence. But there is no appeal of this guilty verdict. Have you discussed the defenses you might have with your attorneys?" Dishongh said he had. Kitchens continued, "Why are you pleading guilty to this charge?"

Dishongh replied, "Judge, I'm guilty and I humbly ask you to look upon me as leniently as possible."

Kitchens confirmed that no offers had been made by the prosecutors.

Asst. D. A. Lindsey Clemons then summarized the case, saying that the victim was "a close family friend" and that Dishongh had taken the boy hunting and had "offered to take him under his wing" but "over the course of several months" Dishongh used pornography and a paddle to seduce and coerce the ten-year-old victim into sexual contact.

Kitchens asked, "Mr. Dishongh, is that what happened?"

"Yessir," said Dishongh softly. Kitchens asked him how he pleaded and he replied, "Guilty, sir."

Kitchens said, "I find your plea freely and knowingly given and I accept it." He asked whether the victim and his parents had any requests of the court.

Clemons responded, "The victim is here [in the courthouse] and his parents. They request that the defendant be placed on probation, but they wanted him to stand up in court before God and everyone and admit that he did it, and that he be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life." The parents declined to take the stand.

Kitchens said, "I know this is an open plea. I told y'all before, the Court doesn't think that straight probation is an appropriate sentence, because of the age difference. It's not something I am comfortable with."

"We conveyed that information to the defendant [just prior to the hearing]," said Farese.

Kitchens said, "So you were under no misconception that I was going to come out and sentence you to probation." He said that when imposing a sentence "there are a couple of things that I always consider. The Court has to make sure that the defendant's rights are protected" and also protect the victim. "You've admitted as a aman that you've done wrong-that's hard to do."

"Yessir," said Dishongh.

Kitchens said that he would take the Brooks' probation-only request under consideration. "But I have to look at cases coming down the road... It's the judgment of the Court that you be sentenced to two years in the Dept. of Corrections-and you'll serve every day-and five years' post-release supervision, and a fine of $500, and costs [I think the judge said the $500 fine was a mistake and changed it to $5,000 a few minutes later. Ed.]. When you get out of prison you'll have to register as a sex offender and report every 90 days to provide blood samples. Failure to register is very serious. You'll report to the Lowndes County Sheriff Monday morning. When you get out of prison you are to use no illegal drugs or alcohol and you are not to hang out with those who do. You'll find a job and support your family and stay in Mississippi."

Clemons said that Dishongh should be ordered to stay away from the victim and his family. Kitchens told him there was to be no contact-no phone calls, no letters, and that Dishongh "is to avoid the school he attends. He added, "You'll not be involved in any youth activities, no Sunday school, no little league, nothing with kids under 18."

Purchase a copy of Packet #793 for more on this and other stories!

Senior elementary education block students at Mississippi University for Women recently took on the role of historical American figures as part of a social studies methods assignment. Each student dressed the part of an influential person from history and provided a description of that figure's life from the point of view of that personage. These lifelike presentations are one of many non-traditional methods of instruction that senior elementary education students are learning this semester. Dr. Jeanne Holland, assistant professor of education, believes that pre-service teachers must be involved in activities in which they would expect their own students to do. She said that by actively participating in this type of activity, students are able to view history unfolding before their eyes. Block students will be implementing this and other "innovative strategies" this semester when they partner with a teacher in one of the surrounding school districts to teach for five consecutive weeks.

The block students who participated in the project were, bottom: Allison Floyd, Sharon Wilson, Rebecca Hooks, Wendy Powers, Victoria Richardson, Belinda Cantrell, Leah Summerford and Joseph Fowler. Second row: Brittany Horn, Michal Ann Brown, Morgan Baucom, Brittany Prevost, Elizabeth Tillman, Princess Harris, Kristian Swearingen, Elisabeth Oliver, Cassie White, Whitney Petrey, Hollie Stewart and Dr. Jeanne Holland. Third row: Elizabeth Franks, Heather Huffman, Lauren Hayes, Angela Brown, La'Sheena Johnson, Kristie McCullock, Brittany Paschal, Amanda Bibb and Loinstein Baker. Last row: Serina Bowlin, Valeria Bush-Brown, Doncelli Cork, Shemeka Williams, Randi Harrell, Dan Collins, Kala Price and Kelli O'Neil

