Residents of the Golden Triangle went through an historic, if not tumultuous, 2009. From a new cast of city officials in Columbus, Starkville and West Point, to a contentious debate over Sunday alcohol sales and a smoking ban in Columbus, to a tragic holiday fire that left nine people dead, here is a list of the top stories from the past year:
Fire kills nine at Academy Crossing Apartments
Monday, a fire tore through the second floor of a building in the Academy Crossing apartment complex on Louisville Street in Starkville and trapped nine people in one unit. The three women and six children in Apartment E7 died of smoke inhalation.
A candlelight vigil drew hundreds of people Tuesday night to the charred building in honor of victims India Williams, 25, and her three children, Jacorian Vasser, 6, Richard Vasser Jr., 5, and Kamorian Williams, 2; Castella “Maria” Bell, 18, and her three children, Ta’Nayia Bell, 4, Jayvion Bell, 3, and Sumaya Bell, 6 Months; and 20-year-old Lakesha Gillespie.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Back in the saddle
In February, a New Hampshire man who passed through Lowndes County during a cross-country journey, was struck by an 18-wheeler more than 1,700-mile journey from New Hampshire to Mississippi.
The accident in Highway 45 South in Shuqualak left then 49-year-old Bob Skelding of Deerfield, N.H., resident Bob Skelding, 49, with a broken neck vertebrae, several broken ribs, a broken shoulder and a broken collar bone.
Skelding’s homemade recreational vehicle, which contained a kitchen, air conditioning, a bed and several other amenities, was decimated and two of his four horses, Deedee and Dolly, died in the wreck.
Skelding recovered at Rush Memorial Hospital in Meridian for about a month, and by June, he had moved to North Carolina to plan his second journey, in a new horse-drawn carriage.
Downturn hits home
The area saw several layoffs this year.
In April, Ceco Building Systems, a premanufactured buildings producer in Columbus since 1947, laid off more than 50 workers. While the company still employs more than 100 people, the job cuts came on the heels of another round of layoffs, during which 67 people were let go.
Holcim Inc. in March announced the termination of about 113 positions at the cement manufacturing plant on Highway 45 Alternate in Artesia.
The plant has been operating in Artesia for more than a quarter of a century and was slated to shut down sometime in late May or early June. The plant currently is operating with about 11 employees and continues to ship cement, though it is in a holding status.
In August, Columbus’ Omnova Solutions plant in East Columbus announced the layoff of 33 people, leaving a staff of 283, of which about 100 are salaried employees.
The plant cut eight salaried positions and 24 union hourly positions at the decorative products manufacturing facility on Yorkville Road East.
Navistar officials in October announced 80 employees were cut from the West Point staff, leaving about 120 people working at the facility off Eshman Avenue, which produces mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles, commonly called MRAPs, for the U.S. Army and the 262 “Husky” tactical support vehicles for the British military.
Area elections
The year was marked by historic elections over the summer in all the Golden Triangle cities. In Starkville, Mayor Dan Camp was ousted. Parker Wiseman, who, at 28, became one of the youngest mayors in the state, defeated former Ward 5 Alderman Matt Cox in a runoff to take the seat.
Along with Wiseman, five new members were elected to serve on the Board of Aldermen. Former aldermen Sumner Davis, of Ward 1, and P.C. “Mac” McLaurin, of Ward 3, opted not to run for re-election and were replaced by Ben Carver and Eric Parker, respectively. Former Alderman Rodney Lincoln was defeated by Sandra Sistrunk in Ward 2 and former Alderwoman Janette Self was defeated by Henry Vaughn Sr. in Ward 7. Cox, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor, was replaced in Ward 5 by Jeremiah Dumas. The only two aldermen remaining from the previous board are Richard Corey, who represents Ward 4, and Roy A. Perkins, who has represented Ward 6 for the past 16 years.
In West Point, Scott Ross solidified another term as mayor, defeating Harold Lathon. But joining him for the current term is a nearly all-new Board of Selectmen.
Ward 1 incumbent Linda Hannah, who represented the ward for 16 years, was defeated by Rod Bobo.
In Ward 3, Charles D. Collins won the seat against Hubert Caston in a primary runoff. Longtime Ward 3 Selectman and Vice Mayor John Cummings did not seek re-election. Incumbent Ward 4 Selectman Keith McBrayer reclaimed his seat against John Caskey in a runoff. In Ward 2, Homer E. Cannon won against incumbent Marion “Bubba” Wilkerson in the primary election. In Ward 5, incumbent Jasper Pittman beat Joe H. Michel III, also in the primary. Since West Point candidates were Democrats, except for Lathon, independent, only the mayoral race went to the general election. All other seats were decided in the primary and primary runoff.
In Columbus, there also were sweeping changes on the city board. Though Mayor Robert Smith easily reclaimed his seat over Thom Geiger, four the city’s six City Council seats were filled with newcomers.
Kabir Karriem defeated Ward 5 incumbent Jay Jordan; Joseph Mickens Sr. won over incumbent Ward 2 Councilwoman Susan Mackay; Ward 1 incumbent Gene Taylor won over Anthony Sanders; Ward 3 candidate Charlie Box won over Ward 3 incumbent Gene Coleman; Ward 6 Republican candidate Bill Gavin won over Ward 6 incumbent Jerry Kendall. Incumbent Ward 4 Councilman Fred Stewart ran unopposed.
MUW in limbo
Soon after selecting a name for the historic Mississippi University for Women, Dr. Limbert announced her retirement. And the first state-supported women’s college faces a whole new set of challenges as Gov. Haley Barbour has proposed merging it with Mississippi State University, to save the state money.
Barbour also proposed merging the state’s historically black colleges — Alcorn State University in Lorman, Jackson State University and Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena.
Members of the disaffiliated former MUW Alumnae Association — now Mississippi’s First Alumnae Association — and the Limbert-formed new MUW Alumni Association, who have not been able to agree on bylaws to merge the two groups, have joined forces along with other W supporters to form The Friends of The W.
The group, which is planning a rally in January at the Capitol, is seeking to save the institution, which was founded in 1884 and began admitting men in 1982.
The school this year also celebrated its 125th birthday.
Curbside recycling
The city of Starkville launched the state’s first free curbside recycling pickup program in September. The program targets single-family dwelling residents who currently use the city’s curbside garbage pickup services. More than 1,000 residents have enrolled in the program.
While curbside recycling is good for the environment, it also will help the city financially. Starkville pays Golden Triangle Waste Services $23.50 per ton to dump garbage at its landfill in Clay County. The city saved about $130 on its first pick-up day in October by recycling more than 5 1/2 tons of materials. The program was approved by aldermen in March.
Triangle Maintenance Service offer curbside pickup in Columbus and West Point, for a fee.
Swine flu
The H1N1 virus had the nation on edge even before being declared a national health emergency.
More than 100 people at Mississippi State University were diagnosed with possible cases of the H1N1 virus.
Once the Mississippi State Department of Health began partnering with school districts to offer the swine flu vaccine to students for free, nine students at Caledonia High School in Caledonia had mild to serious reactions to the shot.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
