Brooks, Sanders battle over travel receipt

A conference travel receipt sparked a heated discussion between long-time political rivals Leroy Brooks and Harry Sanders during the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday, resulting in Brooks saying he would take the board to court, if necessary.

Officials mum on engineer plans

City officials have not made clear when, or if, they will formally post a notice requesting proposals from firms for the city engineer position.

Bids for Mississippi Steel expansion projects opened

Sealed bids for the access road, rail spur and loading pad portions of the expansion for the Mississippi Steel Processing plant in Lowndes County were opened during Wednesday’s county supervisors’ meeting.

Southside residents oppose plan to close rail crossings

Two weeks before a scheduled public hearing on the matter, some Columbus residents are already voicing their opposition to the possible closing of six railroad closing on the city’s south side.

Keeping up appearances: City to seek bids for cemetery upkeep

The contract to maintain one of Columbus’ most enduring landmarks will soon be up for bid.

Birds, paint issues delay Old 82 bridge project

It will likely be the end of September before the city can officially close out the Old Highway 82 bridge restoration project due to two factors — issues with the primer used in the painting process and a flock of protected migratory barn swallows who have made the construction site their temporary home.

Heritage Foundation may cut events

The Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation board will be watching the turnstiles from now on. As it puts together its plans for Fiscal Year 2014, the board will scrutinize events that are not generating enough tourism activity to justify Foundation resources, board president Dewitt Hicks and executive director Nancy Carpenter said during a recent board retreat.

Columbus, Lowndes begin work on budgets

August is right around the corner, which means it’s budget time for city and county officials.

CVB takes steps toward strategic plan

Seven years after then-Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau officials first discussed the possibility and potential of a strategic plan, the current board of directors has decided it’s time to get serious about putting one in place.

CL&W offers amnesty for unpaid bills

Water and sewer customers of Columbus Light and Water with delinquent accounts will have until August 23 to pay fees owed for the past year and avoid any penalties.

Island advisory group solicits public input

Before the committee formed to brainstorm ideas for redevelopment of the Island met Thursday, committee member and county supervisor Leroy Brooks told of a conversation he had with Robert Williams, known by some in Columbus as “Uncle Bunky” from a local children’s television show he used to host.

Lowndes County unemployment rate rises

According to statistics released Wednesday by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, Lowndes County has a 10.6 percent unemployment rate, an increase of 0.4-percent compared to June 2012.

Council to bus company: Be rolling by Aug. 9

The City of Columbus has drawn a line in the sand with Lawrence Transit System: The company must either begin providing bus services to the city by Aug. 9 or there will likely be no bus service at all.

City will pay J5 Broaddus $90K plus

Columbus councilmen voted Tuesday to compensate J5 Broaddus $90,000 yearly plus a six-percent fee of expenses for each project it manages.

Councilmen Gene Taylor, Joseph Mickens, Marty Turner and Kabir Karriem voted in support of the four-year master services agreement with the firm previously selected to the fill the newly-created city position of project manager. Charlie Box and Bill Gavin voted in dissent.

CVB won’t give ‘Grilling’ second half of grant

The Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors voted 7-1 Tuesday to deny funding the second half of a quality-of-life grant to the Grilling on the River. The decision was made after the grant committee’s review of the event’s project clearance report raised ethical concerns about former CVB board member Harvey Myrick’s involvement with the event

CVB board tables proposed ’14 budget

During the annual Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitor’s Bureau’s Board of Directors retreat, members unanimously opted to table the proposed budget for the 2014 fiscal year after requests for additional line items to be broken down into more detail.

Council to consider pay for J5 Broaddus

Columbus councilmen are expected to consider a lease agreement and compensation for J5 Broaddus, the company they hired July 2 as the city’s project manager, when they meet 5 p.m. today at the municipal complex.

GTRA lands grant for runway upgrade

Golden Triangle Regional Airport will be among several in Mississippi to benefit from a grant approved by U.S. legislators Monday.

The U.S. Senate approved the Federal Aviation Administration Modernization and Reform Act, created to facilitate long-term aviation planning by the FAA.

Post Office crash

Columbus Police Department was dispatched to the U.S. Post Office on Bluecutt Road Monday at 3:21 p.m. after the driver of a Honda ran into

CL&W board mulls possible TVA rate hikes

Columbus Light and Water Department General Manager Todd Gale said Tennessee Valley Authority officials have scheduled a conference call for July 31 with all of its distributors — one day before the regional power agency’s 60-day deadline to announce any rate changes.