Greg Merchant (left) and Deputy Steve Hatcher look for evidence near the wreckage of Charles Ford's 1998
Chevy pickup truck last Sunday morning on Hardy-Billups Road. Ford's body was found about 30 feet from the
vehicle. Ford had been dead for several hours when a passing motorist saw the wreckage and called 911 around
daybreak. Ford, 23, was flung from the pickup when it left Hardy-Billups Road in a curve about a mile south of
Lindsey Ferry Road. The vehicle travelled about 50 yards after leaving the road, flipping as it went. Ford was
flung forward-his body was found about 30 feet beyond the pickup. Ford was a Millport, Ala. native who had
recently moved to Brooksville with his family. He'd had two DUI convictions and had served weekends in LCADC
last year. He had also been cited for other driving violations. Beer containers were found near the wrecked
truck. His driver's license was suspended for DUI.

The Caledonia Board of Aldermen approved the FY 2008-2009 budget and set the town's millage rate at a special meeting September 16.

The town's millage dropped from 9 to 6.75 due to a large increase in assessed valuation.

The budget includes $335,900 in projected revenues and $314,500 in projected expenditures.

On the revenue side, the town anticipates $149,500 in state funds. The lion's share of that is accounted for by $125,000 in sales tax allocation. The remainder of the town's revenue comes from TVA tax ($10,600); fire protection allocation ($5,000); homestead exemption reimbursement ($3,000); municipal aid gasoline tax ($2,500); miscellaneous state funds ($2,500); and $900 in ABC revenue.

The town is projecting $137,300 in revenue from the county, with the largest amount ($105,300) coming from ad valorem and privilege taxes. The town will receive $20,000 from the Columbus- Lowndes Recreation Authority; $7,000 from the community center; and $5,000 from the park.

Additionally, the town is receiving $20,000 from Caledonia Partners; $12,000 from electricity; $4,000 from Caledonia Natural Gas; $2,000 from TV cable; $3,000 from community center usage charge; $3,100 in interest; and $5,000 in miscellaneous income. The town's projected expenditures are:

Advertising: $1,500
Audit: $3,000
Buildings and grounds: $15,000
Christmas parade: $3,000
Caledonia Day: $5,000
Dues and subscriptions: $2,000
Elections: $1,500
Fire department: $5,000
Insurance and bonds: $15,000
Miscellaneous (supplies, postage, etc): $6,000
Parks and recreation: $95,000; includes $5,000 for utility building foundation and $80,000 for a splash pad
Payroll and expenses: $110,000
Professional fees: $8,000
Streets and sidewalks: $12,000
Travel: $14,000
Unity Cemetery: $500
Utilities: $18,000

Alderman Roy Lee Lindsey questioned the splash pad expenditure. "I don't know about this," Lindsey said. "That's $80,000 for a splash pad..."

"If you'll remember, $20,000 of that is coming from CLRA," said Mayor Bill Lawrence. "That's going to be only $60,000 of the town's money. That would be one tremendous addition to the park down there and to the town."

The wreckage of Charles Ford's pickup was spotted in a field off
Hardy-Billups Road as dawn broke last Sunday morning. Deputy
Larry Swearingen was east of Columbus when the accident was
reported and raced west through Columbus on Main Street toward
the scene of the accident with his lights and siren activated.
As he entered the Main St. & 7th St. intersection CFD Fireman
Darren Allbritton was entering the intersection from the north
on 7th St. Swearingen's patrol car hit the back left fender of
Allbritton's CFD car. Swearingen's car came to a stop against the
end of the west median strip and Allbritton's car continued across
the intersection before coming to a stop. (Swearingen's car would
have been screened somewhat from Allbritton's view by the hill,
the retaining wall, the church and the church sign.) Neither man
was injured. Swearingen's car is new. It's the same one in which
he pursued and caught a bank robber several weeks ago.

"I'm sure that it would be something that would be real enjoyable, but..." Lindsey said.

"It would bring a lot of people into town," said Alderwoman Brenda Willis.

"Is the $60,000 all you're going to have to pay?" Lindsey asked. "You've got electric bills, you've got chemicals." Lawrence explained that a splash pad would quickly pay for itself.

