McGough will serve five years for sexual battery of minors

A former New Hope woman accused of having a sexual relationship with two 15-year-old boys was found guilty of two counts of sexual battery Thursday in Lowndes County Circuit Court, ending a two-year legal battle and more than five hours of jury deliberations.

Woman found guilty in sexual battery case involving two minors

Christy McGough was found guilty Thursday of checking two juvenile boys out of New Hope High School without permission in 2011 and engaging in sexual acts with them on multiple occasions.

Work continues on Kerr-McGee rehabilitation

A decade has passed since the Kerr-McGee chemical plant on 14th Avenue was shut down and sealed off from the public, but residents say the toxic after-effects linger, endangering the health of approximately 3,500 people who call this East Columbus neighborhood their home.

United Deli owner shrugs off fire

Fans of United Deli were greeted with a comforting taste of the familiar Tuesday as they packed into the popular East Columbus eatery for their lunchtime fill of cheese steaks, muffalettas, gyros and baklava.

Highway Patrol’s Turnipseed sheds light on concealed carry laws

There were not many gun carriers in the room — only about six or seven people said they held concealed carry permits — but after Tuesday’s Columbus Rotary Club meeting, some members said they are rethinking their stance.

Baptist expansion is good news for chemo patients

There was a time, not too long ago, when chemotherapy patients at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle had to endure long waiting lines to receive vital treatment.

Petty pulls out of Columbus mayor’s race

One of the four candidates for Columbus mayor said late Sunday night that he intends to withdraw from the race only two days after filing his paperwork to qualify.

Last-day qualifiers make it four-way race for mayor

The Columbus mayoral race is heating up, with two more candidates qualifying late Friday afternoon for the June 4 municipal election.

Caledonia clerk implicates mayor, alderman candidate

New information continues to come to light in the harassment complaint filed by a Town of Caledonia employee last week.

An incident report obtained by The Dispatch Wednesday reveals that acting Town Clerk Krista Hill filed a workplace harassment complaint Feb. 26, alleging incidences of indecent language and sexual comments made in her presence.

Caledonia employee files sexual harassment complaint

A Town of Caledonia employee has filed a sexual harassment complaint against a candidate for the board of aldermen, sources confirmed this morning.

Dispute over eligibility leaves mayoral candidate fuming

Caledonia’s municipal election is still three months away, but the temperature is already rising, with one of the two mayoral candidates alleging harassment and invasion of privacy since she announced her intent to seek the town’s top spot.

Columbus High seniors display artwork at Rosenzweig

Two years ago, none of the students in Sarah Oswalt’s Visual Arts class could have imagined having a gallery opening for their work. Most of them were sure they had no artistic talent at all. But the class is a required part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma curriculum, meaning the 11 students had to at least give art a chance, even if they never fully embraced it.

Above and Beyond: GTR grows while other airports struggle

Mike Hainsey remembers all too well when Northwest Airlines pulled out of Golden Triangle Regional Airport, taking three flights a day with it. The year was 2006, and he had just taken over as executive director. Immediately, he found himself faced with a problem: How does a small airport survive when it loses one-third of its budget? The answer then, as now, lay just beyond the terminal walls.

HEARTS tutors level field for struggling children

The second-grader hunches over the red cash register, his brow furrowed in concentration, his eyes cast toward the ceiling as he counts out the necessary change in his head. His “customer,” HEARTS after-school tutor Ruth Rast, waits patiently.

“Seventy-five!” Demiji Bonner announces proudly, picking through the fake coins to find three quarters.

Search for United Way director enters interview stage

The United Way of Lowndes County is moving forward in its search for a new executive director following the abrupt departure of Jan Ballard in early February.

Local officials fear trickle down effect from sequestration

Local officials are taking a wait-and-see approach on the looming sequestration, with $85 billion in automatic budget cuts slated to begin tomorrow barring an 11th hour compromise between Republicans and Democrats.

Girl Scouts out in force for cookie sales

Sunday’s blue skies and warm temperatures inspired many to spend the day outdoors, including local Girl Scouts, who were out in full force to kick off the first weekend of the 2013 cookie sale season.

Minimum wage: Call for an increase to $9 per hour has both supporters and opponents

It’s a busy day at Watkins Washette on Highway 45. Almost every washer is whirring and the warmth from the dryers lends a welcome, almost homey atmosphere to the crowded laundromat.

Gray: Anyone can make a difference

Before he was a noted civil rights attorney, before he represented Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., before he won some of the most important cases in the South’s troubled past, he was just a student on a bus in Montgomery, Ala., witnessing the first rumblings of a history he would eventually help write.

MEC: Education, health care are keys to state’s economy

Education and health care will be the driving forces behind economic development over the next few decades, Mississippi Economic Council officials told members of the Columbus Rotary Club Tuesday at Lion Hills Golf Club.