As it is with every year, 2014 will be remembered both for the good things that happened and the bad.
In 2014, we saw devastating tornadoes rip through the eastern portion of Lowndes County in late April. But we also were witness to tragedies on a more personal scale — the death of a toddler to drowning on the Tombigbee River in August, the death of another child in an apartment fire in October and a car crash that claimed the lives of three people in July. A flight instructor from Columbus Air Force Base died in September when his experimental aircraft crashed in Texas.
But there were good moments, too, and notable achievements. From a homegrown Miss Mississippi to a “friendly” acknowledgement to rare achievements on the football field, 2014 offered plenty of scrap-book material.
The tornadoes of April
By the afternoon of Monday, April 28, the news we had followed of storms sweeping through the South — tornadoes had killed 16 in Arkansas the day before — had come far closer to home. As the first reports came in from afternoon tornadoes moving across central Mississippi, killing 14 people in Louisville, local residents began to brace for the approaching storms
Early that evening, they arrived.
Four separate tornadoes swept though eastern Lowndes County that evening, and while there were mercifully no fatalities, the damage to property was extensive. Three days after the storms, Lowndes County was one of seven Mississippi counties to be declared a federal disaster area, as federal, state and local agencies rallied to help in the recovery efforts. On May 10, the state legislature appropriated $17 million for tornado recovery statewide. More than 500 Lowndes County residents applied for assistance at the two temporary Mississippi Emergency Management Agency recovery centers in east Columbus and New Hope.
Through the weeks of recovery, our spirits were bolstered by the countless acts of kindness among neighbors. Almost as soon as the storms passed, people gathered to help neighbors and strangers in the storm’s aftermath.
Personal tragedies
The year saw its share of other, more personal, tragedies, too.
Just after midnight on July 27, three Columbus men — Tyler Nelson Thompson, 22, Dontay Orlando Evans, 32, and Eddie Lee, 40 — were killed when their car left the road and crashed into a tree on Officer’s Lake Road in Lowndes County. A survivor of the accident called 911, but the call was relayed to Clay County, which created a delay in responding to the accident. Although the confusion created with how cell phone calls are routed did not factor in the deaths, it did prompt reviews of the procedures to insure that calls are routed to the closest law enforcement agencies in the future.
While all deaths are painful, there is something about the loss of a child that resonates most deeply. Sadly, there were two such tragedies this year.
On Aug. 3, 3-year-old Landon Henson of West Point died of drowning while boating with his family on the Tombigbee River. Henson and his parents had parked their boat on a sandbar and were playing on the beach when the toddler disappeared. Henson’s parents noticed the child missing and found him in the water. The child was put in a boat and transported downriver to meet first responders. Henson was then taken to the riverside home of a physician where CPR was administered. After being transferred to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, the child was pronounced dead at 4 p.m.
On Oct. 1, tragedy again took a young life. At roughly 2 a.m., Columbus Fire and Rescue received a call on a house fire at Jamestown Square townhouses, where the body of 11-year-old Oranjula Shanklin, a sixth-grader at Columbus Middle School, was found. Her family had escaped the fast-moving fire, which fire officials said consumed the apartment within 15 minutes. Two other people who lived in the adjoining unit were also injured. Seven families were displaced.
A month earlier, Columbus Air Force Base lost one of its own when flight instructor Major Richard “Tracer” Schaefer II, 35, died when his personal experimental aircraft crashed near Abilene, Texas. Schaefer, who served as an instructor pilot in the 49th Fighter Training Squadron at CAFB, had flown to San Marcos, Texas, from Mississippi to pick up family members. His brother, Matthew Schaefer, also died in the crash but the pilot’s wife and child survived.
Happy news
The year was certainly not without its bright spots, fortunately.
In May, thousands flocked to the Columbus Soccer Complex for the state’s biggest youth soccer tournament, The President’s Cup. The 1-year old facility, a $5-million collaboration between Lowndes County and the city of Columbus, was the star of the show, too, drawing the kind of praise that is likely to cement the complex’s reputation as one of the best soccer venues in the state.
