West Point grappling with relocating Confederate monument at City Hall

Over the past few months, Blair Key and Barry White have been fielding more calls that usual.

COVID changes college move-in experience

In a typical year, the Saturday before college classes start are part celebration, part chaos.

Saturday, the difference was palpable.

Slimantics: Preparing for fall

Earlier this week, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, said this fall “could be the worst we’ve ever had.”

CMSD student, teacher test positive for COVID

A student and teacher in Columbus Municipal School District have tested positive for COVID-19 while 11 others have been asked to self-isolate, Superintendent Cherie Labat confirmed Tuesday morning.

A gentle giant: Longtime Columbus chiropractor succumbs to COVID complications

Dr. Paul Veal was a big man in every sense of the word.

At 6-foot-6, with “hands as big as hubcaps,” as one friend put it, Veal’s imposing presence was allayed by a gentleness, a boundless optimism and a sweetness of spirit that endeared him to everyone he met, including the countless number of patients he saw during his 34 years as a chiropractor, where patients often became friends.

School starts in Columbus under strict COVID protocols

The first day of school always means a bit of apprehension. But this year, those fears were of a different nature.

Retesting delays employees from returning to work

By now, employers know what to do when a worker reports symptoms of COVID-19. Those guidelines haven ‘t changed: The employee is sent for testing and required to self-quarantine.

Murry Anthony remembered as mentor, father figure

Officially, Murry Anthony was a father of six, but the list of those who considered him a father figure goes far beyond that number. It’s easy to understand why.

MSMS plans hybrid schedule for upcoming school year

During the COVID-19 pandemic, public schools have faced a complex challenge in keeping their students safe for the roughly eight hours a day they are in their charge.

For Germain McConnell and the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, the challenge is increased by a factor of three.

Slimantics: More than one way to look at unemployment supplements

If you have a job, July 25th may not have held much significance. Yet for an estimated 69,700 Mississippians who are unemployed, it was a red-letter day, emphasis on red.

Hope provides for the underserved: Credit Union with branch in West Point focuses efforts on financial opportunities for African Americans, women

Since its founding in 1995, Hope Credit Union has provided more than $2.5 billion in financing for more than 1.5 million people, primarily in underserved communities.

It especially helps Black communities, where lack of access to capital has been historically low.

Slimantics: Too hot to handle?

Forty-three years ago, I worked at Peterbilt Motors in Nashville where I was one of a dozen college students hired for a summer job program. I worked with four other college students in the factory’s maintenance department, where we were generally disliked by the union workers who considered all of us to be “smarty-pants.”

Local activists, families ask judges to consider parole for habitual offenders with nonviolent felonies

When Gov. Tate Reeves vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have made up to 2,000 nonviolent offenders eligible for parole earlier this month, family members of those inmates set aside their disappointment to search for other options.

‘Everybody likes catfish’: Local church’s food program distributes five tons of live catfish to those in need

As part of her duties as minister/chaplain at St. James United Methodist Church in Columbus, Eve Preister administers the church’s food program.

Slimantics: It’s more than a game

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues unabated into the summer, Americans are grappling with the consequences. We remain justifiably concerned about the financial and health impacts and are beginning to realize that we are nowhere close to a resolution.

As COVID testing increases, some see nearly two week delays on results

When a person tests for COVID-19, the first thing they want to know is whether they have contracted the virus.

More and more, the answer is yes. On Monday, Mississippi State Department of Health reported 1,635 new cases, shattering the previous high single-day case record.

Given the increase, the next logical question posed at a lab, clinic or drive-in test site is how long it will take to get the results.

City proposes alternate site for Confederate monument

Columbus City Council will offer Lowndes County supervisors an option between two parcels of land at Friendship Cemetery on which to move the Confederate monument outside the courthouse, after city officials became concerned the first parcel chosen would be too difficult for the monument’s movers to access.

New Salvation Army directors meet new assignment with enthusiasm

As it is with the regular military, serving as an officer with the Salvation Army means frequent moves from one community to another.

Now in their 10th year with the Salvation Army, Capts. Pradeep and Priscilla Ramaji are finding their fourth assignment different from the previous ones.

Helping Hands offers fans to help citizens battle summer heat

A box fan won’t solve all of Marianna Hubbard’s problems, but it will stop the bleeding, she hopes.

Slimantics: A better idea for the school year

Today, I am narrowing the focus of my column to the graduating Class of 2021. I suppose their parents may find this relevant, too, along with anyone else who might have some interest in living long enough to see them graduate.