Obama picks Starkville native to run federal agency

President Obama has appointed a Starkville native to run the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Arrest Report

The following people were arrested on felony charges, according to reports released from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and the Columbus Police Department:

CVB director to participate in National Trust Preservation leadership training

James Tsismanakis of the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau is among a select group of participants attending an upcoming program designed for community leaders in positions to influence preservation activities in their states, regions, towns and neighborhoods.

MUW group readies to meet on name change

A Mississippi University for Women Leadership Committee — composed of leaders of the MUW Staff Council, the MUW Faculty Senate, the MUW Foundation, the Student Government Association and the MUW Alumni Association — will meet Thursday afternoon to discuss a new name for the university.

E911 to explore software options

At the monthly E911 board of commissioners meeting on Tuesday, officials representing city and county agencies got word of news of plans to research and install new software on the system’s computers.

Crime Report

The following incidents were reported by the Columbus Police Department:

Aspiring U.S. representative preaches to choir of Republican Women

The way Henry Ross sees it, three “pillars” have upheld this country: faith, family and freedom. But these concepts are “crumbling,” he said on Tuesday.

Monroe Co. boy drowns in Tombigbee Tuesday

A 15-year-old Monroe County boy had gone for a swim under a bridge in the Tombigbee River in Monroe County on Tuesday afternoon, but the summertime outing turned tragic, according to Monroe County authorities.

Area outside Starkville looks to brighter future

CLAYTON VILLAGE — In 1954, Lewis Roberson moved here to work as a janitor at Mississippi State University. He found himself among fewer than 100 people.

Search for MSU dean of students nears end

STARKVILLE — Two finalists remain in the search for a new dean of students at Mississippi State University.

At Starkville park, dogs run together

STARKVILLE — The greyhound was in the lead, Ken Daniels remembers. It was an afternoon, and a college-aged woman had taken the dog to Moncrief Park, where an acre of land is allocated for dogs to run unleashed, Daniels said on Monday. It galloped about the perimeter of the little-dog section of the park, followed by 10 to 12 other dogs, Daniels said. Suddenly, an unofficial race was on.

Barbour plays role of both wedge, hammer in stalemate

Gov. Haley Barbour and the Republican-led Senate are determined to control spending and not have Mississippi fall into a budget hole if the economy worsens.

Fifty-eight swine flu cases reported in Mississippi

JACKSON — The Mississippi Department of Health has confirmed a second case of swine flu in Lowndes County, bringing the state’s total number of H1N1 virus cases to 58.

A new newspaper for Starkville

On March 12, 1922, the occasion of the merger of Columbus’ two papers into The Commercial Dispatch, publisher Birney Imes Sr. offered an editorial, much of it relevant today.

Giving Starkville our best

Dear Starkville,

My wife Lindsey and I will forever remember Tuesday, June 2, 2009, as a special day. After months of work delivering a vision we believe in for Starkville, you, the people of this community, gave me the opportunity to represent you over the next four years as mayor. We are humbled by your support.

Appreciates support

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the voters and citizens of Columbus for your vote and support this past Tuesday, and for reelecting me to another 4-year term as your mayor.

Starkville fifth-grader just getting started

Nathan Smith loves to play fantasy video games and chase his chickens, but he wants to be a microbiologist, like his mom.

Aiming high, Nathan, who just finished fifth-grade at Ward-Stewart Elementary, even forayed into the national spotlight this year winning a contest, for a poster he drew with markers and pencils. It’s not the first time he’s won something — he’s won awards at science fairs — but it is the first time the media is paying any attention to him, and he thinks that’s pretty cool.

TVA plant planned for Caledonia delayed

The Tennessee Valley Authority board has deferred plans for a combustion turbine plant in Caledonia.

The board recently approved construction of an 880-megawatt gas-fired power plant in northeast Tennessee and deferred two planned construction projects to upgrade gas plants in West Tennessee and Northeast Mississippi, including the plant in Caledonia.

Monroe County man arrested after mobile meth lab discovered

NETTLETON — A Monroe County man Wednesday was arrested on methamphetamine charges after a Nettleton police officer discovered a mobile meth lab in the man’s work truck.

Lutherans and abortion

The recent and unfortunate murder of Dr. George Tiller, an abortionist, who provided late-term abortions in Wichita, Kansas, prompts the writing of this letter.