Articles by Carl Smith
Stormwater waiver request prompts historic meeting
Starkville’s three-person stormwater hearing board is holding its first ever meeting today to discuss a storage unit project that yielded heated debate between an alderman and its developer Tuesday.
Man faces 3 counts of sexual battery involving a juvenile
The Starkville Police Department charged a 20-year-old resident with three counts of sexual battery involving a juvenile after receiving a report earlier this month.
Officials want improved siren maintenance
Ward 3 resident Bill Daniel says he hasn’t heard the wail of his neighborhood’s tornado siren in a long time.
Perkins signals opposition to future TIF packages
Future tax increment financing packages for Starkville developments should see consistent opposition from at least one alderman after Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins pledged Tuesday to not grant tax waivers for new businesses.
$3M car dealership TIF plan heads to aldermen
Starkville aldermen could pave the way for infrastructure improvements associated with a $21.9 million, mixed-use development along eastern Highway 12 during today’s city meeting.
2 Starkville men arrested in connection to gun theft
Two Starkville men were charged last week in connection to a residential burglary in which a firearm was stolen.
Starkville mayor, aldermen have $60K in travel expenses
Starkville’s mayor and seven-person board of aldermen have racked up a combined $60,121 travel bill this term, and the bills of three individual officials — Mayor Parker Wiseman, Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn and Ward 7 Alderman Henry Vaughn — each surpassed the $10,000 mark.
10 Oktibbeha candidates miss Wednesday campaign finance deadline
Ten of Oktibbeha County’s 45 candidates for office missed Wednesday’s 5 p.m. deadline for their second campaign finance reports, documents prepared by the circuit clerk’s office show.
Social media post leads to Starkville arrests
A video of a fight posted on social media led to the arrests of four adults, Starkville Police Department announced Monday.
Starkville OKs comprehensive planning, code overhaul
Starkville’s overall comprehensive planning process should yield a code rewrite that makes building rules easier to follow for small- and large-scale developers, officials said.
SSD files response to DOJ’s issues with consolidation
A response to numerous U.S. Department of Justice issues with consolidation filed by Starkville School District states identifying and busing students from Sudduth Elementary to a mostly African-American campus could push parents to opt for private school or homeschooling options.
County tasks Slaughter and Associates with preparing subdivision rules
Planner Mike Slaughter, of the Oxford-based Slaughter and Associates, is preparing new subdivision regulations for Oktibbeha County to ensure developers are responsible for any negative impact their projects inflict on area infrastructure in the future.
Financing for SPD upgrades clears significant hurdle
Starkville’s administration appears to have solved what past leaders, numerous studies and failed bond referendums could not in the last two decades: Mayor Parker Wiseman and the board of aldermen are on track to finance renovations that will give the city’s police department a permanent home.
Carver rallies against mayor, board raises before employee wage hikes
Starkville aldermen halted an attempt Tuesday to raise the next administration’s salaries once workers’ minimum hourly wages are set at a $10 minimum hourly rate, opting instead to study the issue and approach cost-of-living adjustments in the future.
$21M project would bring auto dealership, mixed-use parcels to Starkville
A proposed $21 million investment would develop a 25-acre automobile dealership complex and mixed-use development with 20,000 square feet of office space, a restaurant, convenience store and 15 single-family homes near Highway 12’s Hilton Garden Inn location.
Holloway: EMCC, SSD agree to terms for county high school use
East Mississippi Community College officials and the incoming leaders of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District have agreed in principle to a deal allowing the college to lease West Oktibbeha County High School and provide general classes in the county.
MSU hires first female student affairs leader
Mississippi State University’s first female vice president for student affairs, Regina Y. Hyatt, will assume her new role July 1 pending State College Board approval, the university announced Monday.
Wiseman outlines ‘aggressive’ plan to pay parks’ late electric bills
Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman says the city’s parks and recreation department can bring its outstanding electric bill level by next spring with an aggressive repayment plan.
Interim Keith taking over as MSU engineering school’s dean
Jason Keith, Mississippi State University Bagley College of Engineering interim dean, will lead his department on a full-time basis beginning June 1, the university announced Friday.
MSU bomb threat spurs campus search
Local law enforcement agents beefed up patrols and dispatched bomb-sniffing dogs to Mississippi State University buildings as police reacted to a telephoned bomb threat Friday.
