Articles by Yue Stella Yu
City forms committee to plan for adjustment to ‘new normal’
The city of Columbus is forming a committee this week to discuss plans to adjust to a “new normal” under the COVID-19 pandemic, said Mayor Robert Smith in a Sunday letter to The Dispatch.
CPD will step up enforcement on city ordinance violations to curb the spread of COVID-19
To slow down the spread of COVID-19, Columbus Police Department will enhance its enforcement efforts on violations of city regulations, such as the curfew, restrictions on social gathering and store sanitations, said Chief Fred Shelton during a press conference Tuesday morning.
County moves to put computers in LCSO vehicles
Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office will start applying for a $58,000 federal grant to install computers in police vehicles for report filing, following the board of supervisors’ unanimous vote to approve the application Monday morning.
CMSD cuts ties with Ecco Ride amid COVID-19 pandemic
Columbus Municipal School District voted in a special-call meeting Friday to mutually end its contract with Ecco Ride, a private transportation company that had hired, trained and organized bus drivers for the district since 2013.
City cuts employee hours, freezes hires and travel
Beginning Monday, the city of Columbus will enact a series of cost-saving measures in the wake of a projected sales tax revenue downturn in the coming months, the city council decided unanimously during a special-call meeting Tuesday morning.
City leaders discuss borrowing millions more for streets despite mounting debt
Columbus city council is considering another round of street paving projects, following a 5-1 vote Tuesday night to further discuss the issue next month.
City awards $761K contract to build roundabout
Downtown Columbus is one step closer to seeing the construction of its first roundabout along Main Street.
Reopen or stay closed? City day cares caught in dilemma under stringent restrictions and risk of infection
Sitting in her pink toy truck, 4-year-old Emma Harris giggled.
Her mother, Bridget Shaw, had just given the truck a firm push as they played in their front yard Monday afternoon. The toddler, who was previously stranded in the lawn, continued to charge toward the house.
If not for the COVID-19 pandemic, such family time would not be the norm for Shaw, who works as a surgical nurse at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle.
Supes add $92K to budget for LCSO, delay action on storm shelters
Lowndes supervisors on Wednesday added $92,000 to the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office budget, including $65,000 for new uniforms and $27,000 to match a federal grant to buy bulletproof vests.
African Americans in Mississippi disproportionately affected by COVID-19
Customers walked around her, coughing.
Rubbing alcohol and gloves were in short supply. The masks she wore, she made herself. Some of her coworkers, scared, had stopped coming to work. But not her.
Beyond five sick days a year, she said, “everything is up in the air” as far as paid leave if she becomes ill with COVID-19.
Fisher hired to replace Billingsley as county administrator
A majority of the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors voted to hire a replacement for Lowndes County Administrator Ralph Billingsley Wednesday, but the decision sparked protests from two supervisors, one of whom walked out of the meeting, after they questioned the nature of Billingsley’s retirement and the appointment process.
Some shoppers feel safer with new grocery store restrictions; others taking them with grain of salt
Sean Scott stood waiting — from a distance.
Shopping for some rosemary and garlic to season the salmon he planned to cook, Scott went up to the meat and seafood counter at the Kroger in Columbus.
Several feet away from the counter, the blue social distancing markers on the ground said “Please wait here,” so he followed the instruction.
Mayor tightens regulations for grocery stores, retail stores selling food
Grocery stores and retail stores selling food in Columbus must comply with regulations set out by Mayor Robert Smith in a Monday letter to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Higgins: EMCC board blocks efforts to discuss terminated Lion Hills employees in executive session
Following the termination of four Lion Hills Club employees in early March and conflicting information on why they were let go, Lowndes County trustees on the board of East Mississippi Community College sought answers.
Council allows day cares to reopen with restrictions
Child care facilities in Columbus, previously shut down by a March 21 city order in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, can now reopen if they comply with a series of restrictions set out in a city resolution the council passed Tuesday evening.
Supervisors OK $8,800 equipment purchase to livestream meetings
Lowndes County residents can soon watch livestreams of board of supervisors’ meetings online amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
State’s uninsured hit hard by COVID-19: Tests cost hundreds out-of-pocket, adding to medical debt or deterring residents from seeking care
Within days, the cough quickly escalated into a burning chest pain that dropped 30-year-old Brittany Marie Wells to her kitchen floor.
“I started crying,” Wells said. “My mom ended up calling my dad, telling him that we needed to go to the hospital.”
But she refused to go.
Mississippi’s health care coverage gap provides ‘double whammy’ for many in pandemic
As the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic surges in the nation, federal funds may soon be available to cover the hospital treatments for uninsured COVID-19 patients, President Donald Trump announced Friday.
Mayor cuts city employees’ hours until further notice
Columbus Mayor Robert Smith has reduced work hours for most city employees, an executive decision that became effective Wednesday morning and is expected to last at least through next week, said the city’s Chief Administrative Officer David Armstrong.
Gov. Tate Reeves issues statewide shelter-in-place order
Gov. Tate Reeves issued an executive order Wednesday for Mississippians to shelter in place in the wake of the pandemic of COVID-19 coronavirus.