Former SPD officer convicted of child exploitation counts

A former Starkville police officer was convicted Friday on five counts of exploitation of a child after a three-day trial in which he testified in his own defense.

SOCSD delays student start date to Aug. 24

Classes will start Aug. 24 in the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, Superintendent Eddie Peasant announced Friday, instead of Aug. 6 as originally planned, in order to prepare teachers for an unexpectedly high number of students who will learn through the district’s virtual option.

Contractor pleads guilty to fraud in Second Baptist construction project

The owner of a Long Beach construction company that allegedly failed to properly construct a Starkville church’s new sanctuary pleaded guilty Thursday to a fraud charge from four years ago.

4-County using CARES funds for limited broadband buildout

Rural parts of Choctaw, Clay and Noxubee counties will receive broadband internet access from the 4-County Electric Power Association thanks to a state-run grant program distributing federal funding.

OCH CEO: Federal relief funds likely won’t be used for employee raises, hazard pay

OCH Regional Medical Center employees have been hoping to receive pay raises from the hospital’s supply of federal financial relief, but administration and the board of trustees said Tuesday that is unlikely to happen.

LCSD moves start date to Sept. 1; learning environment to be determined

Classes will start Sept. 1 in Lowndes County School District after the board voted unanimously at a budget work session Monday to move the start date from Aug. 6.

School reopening plans still fluid as pandemic continues

Until the social distancing directive from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is lifted, “normal operations” for schools are a thing of the past, Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Superintendent Eddie Peasant said on the district website. It’s true for school districts both locally and nationwide as they make plans to try to keep students, teachers and staff at a safe distance from each other in buildings and on buses. Public health data changes daily, so districts have to make adjustments on the fly if needed.

Starkville-Oktibbeha libraries request more funding for staffing, programming

Loraine Walker has held a livestreamed storytime for children “every day at 10 a.m. without fail” on Facebook since the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic halted most activity in March.

COVID causes delays at North Star; officials still optimistic about site

Construction of the long-awaited North Star Industrial Park at the northwest intersection of Highways 389 and 82 in Starkville has continued during the COVID-19 pandemic, though not without delays, Golden Triangle Development LINK CEO Joe Max Higgins said.

Columbus-based outdoor travel app sees immediate popularity

Mark Alexander Sr. was planning a trout fishing trip to Tennessee with a friend a couple years ago and found it a labor-intensive process that he thought should be easier and faster.

Aldermen hire new parks director on second try

Starkville hired a new Parks and Recreation executive director Tuesday with a unanimous board of aldermen vote and several statements of confidence.

‘No right answer’: Parents grapple with education options for children during pandemic

Christine Lawson had “tossed around the idea of homeschooling” her two sons in the past, but it is the continuing COVID-19 pandemic that has convinced her to do it.

Lawson and her older son, who is 11, both have health conditions that make her wary of sending the boys back to Lowndes County School District in case they unknowingly bring the virus home. Schools across the state and nation closed their doors and implemented online learning from March to May due to the pandemic, and families throughout the Golden Triangle have much to consider when deciding whether to send their children back into school buildings next month.

LCSD offers virtual learning option after parents express concerns

Lowndes County School District’s decision Monday afternoon to offer virtual learning to all its students, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, came as a big relief for Carli Hankey.

Pritchard, MDEQ will work to secure FEMA funding for county lake dam

County Engineer Clyde Pritchard will work more closely with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to find funding sources for the possible replacement of the Oktibbeha County Lake Dam, county and MDEQ officials decided at Monday’s board of supervisors meeting.

Starkville considering another water/sewer rate increase

Starkville will increase water and sewer rates and adjust its rate structure to help fund more planned infrastructure upgrades, a long-term project that started two years ago.

Starkville attorney challenges downtown Streatery in court

Starkville attorney Charles Bruce Brown’s first challenge to the city’s planned Streatery, an outdoor seating and dining space that will temporarily occupy nine Main Street parking spaces, did not succeed at the board of aldermen’s July 7 meeting.

SOCSD gives students options for return to school

The Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District will allow parents and students to choose their preferred method of education for the upcoming school year due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Superintendent Eddie Peasant announced Tuesday on the district’s website.

T.K. Martin Center planning COVID-19 safety measures for preschool

Some families travel more than three hours one way to bring their child to the T.K. Martin Center for Technology and Disability, director Kasee Stratton-Gadke said, because its specialized preschool services can’t be found anywhere else.

West Point school district releases 2020-21 reopening plan

Individual schools and parents, rather than the West Point Consolidated School District, will determine what school looks like in West Point when buildings reopen and classes resume in less than a month.

Current, former SPD chiefs advocate for police reform in nationwide panel

Starkville Police Chief Mark Ballard said he wants police officers to be as respected as health care workers and college professors, but they have to earn it.