SOCSD presents tentative budget pending Legislature’s approval of school district allocations

Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District administrators presented a proposed budget of about $64.5 million in expenditures for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 at the school board’s meeting Tuesday night, about $2.5 million more than expected revenues.

SOCSD board members raise questions about COVID-19’s effect on school year

The COVID-19 pandemic and the various ways it will affect students and teachers in the rapidly approaching school year dominated discussion at Starkville-Okitbbeha Consolidated School District’s Board of Trustees’ meeting Tuesday night.

CPD trains on how to help those with mental illness

Recently, a man released from a Columbus behavioral health clinic became so upset outside the facility that police were called to the scene.

Chief Fred Shelton did not give too many details about the man to protect his privacy, but said he was screaming and throwing things. It was the sort of situation where police may have simply arrested the man for disorderly conduct.

Former Starkville priest indicted for 10 counts of wire fraud

The former priest of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Starkville was indicted on multiple charges of wire fraud earlier this year after federal investigators said he defrauded parishioners of more than $18,000, according to court documents which were unsealed Wednesday.

New CAFB commander: ‘Now is not the time to tough it out’

Speaking to a camera, Col. Seth Graham assured the more than 900 people watching him on Facebook Live that, even though it doesn’t look like it on camera, he does indeed have hair.

David Chism plans to run for House District 37 seat

Lowndes County native David M. Chism will run for the state House of Representatives seat recently vacated by his third cousin, Gary Chism.

NAACP letter gives businesses deadline to support, condemn Sanders

The Columbus-Lowndes NAACP has sent letters to several hundred businesses in the community asking business representatives to publicly state whether they support the effort to have District 1 Supervisor Harry Sanders resign from the county board of supervisors.

New SFD rating to lower home, business insurance premiums

As of this month, Starkville Fire Department officially boasts a Class 3 rating from Mississippi State Rating Bureau, Chief Charles Yarbrough announced at a ceremony at Fire Station 1 Monday.

Police departments evolve strategies to reduce exposure to coronavirus

Two Columbus police officers had to be tested for COVID-19 after a woman who had tested positive for the virus entered the police station without wearing a mask to talk to them.

Baptist Memorial faces lawsuit for negligence

An Iowa man has filed a federal lawsuit against Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle and several of its medical staff, alleging negligence after he said it took him three trips in consecutive days to the hospital’s emergency room to see a doctor for an infection that eventually resulted in a stroke, took multiple surgeries to treat and ended his career as an airline pilot.

Lowndes County man accused of kidnapping two siblings

A man already listed on the Mississippi Sex Offender Registry has been charged with kidnapping two children and taking them to Meridian, investigators with Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office say.

Company files suit against insurance co. for pandemic losses

A West Point business that oversees gymnasiums has filed a class action lawsuit in federal court against its insurance company, alleging the company is refusing to pay for losses incurred by several of the gyms earlier this year when they temporarily shut down due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Health and wellness fair connects employers to health resources

When Christie Lawrence learned Mississippi Business Group on Health had not hosted events for employers in northern Mississippi, she wanted to change that.

Best of both worlds: Economic experts say solar projects are good for environment and industrial development

Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins said over the last two decades, he’s worked with about 20 companies looking to bring solar farms to Lowndes, Oktibbeha or Clay counties. Until recently, those companies — barring the odd two-megawatt solar farm located near a substation – have been unsuccessful.

DA: Public should know why AG dropped manslaughter charge in Boykin case

District Attorney Scott Colom criticized the timing and method of Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s decision to dismiss charges against a former Columbus police officer who fatally shot an African American man during a traffic stop in 2015 and said he plans to ask her office to release the evidence they have in the case so the public can see for themselves that justice had been served.

Manslaughter charge dropped against Canyon Boykin

Nearly five years after the fatal police shooting of a Columbus man during a traffic stop, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office has dismissed charges against former Columbus police officer Canyon Boykin.

More than 260 people cited for curfew, other shelter-in-place violations in Golden Triangle

Law enforcement officers in the Golden Triangle issued at least 260 citations for violations of curfew and other temporary restrictions implemented in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic — about half of which were written in the city of Columbus alone.

Family remembers slain Columbus man, seeks answers

What Michael Jones’ siblings remember most about him is his smile.

Pandemic likely triggering rise in domestic violence, family disputes

In the Golden Triangle, numbers indicate domestic violence could be on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Local tanning salon sues city for forcing business to close during pandemic

The owner of a local tanning salon has filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Columbus for forcing it to close for 51 days to prevent the spread of COVID-19.