"Fayette, Alabama, has a splash pad and it's an income generator," Lawrence said. "The way they operate it, it's open to the general public until 5 p.m. and then they close it and rent it for private parties and that sort of thing. As far as maintenance goes, I have talked to (Water Superintendent Benny Coleman) and he has said they'd be glad to take care of any water samples that we need."

"Water won't be wasted because the water does not come on until a sensor is rubbed by a child," Willis said. "They have to do it every five minutes, or something like that."

Lindsey recommended using the money to buy a new car for the marshal's department.

"When I saw that $80,000 I got to thinking," Lindsey said. "I see the marshals riding around in that old car, and $80,000 will go a long way for them."

"Why don't we just plan on getting another one?" Lawrence asked.

"If we've got the money, let's get one," Lindsey said. "I think we need two good cars instead of just one good one. If you think this splash park will pay for itself, let's get one."

Mike Savage, who was in the audience, expressed some concerns the Park and Recreation Advisory Committee had about a splash park.

"I know this is not going to be a popular thing to say, but you're talking about spending ten times what our usual yearly budget is," Savage said. "The park doesn't have a vote in this, but we're concerned that there's other things that could be done with $80,000."

"We spend $15,000 or $20,000 a year on the park on ball fields," Lawrence said. "Over and over and over and over. It seems like most of the people (on the advisory committee) aren't interested in anything other than ball."

"We're interested in a lot, but ball brings people in," Savage said.

"Well, that's what we're telling you," Lawrence said. "This will bring lots of people in."

"You guys do a lot for a lot of people, but everyone doesn't play ball," Willis said.

Lawrence encouraged the board to start thinking of bigger, larger projects for the town.

"In the three years that I've been here there has been more big changes in revenue than have been in the last 25 years," Lawrence said. "Ya'll are used to coming in here and putting together a budget and then chopping things off. It's not like that anymore. Caledonia's growing. You need to think bigger than what you've been thinking." The board unanimously approved the budget.

The board voted 4-1 to lower the town's millage rate to 6.75. The value of a mill dramatically increased, going from $4,100 to $15,600. Had the town's millage rate remained the same, residents would have faced dramatically higher taxes, Lawrence explained; lowering it to 6.75 will result in a change of "maybe one or two dollars," he said.

The change in valuation was explained to the board earlier this month by District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders, who said: "Before, you were getting $20,000 a year from Caledonia Partners in lieu of taxes on real property. Because about 8 percent of the facility falls within the city limits, you were getting a payment based on 8 percent of its value. The personal property, which includes the actual inventory of natural gas stored out there, is not included in the in lieu payment. They've got about $1 billion in gas in the ground out there now, and the town's share of the tax on that works out to about $65,000."

The millage rate was approved 4-1, with Lindsey voting no.

Packet #792 - September 11, 2008

A 2006 Mustang is embedded in the house at 143 Poplar after a police pursuit early last Sunday morning.

At 1:42 a.m. last Sunday morning Ptl. Raymond Hackler tried to stop a red Mustang that turned onto Bennett Ave from Lehmberg Road in East Columbus. The driver sped away, sometimes at high speed, with Hackler in pursuit, eventually going south on Poplar Street (on the other side of Lehmberg Road).

At the intersection of Maple & Poplar, the driver bailed out of the moving Mustang and the car continued across the lawn of 143 Poplar and crashed into the front of the house, caving in the brick facade. The driver slid on the pavement when he left the car, then got up and took off. The Mustang missed a car in the driveway by inches before striking the house. A passenger jumped out of the car and ran away. Another passenger remained in the vehicle for some moments, then got out.

Homeowner Mildred Taylor and her son, Cedric, were at the other end of the house, sleeping, when the car hit the south end of the house. The impact knocked a television and other items across a the den but no one was in the den when the impact occurred. Moments after the impact Cedric Taylor emerged from the h ouse demanding to know what was going on.

Hackler arrested the passenger who remained near the car. He was identified as Mike Butler. Officers learned that a warrant was outstanding for his arrest.

A few minutes later LCSO Deputy Archie Williams detained a young male a few blocks away who had blood on his shirt and a cut hand. The man was holding his jaw and said he had just lost a tooth, but Hackler examined the suspect and said he was not one of the fugitives.

