Plans taking shape for Link-backed Starkville spec building

The Golden Triangle Development Link is developing plans to construct a speculative building at the Starkville Industrial Park to help lure potential development, Joey Deason, Oktibbeha County’s Link representative, confirmed Thursday.

MSU may be partner in consolidated school district

Oktibbeha County consolidation efforts could yield a long-discussed partnership with Mississippi State University to establish a demonstration school, or at least a more-rigorous partnership, which will help the university engage in rural renewal efforts on an educational level.

Autopsy: MSU student was thrown from, run over by truck

Eighteen-year-old Mississippi State University freshman Kaleb Dwayne Barker, of Lucedale, was killed as a result of multiple blunt crush injuries Tuesday after he was thrown from the bed of a pickup truck and then struck by the vehicle, according to the Starkville Police Department.

MSU student charged in roommate’s death

A single-vehicle accident at McDonald’s Tuesday killed a Mississippi State University freshman and landed the truck’s driver, who was also the victim’s roommate, behind bars.

Aldermen start own pay raise early while increasing taxes

Starkville aldermen moved up a pending pay raise for themselves and Mayor Parker Wiseman by a year Tuesday while at the same time codifying a 1.98-mill property tax increase.

Developers hoping for ‘Cumulus’ announcement in Oct.

Local economic developers say an announcement could come as early as October in regard to a proposed $20 million investment by a data-processing company.

MSU: Abduction attempt claim was a hoax

A Mississippi State student who claimed to be the victim of an attempted abduction near Sessums Hall last week has recanted her story and told university investigators she fabricated the incident, a MSU release states.

Supes eye new dates for Unity Park unveiling

Unity Park plaques honoring civil rights champions could remain covered until mid- to late-October.

Supervisors last week set tentative dates — Oct. 19 and 26 — as potential days to hold a dedication ceremony.

2-percent monies will not support Parks’ budget increase

Previous discussion about how to fund a $96,000 Starkville Parks Commission budget increase seems moot as aldermen are expected to approve funding which does not utilize 2-percent food and beverage taxes.

MSU’s Gilbert among finalists for USA president post

Mississippi State University Provost Jerry Gilbert was named one of three finalists Friday for the University of Southern Alabama’s top leadership position. Gilbert, along with

County will raise pay without tax increase

Oktibbeha County supervisors approved a $29.63 million operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year that provides an across-the-board, 3 percent pay raise for full-time employees and allocates monies for East Mississippi Community College capital improvement projects.

School ‘report cards’ issued: Oktibbeha County, Starkville both earn ‘C’ rating

Oktibbeha County School District and Starkville School District earned ‘C’ grades from the Mississippi Department of Education based on last year’s state testing scores.

MSUPD investigating attempted abduction

Mississippi State University police officers were investigating an attempted, on-campus abduction Wednesday night, but no clear details were available on the situation.

SSD bus ridership up almost 600 children per day

Starkville School District Assistant Superintendent Toriano Holloway has helped the school system with one of its most pressing issues a little more than a year since his hiring: The district has now worked out many of the kinks surrounding its transportation system.

SSD to bid football field, track projects this winter

Major renovations to Starkville High School’s football and track field should be completed by the start of the next school year if the school system’s projected timetable comes to fruition.

MSU sets record for freshman enrollment

A record number of first-time freshmen are enrolled at Mississippi State University for the fall 2013 semester.

Hospital trustee appointment in limbo after board action

The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors’ appointment of Minnie Fox to the OCH Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees appears on hold after supervisors failed to approve the motion Monday.

Three candidates will run for county prosecutor

Three Starkville attorneys — Haley Brown, Brace Knox and Matthew Wilson — have qualified for the Oktibbeha County prosecutor’s special election scheduled for Nov. 5.

City, county hoping to lure Link-recommended Project Cumulus

Starkville and Oktibbeha County officials are working to deliver a Golden Triangle Development Link-backed project, an almost-$20 million investment for data processing, to the Thad Cochran Research Park.

Merger committee has no appetite to send students out of county

Members of the Oktibbeha County school merger committee members moved away from possibly asking neighboring school districts to absorb schoolchildren after numerous regional representatives said their systems had no interest in taking on more students.