Local law enforcement to meet with state Homeland Security to address crime

Lowndes County and Columbus law enforcement officials plan to meet with representatives from Mississippi Office of Homeland Security and other state authorities to help address a recent uptick in crime, and especially gun violence, in the city.

Judge dismisses wrongful termination suit against city by former investigator

A federal judge has dismissed without prejudice a lawsuit against the city of Columbus filed by a former Columbus Police Department investigator who alleged wrongful termination and violation of privacy.

Southsiders request more from CPD after shootings

Fourth Street South resident Japa Castro said his children have come up with a game they call “firecrackers or gunshots.”

That’s how prevalent the sound of gunshots has become in South Columbus, he told the city council at its meeting Tuesday.

He was one of a group of Southside residents who attended the meeting to raise concerns about what they said was an unprecedented increase in gun violence in their area.

SOCSD to keep traditional school schedule next year

Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District will not implement a modified, year-round school schedule — at least not for the 2021-22 school year.

Columbus COO to retire in June

Columbus Chief Operations Officer David Armstrong will retire at the end of June, he confirmed to The Dispatch earlier this week.

The city council accepted his letter of retirement and authorized Human Resources Director Pat Mitchell to advertise for his position, as part of the consent agenda at their meeting Tuesday night.

Council votes to keep mask mandate in Columbus

The city of Columbus’ mask mandate will remain in place until at least the next city council meeting in two weeks.

Council members voted 3-2 to keep the mandate and other requirements, including for businesses to post signage reminding customers to wear masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines, at their regular meeting Tuesday.

Council reappoints Shumake to school board in split vote

The city council reappointed Jo Shumake to the Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees in a 3-1 decision at its regular meeting Tuesday.

Shumake, who was first appointed to the school board in March 2016, was one of four applicants for the five-year position.

Pilgrimage canceled for second straight year

The 2021 Columbus Spring Pilgrimage has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Preservation Society of Columbus announced in a press release Monday.

Utility companies: Brace for high bills following freezing temperatures

Starkville Utilities Department has already begun sending out some bills that charge for power used during last week’s freezing temperatures, and Director Terry Kemp said customers may be surprised by how high some of those charges are.

CLW forms search committee to find new director

Columbus Light and Water board of directors has formed a committee to conduct a national search for a new executive director following the death of Todd Gale.

Former city CFO sentenced to 20 years in prison for embezzlement

Former chief financial officer for the city of Columbus Milton Rawle will spend up to 20 years in the Mississippi Department of Corrections after pleading guilty Monday to embezzling nearly $290,000 in city funds.

Columbus mayor hospitalized, released Sunday

Columbus Mayor Robert Smith is taking a sick week following an approximately 12-hour visit to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle on Sunday.

CAFB student, instructor pilots killed in Montgomery crash

UPDATE: Columbus Air Force Base officials have identified the instructor pilot killed in a plane crash in Montgomery, Alabama, on Friday night.

Supervisors approve bids to remove Confederate monument

Lowndes County supervisors approved an approximately $80,000 bid with local companies to complete the first phase of relocating the Confederate monument in front of the courthouse.

City under-budgeted debt payments by $1M+ in 2019

The city of Columbus paid more than $1 million in excess of what was initially budgeted for general obligation bond debt in 2019, according to the city’s audit report for that year.

Shumake, two others apply for CMSD board

The Columbus City Council will appoint one of three applicants for an upcoming vacancy on Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees.

Winter storm: One fatality, dozens of minor accidents reported on icy roads

After a quiet Monday of responding to only three accidents and several more calls of stranded motorists, Mississippi Highway Patrol officers are investigating two crashes and have responded to more than 40 calls for service since Tuesday morning, due to icy roads caused by the winter storm.

“All of a sudden, people kind of don’t want to stay at home or something,” said MHP spokesperson Sgt. Derrick Beckom.

Downtown developer plans office space, apartments in building next to old Fred’s

As the owner of both a home and office space downtown, Tom Velek has spent several years eyeing the brick building beside the old Fred’s and wishing someone would redevelop it.

As of late last month, that someone is him.

Renovations to Fred’s give nod to building’s past

Nearly two years after Fred’s closed on Fifth Street in downtown Columbus, a construction project is underway to transform it into a storage facility with a building design that pays homage to downtown’s history.

‘Keeping history alive’: CAFB hosts aircraft, traveling museum dedicated to the Tuskegee Airmen

With the afternoon sun shining directly onto the airplane, Robert Johnson of Columbus lifted his 1-year-old son Sirius so that the little boy was eye level with the front propeller of the P-51 Mustang at Columbus Air Force Base Wednesday.

“They have big propellers,” said Sirius’ 5-year-old brother Cinco, and he and several other children ran around the plane to look at it from different angles.