Slimantics: Passing the WorkKeys

At 8:25 Thursday morning, test proctor Terry Logan escorted eight people from the lobby at East Mississippi Community College to a classroom equipped with desktop computers, a calculator and pencil and paper.

Kratom banned in Caledonia

Thursday, Caledonia Mayor Mitch Wiggins provided notice to stores in town of a new ordinance banning the sale or possession of Kratom, which is commonly sold in convenience stores as a pain relief/energy supplement.

High water levels stymie river traffic

It’s been a quiet week along the Tombigbee River.

The familiar sight of barges moving up and down the waterway is strangely absent and the routine of loading and unloading at the Lowndes County Port has slowed to a trickle.

Slimantics: Another Waller aims for an upset

Like many candidates, Bill Waller Jr. has started making his tour of newspaper offices to talk with editorial boards. On Monday, the Republican candidate for Governor arrived at The Dispatch where he spent a lot of time in the newspaper lobby.

Storm damage costs still unclear

For the past week, Lowndes County Emergency Management Director Cindy Lawrence has been holding regular briefings for groups involved in responding to the Feb. 23 tornado and flooding that swept through the county.

Weekend storm batters Main Street’s last ‘old home’

For the dozens of historic homes in Columbus, Saturday’s EF-3 tornado was no more than a close call.

There was, however, one exception.

Church of Christ nonprofit delivers relief tractor-trailer containing $70K of supplies

Saturday evening, about an hour after an EF-3 tornado ripped through Columbus, Willie McCord went to check on his church.

Slimantics: Angels with dirty faces

Wednesday afternoon, a cloud of smoke hung over the intersection of Seventh Avenue North and 19th Street, but its presence did not signal cause for alarm.

Mildred’s wild ride: Northside resident escapes SUV caught in Saturday tornado

As much as she likes the fish sandwich at Skeet’s Hot Dogs, Mildred Brooks admits it wasn’t worth the trouble early Saturday evening.

A short drive — only about a mile from her home to the restaurant — became Mildred’s Wild Ride and a part of the folklore of the Columbus Tornado, an EF-3 twister that ripped through the city shortly after 5 p.m.

A baptism service to remember: Eight baptized Sunday at First Pentecostal at tornado-wrecked church site

Come hell or high water, Blake Brown was going to get baptized Sunday.

Under normal circumstances, that would be easy enough. Steve Blaylock, pastor at First Pentecostal Church on Tuscaloosa Road in East Columbus has baptized hundreds of people in his 22 years at the church.

But pulling off a baptismal service Sunday was no small feat. For starters, the baptistery and the baptism robes were buried somewhere among the scattered debris of the church, which imploded under the power of Saturday evening’s tornado.

Burdine eager to take on Caledonia marshal post

Kelvin Burdine may be the new town marshal in Caledonia, but that doesn’t mean he’s exactly a stranger.

Panel discusses school safety, discipline at parent meeting

A group of about 150 parents and students gathered Thursday evening at Columbus Middle School to listen to school and city officials share information on a topic important to every parent in the district: school safety.

Keenum notes link between state’s income level, number of people with college degrees

During Monday’s visit to the Starkville Rotary Club, Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum drew a distinct line connecting the problems most affecting the state and higher education’s role in addressing them.

Slimantics: Rhonda Keenum’s role on Reeves’ campaign goes beyond bad optics

During his speech Monday at the Starkville Rotary Club, Mississippi State University President Mark Keenum posed a few questions to his audience.

Delta adds fourth flight out of GTRA

Delta Air Lines will add a fourth round-trip flight out of the Golden Triangle Regional Airport, a move that bucks recent trends and reflects the growth of the area’s industries, said GTRA Executive Director Mike Hainsey.

MSU unveils statues of Clark, Palmeiro as part of weekend celebration

Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro, also known as “Thunder and Lightning,” have been larger-than-life figures among Mississippi State baseball fans since their memorable playing days for the Bulldogs in the 1980s.

The New Dude: MSU’s $68-million baseball stadium opens to rave reviews

Over the decades, the baseball facility at Mississippi State has acquired more names than a serial bride — official names such as Dudy Noble Field and Polk-Dement Stadium, but also more colloquial names like “The Carnegie Hall of College Baseball” or the more familiar and certainly less pretentious, “The Dude.”

The W opens year with no-hitters

At sunrise Tuesday, it was 32 degrees or, as Mississippi University for Women softball coach John Newman calls it, “softball weather.”

Sen. Younger: Proposed pay raise for teachers should be higher

Local legislators expressed disappointment Friday with two bills in the Mississippi Legislature affecting education, one of which aims to increase salaries for public school teachers and the other which — had it not died in committee — would have raised the pay for school board members.

Woodstock and the spirit of 1969: Local historian recounts a memorable year of turmoil, discovery

Marc Harris grew up in upstate New York and although he didn’t attend Woodstock, he remains fascinated by the event, which proved to be an iconic moment at the end of a turbulent decade.