Two cell phones that had been dropped near the accident scene were recovered by police.

About 10 minutes after the accident Crystal Jenkins of 2408 18th Ave. North called 911 to report that her 2006 red Mustang had been stolen. She said she had parked it outside the Gray Goose and that when she came out of the club it was gone.

The passenger was not charged in the incident. The fugitive driver has not been identified but the case is still under investigation.

Taylor, a Columbus native, moved back to Columbus two weeks ago after spending a year and a half in Meridian. She owned the house at 143 Poplar before she moved to Meridian.

At an acrimonious and lengthy September 9 meeting, the West Point Board of Selectmen and the mayor locked horns over a proposed $2.95 million bond issue.

The bond issue first came up at the board's July meeting. Mayor Scott Ross proposed a $3.3 million bond issue for recreation improvements and road work. The measure was hugely controversial, largely due to a provision calling for the purchase of the Hawkins Trailer Park on Highway 45. The mayor's plan called for the trailer park land to be used to build a new tennis complex.

A number of members of the public, as well as members of the board, spoke out at that time about a perceived lack of information available to the public. After a large amount of public outcry and the submission of a petition demanding the issue be put to an election, the mayor reconsidered.

Tuesday night Ross submitted a trimmed-down plan calling for $2.95 million in bonds. The trailer park purchase was dropped, and Ross said the new tennis facility will be built at the current location.

"This is almost identical to the issue you had before you several months ago," Ross said at the beginning of the meeting. "The biggest difference is that there is no proposed property purchase. This would still build new tennis courts, but would put them at the fairgrounds property where they are today. Other than that, it's pretty much the same as what you had before."

Frank Portera, who was the head of the Recreation Advisory Committee whose input helped shape the recreation proposal, spoke to the board about the importance of new facilities.

"Two years ago I was on a committee that included citizens from all parts of this city," Portera said. "It was formed to study all aspects of a well-rounded recreation program for the city. We spent many hours in discussion and came to unanimous plan for the city. Of course we realize that we did not have the money at the time. As I understand the bond issue, it would be a great start for recreation for our entire community.

"In 2002, the West Point American Legion baseball team became the first team from Mississippi to ever win an American Legion national championship," Portera said. "That was a very proud moment for me. After having a very successful and nationally recognized program for ten years on baseball fields that we had renovated and paid for with private funds, we were told by the West Point School Board that we no longer could use that field. In that ten-year period, over 180 kids had participated in that program. The school board put a stop to it. Had we had this bond proposal at that time, we would not have been at the mercy of a vengeful school board. We would have had a place for our children to play and excel. Our news is full of stories about kids on drugs and obese kids and kids in trouble. This is a way for our community to try to alleviate that problem.

The Packet carried an article several weeks ago about the old
Odd Fellows Building, which is being completely renovated.
The article stated that the building was built in 1906. Bob
Raymond of Columbus saw the article and said that he thought
that the building was actually built prior to the Civil War
and was then given a new facade in 1906. This week he e-mailed
this old photograph/postcard, which shows the original building.
He wrote: Â"Here's a photo of that OddFellows building before it
was re-configured into what it is today. If you notice, the
side views are still the same, just a facade was put over the
front.Â" I asked local historian Rufus Ward about this and he
said that the first building was actually two buildings. The
1906 facade was put up over both. [Mr. Raymond also looked at
the old Columbus census records and found that Henry (Jackson)
Armstrong was born in 1909. IÂ'll try to say something about that
next week. Ed.]

"If you vote no, I question your reasoning," Portera stated. "If you say you are uninformed, I certainly question that. I'm not the mayor and I'm not a selectman. If I took the time to be informed, then you certainly could have. You were elected in your district and get paid to do so. If it is a matter of cost to the taxpayers, then that won't wash either. Taxes will not be raised as I understand it. If this is a political matter, then it stinks. This is no time to play politics as usual. This is a matter of progress. This is a matter that affects our children and grandchildren. This is an opportunity to either bring us forward or set us back."

Ross then briefly addressed the street repair portion of the bond issue.

