Monday Profile: Retired teacher still ‘blessed’ to spend time with children

In the coming weeks, Janie Williams is going to have to baby-proof her house.

“She’s trying to crawl,” she said of her youngest granddaughter, who Williams keeps regularly while the baby’s parents are at work.

Columbus businessman gets 10 years for pleading to filming child in bathroom

A former business owner pleaded guilty to two counts of secretly photographing for lewd purposes after a teenage relative told a jury how he set up a camera in a residential bathroom and filmed her while she was showering.

‘Getting the bug’ for art and technology at Golden Triangle Comic Con

Mariano Nicieza has been in the comic book industry about 30 years, has worked for Marvel and with comic legends like Stan Lee, and earlier this year was a guest at San Diego Comic Con, one of the world’s biggest pop culture convention that attracts thousands of visitors every year.

New Hope wife pleads to 2015 murder of husband

The wife of a man killed in New Hope in 2015 has pleaded guilty to his murder, but is not expected to be sentenced until after the District Attorney’s Office presents new evidence in the case to a grand jury.

New CAC director pushes children’s art outreach

Though she has only been in the position for about a month, Columbus Arts Council’s new executive director Jan Miller is already planning new programs, particularly for children.

City council OKs millage increase

Columbus City Council unanimously approved an ad valorem tax hike during a special-call meeting Thursday, raising the city’s property tax rate by 3.65 mills.

Man dies in fatal collision between two tractor-trailers

Mississippi Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal wreck between two tractor-trailers on Highway 82 West late Wednesday night.

Main Street heads effort to paint utility boxes downtown

Since Friday afternoon, for a few hours at a time, Jennifer Garrard has been at the intersection of Fifth and College streets with a set of paints and a job to do that she hopes will be the first of many.

As Presley presses for action, 4-County explores offering broadband at its pace

Northern Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley says the only way for rural Mississippians to access high speed internet is if electric cooperatives in the state provide it to them.

‘Justice’ has new home in Clay County

About 17 years ago when Judge Jim Kitchens first became a judge for the 16th Circuit District, he gave a group of elementary students a tour of the Clay County Courthouse.

He asked them if they knew why it was called a courthouse — expecting them, he said, to give the answer that it was where court takes place.

Instead, one child said: “Because this is where justice lives.”

Baskin Robbins to return to Columbus

Baskin Robbins — and 31 flavors of ice cream — is returning to Columbus.

CPD mourns loss of investigations captain

Every morning Capt. Stacey Deans would come to work at Columbus Police Department singing gospel songs.

It’s one of Cpl. Eric Lewis’ favorite memories of the senior officer, who was head of the department’s Criminal Investigation Division.

Black Prairie Blues Festival to be held Friday

Twenty-four years ago, Mookie Wilson stood in the West Point civics center looking out over a crowd of what he remembers to be about 200 people at the first ever Black Prairie Blues Festival.

Supreme Court upholds Lowndes murder conviction

The Mississippi Supreme Court has upheld the conviction and life sentence of a Lowndes County man tried for murder in 2016, reversing a decision by a lower court to have the defendant stand trial again.

No charges filed in police-involved fatal shooting

A Columbus police officer involved in a fatal shooting at a night club two years ago is not expected to face charges.

Benefit motorcycle ride planned for Capt. Stacey Deans

When Capt. Stacey Deans was hospitalized for severe spinal injuries back in May, doctors said it may be up to 18 months before he could walk again.

Now, he said, he can get around with the aid of a walker.

“I’m just really excited about my recovery,” he said.

Former MUW student pushes for state-wide change over eyebrow threading

A former business owner in Columbus and Starkville has filed a federal lawsuit against the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office and state Board of Cosmetology, arguing the board’s regulations impose unfair restrictions and forced her to shut down her eyebrow threading business.

Remembering Beverly Norris: The ‘princess’ of Columbus art

Dale Robertson said Beverly Norris has been encouraging him as a musician since he was a teenager.

Getting stolen firearms off the street: Area law enforcement agencies promote prevention, up enforcement efforts to crack down on people obtaining firearms illegally

A man walks through a neighborhood or parking lot, tugging on vehicle door handles until he finds one unlocked.

When he opens the door, there’s a handgun in plain view on the passenger seat. The burglar takes it, along with some other unsecured valuables, and leaves the area.

‘Who we are as a state’: Meridian’s The MAX celebrates 600 plus Mississippians who made world-famous contributions to the arts

Jerome Trahan can still remember when students from Carver Middle School in Meridian visited the new Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience, also known as The MAX, in downtown Meridian.