Articles by Cadence Harvey
OCSO to hire full-time animal control officer
Oktibbeha County will soon hire its first dedicated animal control officer, a move Sheriff Shank Phelps said will help deputies keep up with a growing number of calls involving stray and injured animals.
Suspect arrested in East Columbus shooting
A man was arrested Saturday afternoon in connection with a Friday night shooting in East Columbus that left a minor hospitalized.
County road projects finally assigned funding
A summer slate of road projects, mostly in District 2, moved forward Friday as supervisors worked to close a multimillion-dollar funding gap.
County engineer: To be or not to be?
Efforts to hire an in-house county engineer have stretched on with little progress and no candidates, despite supervisors first setting aside funding for the position in October 2024.
Radar-sensing tech could find unmarked graves at Sandfield
In the flat, open lot of Sandfield Cemetery, roughly 14 grassy acres are dotted with disjointed headstones – many broken or tilted – while an unknown number of other graves remain unmarked.
Starkville moves forward with preservation efforts at Brush Arbor
Moving down University Drive, Assistant City Planner Lyle MeCaskey said it’s easy to pass Brush Arbor cemetery without realizing it’s there.
Aldermen reject partial ban, criminalize all kratom
Starting next month, possessing or selling kratom in city limits could mean jail time or a hefty fine after aldermen approved a sweeping ban on the substance during Tuesday’s meeting at City Hall.
Supes intend to borrow up to $16M for road, capital projects
Supervisors on Monday declared their intent to issue up to $16 million in bonds to address countywide needs, though a funding source to service the debt has not yet been identified.
Firehawk unveils rocket manufacturing facility, plans to expand
Inside a large white warehouse off Wicker Road, federal and local leaders stood side by side Tuesday afternoon as Firehawk Aerospace cut the ribbon on its new rocket integration facility, a site capable of producing 40,000 rockets annually, with plans to triple that output in the coming years.
Man assaulted, robbed at Sprint Mart gas pump
Two people are in custody following a Monday afternoon robbery at a gas station in Starkville.
Community Profile: Dance instructor finds second act at Ballet Columbus
Whether through mornings spent reading the work of Robert Penn Warren, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare and C.S. Lewis, or evenings teaching ballet to a room full of children and adults, storytelling has always been a part of Laura Beth Berry’s life.
Lane re-assignments, traffic flow changes implemented on Main Street
Crews were out bright and early by 6 a.m. Friday taping off areas along Main Street and repainting crosswalks, part of a $27,000 temporary safety measure project to slow down traffic and prioritize pedestrian safety.
Area gardeners get head start on tomato season
Josh Tilley has been a backyard tomato grower for more than 15 years, and while he wouldn’t consider himself an expert on the subject, he’s become well-versed with the ins and outs of raising the plants.
MSU Fraternity builds high school, homes in South African village
One of Jesse Carver’s most memorable moments from four years of volunteer work in the remote village of Katse, high in the mountains of Lesotho, came just a few weeks ago, when he and 39 members of Kappa Sigma Fraternity handed out 70 green soccer jerseys to a schoolyard full of children.
Child advocate program expanding to Golden Triangle
In two years working as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate volunteer, Cathy Chapman has seen the extremes of a childhood in crisis, from 10 children crammed into beds in a home with holes in the roof to parents fighting for custody while unwilling or unable to give up drugs.
MSU partnership aims to ‘fill the gap’ in state radar systems
In some rural areas of Mississippi, many residents rely on weather predictions from stations more than 50 miles away.
Vice mayor raises, drops proposal to shop for new counsel
Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins appears interested in replacing the city’s contracted attorney, though he was less interested Tuesday in explaining why.
Columbus, Starkville lag behind sales tax projections
Both Columbus and Starkville are on pace to fall just shy of their projected sales tax revenue budgets halfway through Fiscal Year 2026.
Residents divided on issue of banning kratom
During a public hearing Tuesday night at City Hall, Brandie Stribling told aldermen that an addiction to kratom pills made her husband “unrecognizable.”
Sunday storm sends Brewski’s roof flying
The last place Brewski’s owner Ashley Ray expected to find her roof Sunday night was wrapped around a utility pole.
