Articles by Slim Smith
Site prep for Confederate monument relocation underway
The future home of the Confederate monument that was erected on the grounds of the Lowndes County Courthouse in 1912 is located in the southwest section of Friendship Cemetery, near the graves of unknown Confederate soldiers.
W student’s lawsuit leads to change in state law
Of all the bills passed into law by the Mississippi Legislature in 2021, one of them raised eyebrows.
Slimantics: Purity, not integrity, is motive behind Watson’s comments on ‘woke’ student voters
When the state elections of 2019 rolled around, I said Michael Watson, the Republican candidate for Secretary of State, was the most dangerous name on the entire ballot, given the nature of the office he was seeking.
Hosemann: New federal funds should change state’s trajectory
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann covered all the tenses during his visit to Columbus Tuesday, noting the progress made during the 2021 legislative session, which ended on April 1, the plans he is working on presently and looking far beyond the present as state leaders ponder how to spend what he called the greatest infusion of federal money in Mississippi history.
CMSD paving projects could cost $1.4 million
New board president, old business.
In her first meeting as president of the Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees, Yvonne Cox considered an issue that first came before the board in 2018.
Legislature faces deja vu after ballot initiative for Medicaid expansion is filed
Medicaid expansion may be the topic at hand, but for Mississippi legislators, Medical Marijuana may be on their minds after Hattiesburg pediatrician John Gaudet filed a proposal for a ballot initiative that would allow voters to decide whether to expand Medicaid, something the state Legislature has steadfastly declined to do for more than a decade.
Bobo looks to be moving on in West Point mayor’s race
As the decisive absentee ballot counting stretched into the early morning hours Wednesday, Rod Bobo debated whether to leave the West Point Civic Center and find out the results later in the day.
Bobo leads West Point mayor’s race with absentees still being processed
Only one of West Point’s four Democratic primary races had been settled Tuesday evening due to a discrepancy in the absentee vote tallies.
Brooks, Sanders clash over board appointments
During its Monday meeting, the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors made five board appointments, returning four of five current board members to their positions. But it was the one position that went to a new applicant that drew pointed comments from District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks over how the appointment process was handled.
Slimantics: Incumbent Protection Act is a sadly accurate title
Something very unusual slipped through the Mississippi Legislature last week.
Kerr-McGee cleanup could feature ‘green’ component
Until now, most of the cleanup at the former Kerr-McGee creosote plant in the Memphistown area of Columbus has focused on excavating and removing contaminated soil near the surface at the portion of the 90-acre property north of 14th Avenue.
Permanent repairs to Plymouth Road bridge near completion
With a little cooperation from the weather, permanent bridge repairs on Plymouth Road will be completed by the end of today.
Counties, cities to get millions in new federal COVID recovery
It’s like Brewster’s Millions for local government.
When the American Recovery Act of 2021 was passed on March 11, it set aside hundreds of millions of dollars for the nation’s counties and municipalities.
County looks at paving $11.5M in roads this year
Call it the scents of summer: Fresh-mown lawns, the aroma of backyard barbecues, the subtle scent of flower wafting on a summer’s breeze, the musky smell of summer rainstorm.
In Lowndes County, you can add another aroma to the list: fresh asphalt.
Woman’s airline ban highlights strict COVID flight policies
Summer Thomann said she wasn’t trying to make a statement, nor was she making a scene.
She was just trying to make a Saturday night flight from Atlanta to Birmingham.
Slimantics: Note-taking makes better juries
Imagine two college students of equal ability, both serious about their studies. They never miss a class. They sit near the front of the room and listen intently to the professor as he delivers his lecture.
New Hope murder: Jury finds Lydia Martinez guilty in murder of son-in-law
In the end it was an old story, District Attorney Scott Colom said Friday, moments after an Oktibbeha County jury found Lydia Martinez, 61, guilty of first-degree murder in the 2015 shooting death of her son-in-law, 40-year-old Manuel Vasquez.
New Hope murder: Victim’s son says defendant was with him at time of shooting
The defendant was upstairs in her bedroom at the time of the shooting, the defendant treated her daughter with submissive deference and the man the prosecution portrayed as the victim’s Rasputin was a long-time friend who had no interest in changing the victim’s family dynamic, a key part of the motive in the murder, prosecutors say.
Jury finds victim’s mother-in-law guilty in 2015 New Hope murder
An Oktibbeha jury has found Lydia Martinez guilty of first-degree murder in the 2015 slaying of her son-in-law, Manuel Vasquez, at the family’s New Hope
Group distributes 528 backpacks, school supplies at Lock and Dam
July 13, 2025
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