"The street projects were developed by request of the board members," Ross said. "They were asked to come up with a list of priorities in their respective wards. Everybody had a wish list."

"Why was one of my streets left out?" asked Ward 2 Selectman Bubba Wilkerson.

"We were already working on Lone Oak Drive in your ward," explained Chief Administrative Officer Paul McKay. "That project was first estimated at a little under $500,000. The match on the State Aid money turned out to be 20 percent instead of 10 percent, so we had to come up with $90,000."

"Mr. McKay, half of that road is in my ward and half is in Ward 3," Wilkerson said.

"Well, some projects had to go," McKay said. "We can still remix the projects if we have to."

"Everybody got pared down some," Ross said.

"This is a State Aid road, and the state's going to pay $380,000 out of $400,000," Wilkerson said.

"It's got to be done to State Aid standards, so it's going to cost more," Ross said. "But (the list) is still subject to be worked on."

The mayor then asked Emory Grubbs of Government Consultants Inc to give a presentation to the board about how the bond payments could be structured.

Grubbs explained that, should the bond pass, it would be paid off over 20 years. The roadwork would be front-loaded, he said, to be paid off first, and the majority of the years 11-20 would deal with paying down the recreation improvements.

Grubbs stated that there was a $120,000 per year excess in the city's bond and interest fund, and several older bonds would be rolling off in the immediate future. This bond and interest fund revenue, coupled with tourism funds - which could be used for the recreation work - would allow the city to pay the bond note without raising taxes.

Grubbs also said that the city could change their minds on what roads and specific projects would be funded.

"What you are being asked to pass tonight is strictly a notice to the public that you intend to sell bonds," he said. "When the time comes, you can issue bonds in a lesser amount or can decide not to issue them at all."

Ward 3 Selectman John Cummings made a motion to approve the intent to issue bonds, and Ward 4 Selectman Keith McBrayer seconded.

However, Ward 1 Selectwoman Linda Hannah suggested tabling the issue.

"Is there any way we can make some adjustments before we approve this?" she asked.

"Well, the intent resolution is not specific," Ross said. "It just says 'recreation improvements' and 'streets'."

"Is there any way we could table this?" she asked.

"We certainly could do that, but I urge you not to," Ross said. "We've been talking about this so long, and asphalt has gone up significantly. You all have an opportunity before we issue the bonds to make any changes. If we issue the bonds and we say there's $2.95 million available to be spent, than even after they're issued and something comes up that we don't see now we can use money for it."

"I know from previous experience that once this gets approved it'll be difficult to change," Hannah said.

Hannah also said she didn't think there was enough diversity in the recreation plans.

"I'd like to see something in here for all of the kids," she said. "A lot of kids don't play baseball or frisbee golf, whatever that is. I think we need to revisit this."

"We haven't bid anything," Ross said. "If the costs come under what we've estimated, we'll have some money that we can shift around."

Hannah and Wilkerson also complained that they hadn't had input in the recreation planning process.

"I know I was on the recreation committee, and I was never asked for my input," Wilkerson said, and Hannah, who is also on that committee, echoed his sentiments. "I would point out that the purpose of the board meeting we called a week ago Saturday was to get your input on these things," Ross said. "And we didn't have a quorum so we weren't able to talk about anything."

(The mayor referred to a special meeting called August 30. The meeting was unable to proceed due to lack of a quorum.)

"If there are things going on you want to know about, you need to attend the meetings," Cummings said.

"That was not a recreation committee meeting," Hannah said.

"All of you have seen these projects before," Ross said. "You voted for them unanimously when we did the first intent to distribute bonds."

"I didn't agree then, and I still don't agree with it," said Ward 5 Selectman Jasper Pittman. "We still don't have a gym, and we need one. Right now we're renting gyms, like the one at Mary Holmes, and we need our own gym."

"I don't disagree with you," Ross said. "You have already passed a resolution to ask the legislature to add another 1 percent tourism tax. That would certainly be a project that we could afford if that additional tax is approved. I encourage you to consider (the bond issue) a starting point and not a zero sum game where you have to have one thing or the other."

Wilkerson then made a substitute motion, seconded by Pittman, to table the issue temporarily to give members of the public the opportunity to address the issue during the public appearances portion of the meeting. His motion passed, and the matter was temporarily placed on the table.

