GUARD SENDOFF: Lindsay Wingo celebrates ‘Christmas’ with family and friends before deploying to Afghanistan

The partygoers wore short-sleeved shirts and shorts, and the crackling “fire” in the cardboard fireplace mercifully cast no heat, but that didn’t stop the small throng of people gathered at Beersheba Cumberland Presbyterian Church from celebrating Christmas Friday night. After all, the guest of honor — Lindsay Wingo — will be far from New Hope this holiday, and they couldn’t miss the opportunity to send her away with a dash of Christmas cheer. Wingo, 24, is one of approximately 70 area soldiers deploying for Afghanistan today to serve with the Army National Guard in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lowndes Supes OK water management officials to study Magowah Creek

A number of rivers, creeks and ditches in the county are slated for improvements to prevent flooding, erosion and undermined roads.

Seventh Avenue Festival shines light on historic neighborhood

Time moves slowly on Seventh Avenue North. Sometimes it seems to creep as insidiously as kudzu along a cinderblock wall. Other times, it is softer, mellower, evoking days of porch sittin’, slow sippin’ and smoke-drenched blues.

Gilmer Inn, new industry discussed at Link luncheon

By next Christmas, Columbus could have a shiny new package to unveil — an upscale hotel in the heart of downtown. It’s an idea people have bandied about for years: Demolish the Gilmer Inn — along with its sometimes colorful reputation — and clear the slate for a boutique chain hotel with historic charm and modern amenities.

Shake-up at West Point Growth Alliance

Change is afoot at the West Point/Clay County Growth Alliance, with President Jeff Rowell filing his resignation last Wednesday and Martha Allen, director of community development and Main Street, submitting her two-week notice Wednesday.

Severstal VP remembered as ‘a prince of a man’

John Bell, Severstal executive vice president and manager of operations, was remembered Tuesday for both his passion to the steelmaking industry and his dedication to his colleagues during his tenure at the company.

MUW closer to naming new pres

Mississippi University for Women’s presidential search reached the halfway mark last week, with members of the Campus Search Advisory Committee meeting in Jackson Friday to read applications and cull candidates.

Saturday Profile: Tina Sweeten settles into her new role as Columbus Arts Council director

Tina Sweeten will tell you she’s not an artist, but don’t let that fool you. The newly appointed head of the Columbus Arts Council may not wield a brush or palette, but she has surrounded her life with color, from the places she has visited to the people, passions and pets that populate her world.

Saturday Profile: Tina Sweeten settles into her new role as Columbus Arts Council director

Tina Sweeten will tell you she’s not an artist, but don’t let that fool you. The newly appointed head of the Columbus Arts Council may not wield a brush or palette, but she has surrounded her life with color, from the places she has visited to the people, passions and pets that populate her world.

Caledonia passes 2011-2012 budget

The Caledonia Board of Aldermen passed the town’s 2011-2012 budget Sept. 13, voting unanimously to lower property taxes by 0.25 percent after seeing another year of increased revenue and decreased expenses.

Caledonia Mayor on ethics violation: ‘We’ll do better next month’

CALEDONIA — The town of Caledonia’s mayor and Board of Aldermen could face steep fines after violating the state’s Open Meetings Act by failing to post notice of a Sept. 13 meeting.

Agents bust two prescription drug rings

Narcotics agents with the Columbus-Lowndes Metro Narcotics Unit busted two prescription drug rings Thursday, concluding months of undercover investigation and culminating in arrests and/or charges against 21 people.

Community members ponder future of downtown post office

The possible closure of the post office in downtown Columbus has led some community members to think about how to save it and others to ponder what the space could be used for in the future.

Pinwheels for Peace: Annunciation Catholic School students demonstrate what peace means to them

They have grown up in a decade of conflict. Unlike their parents, they can’t remember a time when the United States was not at war. It’s intimated in the fraying yellow ribbons that can still be seen in many communities as quiet reminders of those who were called to serve. It is on the news, in the newspaper, on the streets and in the classrooms.

Columbus native gives back with character-building workshops

The arrest reports are dotted with names of people who made poor choices. Increasingly, many of the perpetrators, as well as the victims, are young people.

It’s an issue that has troubled Columbus native Kanesha Brown McCollum for a while, and eventually, the 1995 New Hope High School graduate decided she had to do something about it.

Church’s plans for downtown theater on hold

Hope Community Church received the go-ahead in June to relocate to the old Varsity Twin Theater in downtown Columbus, but it may be a while before the church — and the coffee shop they planned to operate — becomes reality.

The Fair Must Go On: A Family’s Commitment

It’s Friday afternoon, and the Columbus fairgrounds are both an oasis of calm and a teeming mélange of life. If this was an ordinary year, Bob Burns would be at the center of it all, just as he was for the past 60 years before his death Sept. 8 at the age of 87.

Smith: Elected superintendents an ‘untenable situation’

It was fall 1997, and the situation was unlike any the Lowndes County School District had ever faced. Halfway through his second term, Superintendent Tommy Smith disappeared. He stopped attending meetings, stopped returning phone calls and left the state.

Body found at Luxapalila Creek Recreation Area

Columbus Police spent Saturday morning scouring the banks of Luxapalila Creek, gathering evidence on the apparent homicide of a 34-year-old Columbus man.

‘Report cards’: Lowndes improves; Columbus schools struggle

Schools across the state received their “report cards” from the Mississippi Department of Education today, and the accountability rankings indicate that while there were some gains, the Columbus Municipal School District continues to struggle, failing to meet academic growth standards for the second year in a row.