One Starkville man has died as an apparent result of icy roads after the vehicle he was driving ran off the road and overturned in Oktibbeha County Monday evening.
Coroner Michael Hunt identified the victim as Leander Outlaw, 58. Sheriff Steve Gladney said Outlaw was driving along Sixteenth Section Road east of Starkville at about 6 p.m. when he lost control of the vehicle.
Outlaw is the only fatality reported so far as a result of a winter storm that has gripped the Golden Triangle since Monday morning, causing power outages and covering roads and bridges in ice.
“The roads are worse today than they were yesterday,” Gladney said Tuesday. “They’re just solid ice now. … Unless it’s an emergency, do not get out.”
Officers with Mississippi Highway Patrol Troop G responded to three calls on highways Monday, but none overnight, said spokesperson Sgt. Derrick Beckom. Local law enforcement responded to dozens of calls about vehicles sliding off the roads or stranded motorists, though authorities also said they had not seen as many as they expected.
“It’s lower than what we anticipated,” Starkville Police Chief Mark Ballard said. “… The city itself did a really good job for the most part staying off the road.”
In Columbus, police responded to five accidents, according to Police Chief Fred Shelton, primarily vehicles sliding on icy roads. In Oktibbeha County, deputies responded to fewer than 10 calls, all but one of which were simple cases of vehicles sliding off roads and the drivers needing help moving. Starkville police reported responding to 10 accidents and 10 calls of stranded vehicles since mid-afternoon Sunday.
In Clay County, Sheriff Eddie Scott said his deputies are still responding to calls and tallying the numbers, but that they’ve responded to about a dozen such accidents. West Point Police Chief Avery Cook estimated West Point police have responded to between five and 10 minor accidents, including two Tuesday morning.
Temperatures Monday night and Tuesday morning stayed below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and highs are unlikely to go above 32 degrees on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service office in Jackson. The temperature at Golden Triangle Regional Airport was 16 degrees mid-morning Tuesday, according to NWS’s website.
Wednesday’s high is forecast for 38 with a low of 34.
Rain and snow is forecasted Thursday with a high of 38 and a low dropping to 17.
The high Friday is forecast for 37 with a low of 17 before warming to 48 degrees Saturday.
Utilities repairing power outages
Utility companies reported no new outages overnight Monday while about 500 4-County Electric customers in Noxubee and southern Lowndes County should have power restored by mid-day
Tuesday.
Utility companies in Starkville and West Point have no reported outages since the winter storm arrived late Sunday evening.
Columbus Light and Water reported 10 outages Monday, mostly businesses on a stretch of Highway 45 where lines had pulled away from the buildings.
“In a situation where a line has fallen, we can repair that,” said CLW interim manager Mike Bernsen. “But in situations like these, the property owner has to call in an electrician. It’s not something we can work on.”
Otherwise, Bernsen said there were no outages in the city overnight Monday.
Meanwhile, service was restored on Monday for 300 of the 800 4-County customers who lost power overnight Sunday.
“(Monday night) was pretty good for us,” 4-County spokesman Jon Turner said. “We didn’t have any additional outages, so we were able to work on getting service back to those who lost service over the night Sunday. We worked until about 7 (Monday night) then got back out there (Tuesday morning) around 6:30. Our priority is to have service restored by everyone by mid-afternoon.”
Starkville Utilities Department General Manager Terry Kemp said there had been no outages since the storm arrived.
“We have been very fortunate,” Kemp said. “Our water, sewer and electricity systems are all up and running. We haven’t had any interruptions.”
Utility companies are now turning their attention to another potential threat to service on Wednesday evening.
NWS forecasts rain/freezing on Wednesday, but temperatures are supposed to remain above freezing — 34 to 38 degrees — into Thursday.
“We’re just praying the temperatures stay above freezing,” Turner said. “You can look at the ice already on the lines now. They can’t take much more ice. So we’ll be keeping a close eye on what happens Wednesday.”
The Golden Triangle Homeless Coalition will continue to operate a shelter/warming station at First Baptist Church until Saturday, said co-president Sandra DePriest.
The shelter was moved from the Salvation Army to First Baptist Monday morning. During the transition, 10 people were placed in hotel rooms Monday evening and most are expected to move into the FBC shelter later today.
“We hope to have a few more volunteers who will stay overnight,” DePriest said. “We have volunteers to help during the day.”
In addition to the homeless, DePriest said the shelter/warming station is available for anyone who might not have adequate heating.
“They can come and stay for as little or as long as they need to,” DePriest said.
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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