However, there were no pertinent public comments; when the board took the bond issue off the table, they were back to a vote on Cummings's original motion.

The vote failed 3-2, with Pittman, Wilkerson and Hannah voting no and Cummings and McBrayer voting yes.

"I'll be happy for you all to come to me with an alternate proposal," Ross said. "That would require you showing up to a meeting, though."

"I told you I'd show up to a Friday meeting," Wilkerson responded.

"Well, you showed up at Wal-Mart," Ross shot back to scattered laughter from the audience.

At that point, Carolyn Poston, who had been on the recreation committee several years ago, stood up and addressed the mayor.

"There's no reason for you to be disrespectful just because things didn't go your way," she said.

Ross and Poston all talked over one another unintelligibly until Ross banged his gavel and told Poston she was out of order and threatened to have her removed from the council chamber.

Later in the meeting, an unforeseen consequence of the bond issue's failure cropped up: a lack of funds for improvements to Airport Road.

The city is in the midst of renovating the Fisher Marine building on Airport Road. Once renovations are complete, Ellis Steel will move in; the resultant expansion is expected to create up to 25 new jobs. However, the city was counting on money from the bond issue for matching funds to go along with a Rural Impact Fund grant.

"The intention was to upgrade the road so we could create a new facility for Ellis Steel at Fisher Marine West," McKay explained. "They were going to invest $1 million in the facility itself and would create at least 25 jobs. The heavy truck traffic that is expected would exceed the specifications and the durability of that road. We need to upgrade the road. We were expecting to use RIF funds from the county to do that. There was originally a $15,000 match on that, but since we're bringing the road up to State Aid standards that match has increased. My intention was to use road funds from the bond issue as a match, and since we don't have the bond issue we don't have the match for this project."

The initial match was $30,000, with $15,000 of that coming from Clay County's District 5, Ross said.

"When Mr. Winfield was in office, he had obligated $15,000 from District 5 to match the city's $15,000," Ross stated. "It turns out that the match is now going to be $60,000."

No action was taken.

(Much more happened at Tuesday's meeting than is reflected here.
Look for the rest of the story in next week's Packet.)

VadenÂ's Crown Vic ended up in undergrowth off Griffin St.

A young West Point male faces charges in two counties after trying to ram a deputyÂ's car and then leading lawmen on a high-speed chase across Oktibbeha and Clay Counties early last Saturday morning. Josh Â"B.C.Â" Vaden was finally captured after plowing his Ford Crown Vic into some undergrowth off Griffin Street on the south side of West Point around 2:30 a.m.

Vaden was in the Oktibbeha County Jail last night [I had some communication problems with the West Point Police Dept. and was unable to learn his age or address. Ed.]. Vaden is a son of disgraced West Point preacher/cabinetmaker Richard Vaden, who was sentenced to ten years in prison two years ago for molesting two of his daughters. One of Josh VadenÂ's brothers, Jacob Vaden, led Columbus police officers and LCSO deputies on a high-speed chase in East Columbus in April.

Last Saturday morningÂ's chase began around 2:00 a.m. when Vaden was traveling west on Hwy 182 east of Starkville. OCSO Deputy Charlie McVey was traveling east on the same highway and was attempting to turn left (north) into the MSU Research Park when Vaden allegedly tried to ram McVeyÂ's car with his Crown Vic. Another deputy, Bryan Burton, was nearby and saw the near-miss. Oktibbeha County Sheriff Dolph Bryan said that McVey Â"was just lucky to get away.Â"

After the attempted ramming Vaden turned around and headed east on Hwy 182, then took Hwy 82 toward Columbus with Deputies McVey, Burton and Archer Silas in pursuit. Oktibbeha County E-911 dispatchers notified their Lowndes County counterparts that the cars were racing east toward Lowndes County and LCSO deputies began positioning themselves to intercept the fugitive. LCSO deputies were soon informed that the Crown Vic had turned north on Hwy 45 South Alt. toward West Point. A few minutes later dispatchers reported that the Crown Vic was leading pursuers east on Hwy 50 toward Lowndes County. The pursuit went into the eastern part of Clay County but then Vaden doubled back toward West Point.

