Slimantics: The Doomsday Cat is on the roof

If you’re of a certain age, you may have heard this joke: Two astronauts are on a mission, and the first astronaut has just finished a call from Mission Control, a conversation that contains some bad news he must relay to his partner.

Last House on the Block slowly building back residents

By April, Last House of the Block for men was down to five residents.

But it wasn’t COVID-19 that left 17 of the sober-living facility’s 22 beds empty, at least directly, said director Billy Jordan.

MDAH grants to help with repairs at Tennessee Williams, Lee homes, Noxubee County library

By their nature, “historic” buildings are susceptible to the ravages of time and weather. By their designation, repairs aren’t cheap.

On Friday, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History awarded almost $3 million in grants, ranging from $25,600 to $277,154, for 18 projects, including two in Columbus and another in Macon.

Despite statewide issues, area LTC vaccinations ‘smooth’

While state health director Dr. Thomas Dobbs said Friday efforts to vaccinate the state’s roughly 51,000 residents of long-term care facilities has been sluggish so far, a sampling of local LTCs suggests much better results in the Golden Triangle.

CMSD considering year-round school

The Columbus Municipal School District is considering two plans to adjust the school calendar, both of which would shorten the summer break and distribute those days off throughout the school year.

MLK Jr. Day celebrations: MLK Day keynote speaker asks audience to ‘give Mississippi a chance’

Five years before he became the first Black student to earn a law degree from Ole Miss, 23 years before he became the first Black justice on the Mississippi Supreme Court and 58 years before he would lead a commission to select a new state flag for the state, Reuben Anderson was just another 19-year-old undergraduate at Tougaloo College.

Slimantics: Whose Day is it really?

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the one day each year when white conservatives, particularly in Mississippi, seem vaguely aware of Black people in general and King in particular, at least in any positive, affirming way.

CMSD approves $252K in improvement projects

Kill the lights, at least for this year.

The Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees approved 10 capital improvement projects, but decided to table a project to address the lighting at the Columbus High School football stadium because of the expense of the board’s preferred option for the project.

Car-ma: Car club to help get local woman back on road

At about 10 a.m. on Dec. 10, Tatiana Burgess was pulling into the Kroger parking lot to drop off a kettle for the Starkville Salvation Army’s Red Kettle drive when she felt a jolt, followed by a terrible noise.

Seniors over 75 can now make appointment to receive COVID vaccine

Seniors ages 75 and older will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccinations as early as today, but appointment times are quickly filling up, just a day after the Mississippi State Department of Health rolled out the program.

Wiggins will not seek re-election as Caledonia mayor; will instead try to return to aldermen board

Voters in Caledonia will elect a new mayor and at least three new aldermen this year, based on a poll of incumbents.

Supes approve extending extra leave policy for COVID-quarantined employees

Lowndes County supervisors took the weekend to explore their options for changing one of the county’s COVID-19 policies, but on Monday opted to accept the recommendation made at Friday’s meeting by Lowndes County Administrator Jay Fisher.

Monday Profile: Caledonia college student with dreams of attending medical school works winters at deer processing company

Three years ago, Melanie Moore decided to change her major from nursing to biological sciences with the goal of attending medical school.

With the decision, she realized she was taking on a major challenge. Just how big it would be, she had no way of knowing.

Home sales increase in Columbus during 2020

Commonly-held beliefs: Turkey makes you sleepy. Swimming soon after eating causes cramps. Sitting too close to the TV damages your eyesight.

Columbus Year in Review: COVID, racial justice movement dominates headlines in Lowndes County

The COVID-19 pandemic defined the year 2020, when everything from major events to everyday businesses and activities were impacted by mask-wearing, social distancing and fear of spreading the virus.

County considering extending its COVID-19 employee leave policy into new year

On Wednesday, Lowndes County supervisors spent most of their last meeting of 2020 talking about how the county will handle employee sick leave related to COVID-19 in 2021.

Slimantics: The year of unfinished business

This is my last column of 2020 and like most things in 2020, I’m ready to be done with it. (the year, not the column, I mean).

Oh, deer! Deer processors being overwhelmed as harvest reaches mid-point

Bagging that deer is one thing. Getting it to your kitchen table may be quite another.

Halfway through the deer season in Mississippi, deer meat processors are having a difficult time keeping up with demand.

In Memoriam

The year will be remembered for the devastating effects of COVID-19, which took the lives of some of our most-loved residents.

How is Christmas going to be different for you this year?

As the COVID-19 pandemic has stretched into the Christmas season, many have adapted, or downsized, their plans to celebrate. We asked area residents how their Christmas celebrations will be different this year.