3 CPD officers disciplined for body camera violations

Columbus Police Department issues dominated Tuesday night’s city council meeting, which ended with three patrol officers appearing before the council in executive session for apparent violations of the department’s body camera policy.

Building a home away from addiction: Carpenters for Christ plans to establish ‘clean living home’ for women leaving jail, rehabilitation facilities

When Julia Chavez walked into the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center one Friday night in 2016, the sound of the jail door clicking made her stomach flip, she said.

Pandemic-safe Halloween events to raise money for charity

With the COVID-19 pandemic, Halloween might look a little different in the Golden Triangle this year.

Many of the usual haunted houses and other events that kids and kids-at-heart have become used to attending over the years are canceled, such as Starkville’s annual Pumpkinpalooza, due to the difficulty of maintaining social distancing at those events.

SHS principal proposes changing grade configuration, other restructures to curb low graduation rate

The principals for Starkville High and Armstrong Junior High schools presented proposed restructuring plans at the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District board meeting Tuesday night, after SHS Principal Howard Savage reported the district’s graduation rate fell below 85 percent in 2019.

LCSD to expand internet connectivity throughout campuses

Lowndes County School District administrators plan to expand the district’s Wi-Fi through parking lots and sports facilities within the next year, allowing members of the community — and especially students — to access the district’s internet outside class.

Juveniles charged as adults in serious offenses, as last resort

On Monday, a day after a fire destroyed a church on North Lehmberg Road, Columbus Police Chief Fred Shelton did something he admits investigators rarely do: He recommended the teenage boy accused of setting the blaze be charged as an adult.

CMSD juggles pandemic, 200th anniversary of district

Columbus Municipal School District is ringing in its 200th anniversary in 2021 with a whole new brand, Superintendent Cherie Labat said.

Man gets life in prison for murder

Joshua Murry was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday after a Lowndes County jury found him guilty of murdering Starkville resident Jarrell Ward in 2018.

Witnesses: Suspect who owed Starkville murder victim money was last to see him alive

Starkville native Jaylen Jernigan said the last time he saw his best friend, 24-year-old Jarrell Ward, the two had been gambling on video games in a Starkville apartment against Columbus resident Joshua Murry the morning of July 26, 2018.

Country singer to benefit Contact Helpline with Columbus concert

Country music star Jacob Bryant will come to Columbus this week in a benefit to raise money for Contact Helpline, the local crisis hotline.

Hundreds of absentee ballots already requested, cast for general election

There are more than 40,672 registered voters in Lowndes County, with more people registering every day, Circuit Clerk Teresa Barksdale said.

“And I think they’ve all been in the office this week,” she told Columbus Exchange Club, of which she is a member, at its weekly meeting at Lion Hills Center on Thursday.

Suspect in murder of Starkville man heads to trial today

The trial of a man accused in the 2018 murder of a Starkville resident is scheduled to begin today in Lowndes County.

LCSD lets students switch from virtual to in-person learning mid-semester

Roughly 20 percent of students who originally signed up for virtual learning at Lowndes County School District will be back in their classrooms by Oct. 12, Superintendent Sam Allison said Friday

Art Council goes ‘outside the walls’ during pandemic

Over the summer, after Kalyn Fuller agreed to be the art teacher for all 1,600 elementary students at Columbus Municipal School District for the upcoming school year, she told her husband she was concerned about how the students would obtain art supplies — or school supplies in general.

Macon municipal clerk charged with embezzlement

A clerk at Macon Municipal Court is in jail after investigators with the State Auditor’s Office alleged she stole more than $2,000 in court fines between January 2018 and July 2019.

Base commander: Space Force formed to protect American satellites, other interests in space

When Rotarians asked Col. Seth Graham to speak to their club about the newly launched Space Force, Graham — whose specialty as commander of the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus Air Force Base is training pilots how to fly airplanes — decided he had some research to do.

Community leaders discuss workplace racism in second ‘Let’s Talk Columbus’ meeting

Columbus Police Chief Fred Shelton said there have been times in his 30-plus year career as a police officer when he’s responded to a call and had the complainant say, “I didn’t want a Black police officer.”

TVA designation will make region stick out to industries, investors

Tennessee Valley Authority has designated the Golden Triangle region a Rural Certified Community, recognizing its preparedness for industrial development and investment.

Air Force veteran recalls time as POW in Vietnam

Gene Smith had just released two bombs in the sky over North Vietnam on Oct. 25, 1967, and was pulling out of a dive in his F-105 Thunderchief aircraft when the plane was hit by enemy fire.

Local businesses optimistic after governor loosens COVID restrictions

Two days after Gov. Tate Reeves issued an executive order relaxing some restrictions put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, executives with Eat With Us Group met to discuss how the order would affect policies at the company’s restaurants.