Members of Priscilla DuffordÂ's family gathered in the carport after Vaden was
arrested on their porch. K-ice Ellis is leaping into the photo from the left.
(Dufford is not in the photo.)

The pursuers now included lawmen from the Clay County SheriffÂ's Office and West Point. Vaden drove through West Point to Griffin St. At some point he collided with a West Point police car. A resident who lives on Griffin St., Dyolanda Jones, was outside walking her dog when the cars came racing west up Brame St. toward Griffin St. She said Vaden turned north on Griffin and led the lawmen around a block before turning back south on Griffin. He whipped the Crown Vic into the yard at 900 Griffin St. but was apparently unable to stop and then went back across Griffin and into some undergrowth.

Vaden jumped out of the car and ran back to 900 Griffin St., where OCSO Deputy Silas reportedly caught him on the porch. The house where he was caught belongs to Priscilla Dufford, who became a surrogate mother/grandmother to several of the Vaden children over the years (Josh Vaden has three brothers and two sisters).

Priscilla Dufford and several family members were asleep in the house when VadenÂ's car swept through their front yard. They were awakened by lawmen shouting at Vaden to get down. When they came to the door they were ordered to stay inside and close the door. They came out after Vaden was taken to a patrol car.

Belinda Rhone, DuffordÂ's daughter, said that after Vaden was placed in a car he shouted through the glass that he wanted to talk to her. She said that the officers allowed her to approach the car and that he was crying and said, Â"You need to talk to me,Â" and said he needed a hug.

A West Point police car sustained
front-end damage during the chase.

Rhone said that Vaden spent a lot of time with her son and nephews at her motherÂ's house. Speaking of the Vaden children, she said, Â"My mom kind of adopted themÂ— but then she cooks and feeds the whole neighborhood.Â"

The car that Vaden was driving was once a Highway Patrol car. Rhone said that he bought it at a car lot in Starkville.

Sheriff Bryan said that in Oktibbeha County Vaden is charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, felony fleeing and some lesser violations. The Packet did not learn what charges he faces in West Point and Clay County.

Speaking of the high-speed chase, Bryan said, Â"We donÂ't like to do it, but sometimes you have to or theyÂ'll hurt somebody else. Chases are so dangerous, but everything worked out well. If youÂ're going to chase somebody, two or three in the morning is the best time to do it.Â" He said that the Clay County and West Point lawment Â"helped my Department round him up.Â"

Ellis Â"K-iceÂ" Ivy, who lives on Griffin St., said that one of the cars in the chase ran over his pet cat.

Packet #791 - September 4, 2008

Deputies Willie Jones and Jeff Harris lead Robert Lewis Jr. from the
courtroom last Thursday afternoon after he was sentenced to life in prison
for the murder of T.C. Turner. An hour earlier Lewis broke free from two
bailiffs and tried to escape from the courthouse.

A murder trial briefly turned into a Hollywood action thriller early Thursday afternoon when the defendant tried to make a break for it. Robert Lewis Jr., who was on trial for the Mother's Day 2006 murder of long-time city of Columbus employee T.C. Turner, broke free from deputies escorting him back to the courtroom near the end of a lunch recess in the second day of his trial.

Lewis made his break for freedom as he was being escorted back to court after spending the lunch break in a holding cell on the second floor of the courthouse. Bailiffs Joe McWilliams and Pete Bowen rode down the elevator with Lewis and were escorting him from the elevator to the downstairs courtroom when he turned to the right and pushed through the two sets of glass doors and ran down the sidewalk beneath the canvas awning. Lewis was wearing handcuffs and leg irons when he bolted but the leg irons fell off as he started to run.

Bailiff Bob Fuqua was manning the metal detector in the rear vestibule when Lewis made his break. He said that McWilliams was temporarily blocked out by a crowd of people near the doors but that Bowen (a former Columbus Police Chief) Â"was hanging on like he was water skiing.Â" Lewis is a big man and he dragged Bowen down the sidewalk, which is about 40 feet long and ends in the parking lot. McWilliams shook loose from the crowd and was right behind them.

CPD Investigator David Criddle, a witness in LewisÂ's trial, had taken his pistol to his car and was approaching the rear of the courthouse via the parking lot when he heard the doors slam back and