Articles by Garthia Elena Burnett
Soccer park work ahead of schedule
What now looks like piles of dirt and scrap concrete, next year will house 10 soccer fields with sidewalks, a bridge over Moore’s Creek and boardwalk, at Burns Bottom near downtown Columbus.
Airport expects to lose Memphis flight, but not passengers
Golden Triangle Regional Airport expects its rising travel volume to stay steady despite Delta Airlines’ plans to cut flights to Memphis, Tenn.,in September.
Sanders: Getting volunteers for city, county boards can be tough
The Columbus City Council and Lowndes County Board of Supervisors don’t handle the city business alone. Along with city and county employees, they rely on a dedicated group of volunteers, staffing various boards such as the tree board, airport board and county comprehensive planning board.
Economic firm ranks Columbus in top 10 percent of small U.S. cities
Columbus has moved into the top 10 percent of micropolitans in the U.S., ranked by economic strength.
Lowndes puts old health dept. building up for sale
After building a new health department last year, Lowndes County is looking for someone to take the old building off its hands.
Omnova attorney: Replacement workers harassed
Omnova Solutions wants to keep the names and addresses of its 140 replacement workers private due to concerns for their safety. Meanwhile, the company’s affiliated union, the United Steelworkers Local 748-L, is challenging the validity of a petition to decertify the union, which has been on strike since May 21, 2010.
Columbus native planning to return to AmeriCorps after earning college degree
Sean Mullen graduated from Mississippi State University on April 28. The rest of his life is still unwritten.
Omnova labor hearing open to public; union continues to fight decertification
After a yearlong strike, the Omnova Solutions labor dispute is headed to a hearing before the National Labor Relations Board.
City: Laws don’t cover ‘ugly’ buildings
Commercial buildings can sit idle for a matter of months or for several years. The longer they sit, the less marketable they become.
Empty commercial space both blessing, curse
Two years after Goody’s clothing store filed bankruptcy and shut its doors in Columbus, PetSmart and T.J. Maxx are preparing to move into the space at the Magnolia Place shopping center.
Redistricting dispute will be resolved, expert says
In 1991 and 1992, the conflict over state redistricting ended in legislators having to run in two elections. This time, though the process still is in dispute, there is an end in sight, longtime journalist Sid Salter told Columbus Kiwanis Club members at their Wednesday meeting.
Welcome to the neighborhood: Link launches newcomer program
The Columbus-Lowndes Development Link wants to do more than usher in new business and industry. The chamber of commerce and economic development merger wants to welcome newcomers to the area.
Fewer people filling up as gas prices rise
Monday afternoon, 68-year-old William Nance pumped $10 worth of gas into his pickup. At $3.96 a gallon, $10 in mid-grade fuel doesn’t go as far as it used to.
Market Street sales total more than $159,000, organizers say
Sales at this year’s Market Street Festival totaled more than $159,000, bringing in $11,160.63 in tax collections. And that’s just “the tip of the iceberg,” according to Main Street Columbus Inc. Director Amber Murphree Brislin.
Omnova union vows to fight decertification
The process to decertify the union affiliated with Columbus’ Omnova plant is moving forward. And members of Local 748-L plan to fight the decertification until the end. Union members plan to contest plans to take a decertification vote from the more than 100 workers hired to replace them.
Lowndes plans to start drug court
This summer, Lowndes County will join 39 other Mississippi counties with drug courts in place.
New workers at Columbus’ Omnova plant request to decertify union
Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the Omnova strike in Columbus, and the longest strike in the company’s history does not bode to end favorably for its longtime union workers.
Supes appoint Lawrence to CVB board
The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors appointed a retired teacher to the Columbus-Lowndes County Convention and Visitors Bureau on Friday.
Property owners get original appraised value for land at Burns Bottom
After Lowndes County took a total of less than two acres of property in the Burns Bottom area through eminent domain, two property owners returned to the table, requesting the original appraised value rather than the court’s appraised value.
MSU’s Mullen, Stricklin bring winning message to Columbus
The Bulldogs are headed to the top of the college football mountain. And on the heels of a season topped off by a Gator Bowl victory, they can’t afford to lose any momentum, Mississippi State football coach Dan Mullen told Bulldog fans at the Columbus Country Club, Thursday morning.