Articles by Neal Wagner
Local vets find friend in Richardson
Lowndes County Veterans’ Service Officer Jim Richardson has been aiding local veterans of all service branches for more than 12 years.
Born in Lamar County, Ala., Richardson crossed the state line on his way to New Hope “about two weeks” into his life, the longtime county official explained.
Work set to begin on new health facility
COLUMBUS — Construction on a new, larger Lowndes County Health Department likely will begin within the next few months, JBHM Architect Joey Henderson announced Friday.
Clunkers waiting on death row
What began as a birth at a high-tech vehicle manufacturing plant is ending with a bottle of sodium silicate for dozens of area automobiles traded in through the federal government’s cash for clunkers program.
Country club offers land for soccer complex
A Tuesday decision by Columbus Country Club stockholders may lead to a fourth property option for Columbus and Lowndes County officials looking to construct a six-field soccer complex.
Waste not: Local schools partner with waste management company for recycling project
Some area schools this fall are teaming up with a local waste management company to help recycle hundreds of pounds of residential, classroom and cafeteria waste.
Cochran: Reform needs ‘close scrutiny’
A recent hotly debated national health care program could lead to an overabundance of government involvement in the medical industry, a longtime U.S. Senator told the Columbus Rotary Club Tuesday.
Smith decries portions of reform
Talks of cap-and-trade economics, health care reform, voter identification and federal government power limits dominated a Tuesday night Taxed Enough Already party meeting at Columbus’ Holiday Inn.
Amid opposition, commission denies counseling program
A heated public debate Monday night preceded a Columbus Planning Commission decision to prevent a New Orleans-based counseling program from coming to the Friendly City.
Chief: CPD starting ‘from beginning’
Several recent staffing rotations at the Columbus Police Department may bring the station one step closer to receiving state accreditation, according to CPD Chief Joseph St. John.
Students split over need for new name
Students moving in to the Mississippi University for Women on Saturday afternoon, readying for the new school year, seemed to be split along gender lines as they shared their thoughts on a name change.
City applies for grant to help land two hotels
Columbus officials Thursday night moved one step closer to securing a nearly 200-room hotel development near the intersection of Highway 82 and 18th Avenue North.
In sign of recession, customers hitting grocery stores
Grocery stores and discount markets across the Golden Triangle and the country recently have been seeing a dramatic increase in customer traffic and sales, as consumers seek to trim costs amid the recession.
Church pastor asks city to investigate soil contamination
Columbus officials during the next few weeks will consider working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine if a black substance discovered near a local church is a toxic industrial byproduct.
GOP officials seeking voter ID support
Fairness, not partisanship, is the driving force behind a statewide push to bring voter identification laws to Mississippi, area Republican officials said during a Tuesday afternoon rally at the Lowndes County Courthouse.
Majority of Burns Bottom landowners open to selling property to county
Lowndes County officials during the next few weeks will move closer to securing land for the proposed soccer complex project in Columbus’ Burns Bottom area, amid unanswered questions of how the project would be funded.
Supervisors clash over choice for clerk
The hiring of a Lowndes County purchasing clerk Monday led to a brief verbal skirmish between two county officials during a county Board of Supervisors meeting.
Shoppers celebrate no-tax holiday
Each July, Linda Rogers and her daughters, Jessica, Danielle and Samantha, make a pilgrimage to Leigh Mall and other area retailers in search of the perfect back-to-school bargain.
Columbus sales tax revenue lagging
A nearly half-million-dollar deficit in Columbus’ sales tax collections during the first nine months of the 2009 fiscal year has city officials struggling to determine figures for the Friendly City’s upcoming budget.
Annexation, flooding on minds of Ward 3 residents
Discussions of everything from Lowndes County’s proposed soccer complex to Columbus’ annexation plans ruled the evening Thursday as Ward 3 City Councilman Charlie Box held his first community meeting.
Wal-Mart buoys tax revenue in West Point
WEST POINT — A handful of retail developments in the Clay County seat during the past fiscal year drove a five-digit growth in the city’s sales tax revenue.