Fire Station 4 delay due to redrawing plans for electrical, HVAC work

More than two years after city officials broke ground on a new fire station on Airline Road, the future Fire Station 4 for Columbus Fire and Rescue sits empty.

Themed dance, costume parties to ring in new year in Golden Triangle

Zachary’s customers on Saturday should come ready to party like it’s 1999 — or at least 19-something.

‘Lions (and tigers) at the door’: Cedarhill holds third annual raffle to win weekend at Caledonia animal sanctuary

Once a year, up to four guests get to spend a weekend with lions, tigers and hundreds of other animals at Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary in Caledonia.

A Christmas tradition in New Hope: Visitors can walk through family’s large light display during ‘open yard’ event this weekend

Jimmy Cook was standing in the check-out line in Walmart a few days ago when a woman he didn’t know approached him to ask him when he was going to put his Christmas lights up.

CHS student charged as juvenile for threat

A student at Columbus High School is being charged with cyberstalking after posting on Facebook over the weekend that he planned to shoot a firearm at the school Monday.

Facebook gun threat lands student in jail

A Columbus High School student is in custody after he apparently made a Facebook post threatening to shoot the school.

A Night of Holiday Hope: Community Outreach Office plans Christmas party for 100 needy children

Glenda Buckhalter, community outreach coordinator for the city of Columbus, recently learned six homeless children she works with are not expecting anything for Christmas.

CPD adds explosive-detecting dog to force

The first time Columbus police officer Cpl. Roman Sones rode in the car with his new partner, the partner stuck his head out from the back seat and licked Sones on the back of the ear.

A $10 BMW: Lowndes courthouse employee wins luxury car in raffle for St. Jude Children’s Hospital

Last week, Ann Marie Langford, a deputy circuit court clerk, drove her Land Rover from home to her job at the Lowndes County Courthouse.

She drove her new 2018 BMW 3201 back.

Shooting victim had tense relationship with ex-girlfriend

An arrest affidavit The Dispatch obtained from Lowndes County Justice Court sheds light on the tumultuous relationship between a weekend fatal shooting victim and the woman he was allegedly attacking when he was shot.

Former Palmer Home house parent sentenced to 40 years for sexual battery

A former house parent at Palmer Home sentenced to spend 40 years in prison told a jury Friday he did not molest three girls living with him at the Columbus children’s home.

Copes’ wife says twin accusers had behavioral problems at Palmer Home

The wife of a former Palmer Home employee accused of sexually abusing children testified Thursday her husband was charged after more than a year of a strained relationship with one of the two alleged victims.

Third female claims to be victim in Copes trial

A witness in the sexual battery trial of a former Palmer Home employee is claiming to be a third victim of sexual abuse, and there appears to be at least one document to back up her story.

Copes attorney sanctioned during trial

The attorney for a former Palmer Home employee accused of sexual battery was formally sanctioned in Lowndes Circuit Court Wednesday after he referred to a victim’s medical history in front of the jury.

Alleged victims testify in sexual battery trial of ex-Palmer Home house parent

Twin sisters who once lived at Palmer Home for Children testified Tuesday that as children they sometimes woke up to their house parent sexually assaulting them.

Some area restaurants remain open for Thanksgiving

For the last several days, chef Beth Rogers has been preparing a Thanksgiving meal — for more than 100 people.

Former employee of Lowndes health clinic charged with embezzlement

A former employee of Lowndes County Health Department has been indicted for embezzlement.

City faces lawsuit from bystander injured in officer-involved shooting

A Lowndes County woman shot as a bystander in an officer-involved shooting in Columbus a year ago has filed a federal lawsuit against the city and the officer she says shot her.

Russian-roulette-style game claims New Hope man’s life

A 20-year-old man has died after he and several others were apparently playing a Russian roulette-style game over the weekend.

‘A better deal’: Plea agreements incentivize defendants to admit to crimes, keep the justice system moving

Starkville resident James Bardwell had a choice.

He could go to trial for sexual battery and two counts of being a convicted felon in possession of a weapon. Or, he could accept a plea agreement from the state to confess to the weapons charges, spend the next 18 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections and not have to register as a sex offender when released.