Sometimes, the third time is the charm, as was the case with Columbus native Jasmine Murray. Murray, who had enjoyed a successful run as a teenage competitor on the TV show “American Idol,” first competed in the Miss Mississippi pageant in 2012, finishing as the first runner-up. After a third-place finish last year, the 22-year-old Mississippi State student claimed the crown in Vicksburg on July 2. Murray went on to an impressive performance at the Miss America pageant in September, finishing in the top 10. She ended the year by serving as the grand marshal in the Columbus Christmas Parade.
In pageants, there is a category for Miss Congeniality. If there is an equivalent to that honor for cities, Columbus takes home the crown.
In November, The Discovery Channel selected Columbus as “Friendliest City” for its series of “Best of…” programs for each of the states. That Columbus would earn Friendliest City for the Best of Mississippi program only affirms the city’s motto, “The Friendly City.”
Football frenzy
Football was not simply a diversion in 2014; it was an event.
On Oct. 4, while Ole Miss was upsetting Alabama for its first win over the Tide in 10 years, Mississippi State was making quick work of sixth-ranked Texas A&M. By the next week, the Rebels and Bulldogs had not simply captured the attention of the state, but the entire nation, sharing the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine.
The Bulldogs weren’t finished, though. The next week, State beat third-ranked Auburn, making it three straight wins over Top 10 opponents. On Oct. 12, Mississippi State took over as the No. 1 team in the nation, the first time in school history.
The Bulldogs would occupy that lofty status for five weeks until falling to the Tide at Alabama. A loss to Ole Miss in the annual Egg Bowl dropped MSU to ninth in the final regular season standings, but with its first 10-win season in school history, the Bulldogs capped the most successful season in its 100-year-plus history with an invitation to the prestigious Orange Bowl, where MSU will take on No. 12 Georgia Tech on New Year’s Eve.
Ole Miss will seek its 10th win of the season earlier on New Year’s Eve in a Peach Bowl matchup against No. 6 Texas Christian University.
While Mississippi State couldn’t hang on to the No. 1 ranking, East Mississippi Community College had no such difficulty. On Dec. 7, the Lions defeated Iowa Western for EMCC’s third national championship in four years.
Noxubee County High School, meanwhile, claimed its second state championship in three years with a Dec. 6 win over St. Stanislaus in the championship game played at MSU’s Davis Wade Stadium.
2014’s most-viewed stories at cdispatch.com
■ Two sheriff’s deputies shot in New Hope — 56,008 — Sarah Fowler/William Browning
■ Gerald Berry, a Starkville cult figure, has died — 46,712 — William Browning
■ Woman dies after parking lot shooting in Columbus — 37,120 — Sarah Fowler
■ Lowndes County woman missing — 31,475 — Sarah Fowler
■ Louisville doctor clings to patient in terrifying tug-of-war — 22,815 — Carl Smith
■ Columbus firefighter axed for marrying co-worker’s niece — 20,778 — Sarah Fowler
■ One sibling dead, alert issued for another — 20,619 — Sarah Fowler
■ Fake animal control truck spotted in Starkville — 19,991 — Carl Smith
■ Student found dead in MUW dorm — 19,057 — Sarah Fowler
■ Two MSU players arrested for robbery, burglary — 18,877 — Sarah Fowler/Matt Stevens
■ Father of parking lot shooting victim speaks out — 18,296 — Sarah Fowler
■ GameDay set for Saturday’s MSU broadcast — 18,076 — Slim Smith
■ Suspected shooter’s family says lover’s quarrel led to incident — 18,018 — Sarah Fowler
■ MSU, EMCC to start a new high school — 16,849 — Slim Smith
■ New Hope teacher sent home after taking breathalyzer — 12,364 — Sarah Fowler
■ Immanuel Christian School severs ties with Immanuel Church — 12,195 — Sarah Fowler
■ Caledonia man dies in motorcycle wreck — 11,826 — Carl Smith
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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