MISSISSIPPI STATE, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi State University named its new police chief and assistant chief. Kenneth Rogers will lead the department. The next in line is Assistant Chief Brian Locke. Former Chief Vance Rice is now the Chief Safety Officer at Oklahoma State University. Rogers was appointed as interim chief after Rice left in February. The new MSU PD…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – A man allegedly tried putting a Tupelo Police Officer in a headlock following a traffic stop. TPD said Monday, an officer pulled over William Westmoreland near South Gloster Street for multiple traffic violations. Westmoreland allegedly exited his vehicle immediately and became verbally aggressive. Police said the officer approached the vehicle again after Westmoreland drove off for…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A bill making its way through the United States Senate could mean $83 million for work at military installations in Mississippi, including about $49 million for the Columbus Air Force Base. The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill, MilCon-VA for short, was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, meaning it will move on to be…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A river runs through it. The Tenn-Tom Waterway means traffic and a booming river economy. That’s why the Tennessee-Tombigbee Water Authority is working to improve the waterway and make it more competitive. This includes deepening the river from nine feet to 12 feet. They are also planning to build a barrier to help with the Asian…
WINONA, Miss. (WCBI) – When the Mayor of Winona, Aaron Dees, was asked what led to the arrest of a city official at a board meeting, he said this has been ongoing. “I think it’s been building for quite a while with false accusations,” said Dees. According to the mayor, tensions have been brewing for almost two years and finally…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A mother of four children was home alone in Lowndes County when a family member discovered the worst. Lowndes County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the death of the 39-year-old woman, Summer Danielle Tennyson. A person of interest is in custody for unrelated charges at the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators have not charged anyone with…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The future of energy production is already taking shape in the Golden Triangle. During Covid, the area landed its first solar panel farm. Since then a second one has been built and a third one is in the works. The growth of solar farms could contribute more to the economy than just renewable energy. There…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Tupelo will get a skate park for beginners thanks to a recent victory in a national competition. Local skateboarders have always been a tight-knit group, but recently, Tupelo skateboarders got a big boost from people across the area, state, and nation. “I’ve never seen the community get behind something like that on that level,” said Matt…
OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI) – An Oxford Police Officer and a group of mechanics came to the rescue for a kitten. Officer David Mahaffey heard a strange noise when he got in his vehicle and when he looked underneath, he noticed a stray kitten. Unable to reach the furry friend, he took his vehicle to the Oxford City Shop. The crew…
BOONEVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Two Booneville Police Officers have been terminated, and a third has been demoted. Police Chief Michael Ramey confirmed that the Board of Aldermen took that action. The officers who were fired have been identified as Austin Kidd and DJ Wilkerson. Briley Strickland was demoted to patrolman. Ramey said he could not comment further on specifics of…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A student at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science can now add “Award-Winning Podcaster” to her list of achievements. Rising Senior Georgianna McKenny is this year’s winner of National Public Radio’s Student Podcast Challenge. McKenny, a podcasting newbie, finished tops out of a field of over 33 hundred entries from 48 states, The District of…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Kids are having a roaring good time during Vacation Bible School at First Methodist Church of Columbus this week. Along with their normal activities, Debbie Taylor, founder of Golden Triangle Outdoors, spoke to the kids about what it is like to live with a disability. The theme of this week’s VBS is about celebrating each other’s…
LEE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Drivers in the Brewer and Shannon area of south Lee County need to plan ahead for a detour. Part of County Road 520 will be closed beginning July 5. Crews will be replacing the bridge located about nine-tenths of a mile west of Highway 6 on CR 520. That section of the road will be…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Columbus city officials are also debating increasing the city borders. Officials are already looking into expanding east but are now considering going north towards Columbus Air Force Base as well. The proposed annexation is very early in talks. City officials want to be confident that moving north will benefit the city. It is also important that…
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – City officials are continuing to consider implementing a “red cup law.” During Tuesday night’s council meeting, the city council voted to create a committee to continue to discuss a “red cup law” for Columbus. The proposed committee would consist of both city leaders and local business owners to get different opinions on the topic. The committee…
OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Oktibbeha County deputies made another arrest in connection with a May shooting. 18-year-old Jamionte Paster of Starkville was charged with shooting into an automobile. The shooting happened at The Hangout apartments back on May 10. One person was shot and several vehicles were hit by gunfire. Investigators believed there was a party at the complex…
TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – The City of Tupelo is looking at a list of projects that will cost around $50 million, but will come without a tax hike. The list of projects is diverse and includes things the mayor and council would like to see completed during their term. “All these come from the council, which come from the citizens,”…
WINONA, Miss. (WCBI) – It was anything but business as usual at Tuesday night’s Winona Board of Aldermen meeting. An ongoing feud between first-term Alderwoman Sylvia Clark and employees of the city’s Recreation and Parks Department erupted during the meeting. Before it was over Clark had to be removed by police. Clark has reportedly been critical of park employees and…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – School is out, but learning has not stopped in the Starkville Oktibbeha School District. The Partnership Middle School is hosting a variety of camps for students this week. The Partnership School is offering camps during their summer intermission, teaching students fun topics in non-traditional ways. They are offering camps teaching about Chess, creative writing, and neuroscience….
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- Animal shelters have to brace themselves this time of year. Spring is a kitten and puppy season, and unfortunately, many of those are unwanted. It’s a full house at the Columbus Lowndes Humane Society. “Comfortably and safely we can hold about 200 animals. Comfortably means everybody isn’t doubled up, and safely is just for health reasons. We…
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – A pioneering firefighter is getting some overdue recognition. The Mississippi Senate and the City of Starkville have honored former Starkville fire Chief Willie Johnson with a resolution from the state. Johnson was the first African American fire chief in the state of Mississippi. Johnson’s legacy began in 1988 when he took on the unprecedented role. He…
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Lowndes County residents are facing bumps in the road while they wait for paving in some areas. One speed bump Supervisors are having to deal with is the increasing cost of road maintenance. Lowndes County Road Manager Mike Aldridge said there are several factors slowing down their progress. “The main thing we are running into…
CALEDONIA, Miss. (WCBI) – Lowndes County deputies are investigating a homicide, near Caledonia. Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said deputies were called to a home near the intersection of North Wolfe and Grant Roads at about 11 a.m. The 911 call was for an unresponsive person. Deputies arrived to find a white female dead. Investigators are still working to determine how and…