WCBI New at Six - 10/06/2020

WCBI New at Six - 10/06/2020

"an outside consultant is being brought in to make recommendations about future plans for the lee county jail.

We'll have that story coming up on wcbi news " show open a lowndes county jury only takes 15 minutes to convict a man of capital murder.

Joshua murry was also sentenced to life in prison.

He killed 24-year- old jarrel ward of starkville in july 2018.

Ward was found on sand road in lowndes county several days after he was reported missing.

Prosecutors are more than a dozen witnesses in trial.

The trial started last tuesday with jury selection.

Price and safety... key concerns surrounding the future of the lee county jail.

A consultant will now make recommendations about how county leaders should proceed... with repairs, renovations, or a new facility all together.

Wcbi's allie martin tells us about the latest development in this long and sometimes controversial process.

From the moment it opened, the lee county adult detention center was overcrowded.

For years, sheriff jim johnson has been outspoken about the need for a new jail and justice complex, but supervisors have nixed proposals for a new facility and renovating the current jail.

Now, an outside consultant is being brought in to take a look.

More than two years ago, sheriff johnson said a fire in the jail's laundry room was one example of the potentially dangerous conditions at the facility.

"something is going to have to be done, i don't know what it's going to take."

Sheriff johnson says the need for a new justice complex is even more pressing now.

"i think the board understands there's some severe issues over there that need to be handled."

Lee county chancery clerk bill benson says that's why supervisors have agreed to pay 3o thousand dollars, plus travel expenses, to tom weber, a national jail consultant.

Weber will look at the issue, and make recommendations.

Benson says much of weber's research will involve making projections about the population of the jail over a ten year period.

"mr weber will look at historical data, he will also visit with all the chiefs in the local municipalities to determine, if the facility was large enough, how many would they have held, but you can't plan for any type of facility, without knowing how many people you are expecting to house."

Sheriff johnson was not available for an interview, but said in a statement that he is glad the board is moving forward for a much needed project.

Weber has 90 business days to conduct his study.

A report is expected in february or march.

Allie martin, wcbi news once weber makes his recommendations, supervisors will decide whether to hire an architect to look at possible costs.

The search continues for a missing lowndes county teenager.

13-year-old gracie black has been missing since late september.

She has blonde hair, brown eyes, and a nose piercing.

Black is about five foot, two inches tall, and 130 pounds.

Lowndes county deputies believe she is a runaway and a report has filed with the sheriff's department.

If you have any information call the lowndes county sheriff's department.

An inmate serving 40 years for two sex crimes dies at the state prison in rankin county.

Mississippi department of corrections says 64-year-old roger lynn holliman died at central mississippi correctional facility today.

Holliman had been in prison since march 2019, shortly after pleading guilty in february of 2019 for two counts of sexual battery in greene county.

Holliman also pleaded guilty to statutory rape in september of that year in wayne county.

An autopsy will determine the official cause of death.

Powerful hurricane delta is taking aim at the resort town of cozumel, mexico.

This is video from grand caymen island, which was brushed by the category four storm.

The hurricane is also expected to impact the northern gulf coast... this morning alabama governor kay ivey signed a state of emergency.

Her state is still reeling from hurricane sally.

Some voluntary evacuations are underway in louisiana, where there is also a state of emergency there.

Keith joins us now with an update.... first look stinger first look tuesday night: clear, quiet, and comfy.

Lows in the low 50s.

Calm wind.

Wednesday: bright sunshine and seasonably warm highs in the low to mid 80s.

Light northerly breezes.

Wednesday night: mostly clear and continued quiet.

Lows in the 50s.

Thursday: a mix of sun and clouds.

Highs in the 80s.

The remnants of hurricane delta will move through our area this weekend.

Expect some rain, breezes, and even an isolated tornado threat.

More on that system in just a few minutes.

The mississippi highway patrol is reminding drivers to use extra caution around school buses.

Sgt.

Derrick beckom with troop g says they have received complaints from people concerned about drivers not stopping when buses are loading and unloading students.

Mississippi law requires motorists to stop at least 10 feet from a school bus at least 10 feet from a school bus during loading.

The also states that drivers must not proceed until the stop sign on the side of the bus is retracted.

Unfortunate situation of someone passing a school bus and hitting a child.

That's our precious cargo, so we need everyone to remain...pay attention to what you're doing when you're out there in the morning and in the evenings..when you're around the school buses.

Be familiar with your local stops for school buses and take our children into consideration when you're out traveling and keep them safe.

Anyone caught illegally passing a school bus could face fines or driver's license suspension.

A building that holds sentimental value to many folks in columbus is finally getting the restoration many say it deserves.

The old hunt high school was destroyed in the february, 2019 tornado.

In the past, the building was used as an intermediate school, but moving forward, the facility will be used for things like college prep and career tech skills.

Columbus municipal school district superintendent dr. cherie labat spoke at today's rotary club of columbus meeting.

She says the school district is partnering with pacaar, emcc, and the w to help breathe new life into the facility.

"we really wanted to have a strong focus on college and career readiness, the west side of the building being the college preparation side that we'll be partnering with the w... the east side of the building will be focused on workforce, and we'll be working with emcc to develop a program and transitional workspaces..."

"we've just recently redesigned our school of education, so we're looking at ways that we can be innovative and ways that we can give back to the community..."

Labat says the roofing process is complete and the district will begin the bidding process for the redesign of the interior in november.

Labat also says there will be a town hall meeting by the end of the year to give community members an idea of what things will look like.

Top it has been a quite the semester for emcc because of covid19.

But the safety measures put in place at the start of semester to keep the faculty and students safe have gone quite well according to president doctor scott alsobrooks.

Virtual learning has become the new norm for the college... alsobrooks says he is very proud of both students and faculty for working together as one during these difficult times.

"they have been very disciplined in wearing masks.

They've been very disciplined in social distancing so we've been quite pleased with our students.

We've had very very little reports of anybody not complying and it's usually more on the lines of somebody forgets a mask and we are able to supply them a mask when they get inside the building.

So students have done really really well i want to complement our students and our faculty it's been really smooth."

Alsobrooks says enrollment rates have decreased by 10 percent in the past year because of covid19.

The 161st mississippi state fair kicks off tomorrow with no mask requirement in place.

Organizers say masks will be encouraged and offered at entrances.

State agricultural and commerce commissioner andy gipson released today saying quote... "wearing a mask is a matter of personal preference" end quote.

This contradicts the state fair's website, which says masks will be required for attendees.

Gipson says vendors and employees will be required to wear masks.

Fair rides will be sanitized between each ride, and hand sanitizer will be available throughout the fairgrounds.

Indoor events will also be limited to 25% capacity.

Outdoor music will be "properly spaced" for social distancing.

A maximum of 21,000 people will be allowed at the fairgrounds at a time.

Stinger "wondering where everyone is?

How your local libraries are being affected by covid- 19 ahead on wcbi."

Don't don't judge a book by its cover... libraries are opening a new chapter in how they operate.

Readers will find more books and activities in the palms of their hands but on a screen.

Wcbi's stephen pimpo joins us live in the studio with how libraries are adapting to covid- 19 restrictions and thriving.

Joey... libraries have always been a source of information... a place to learn... each location has its own rules... and where readers can go inside.

However, the digital world is growing inside a place that is known for grasping knowledge with a hardback, instead of a keyboard.

"your local library is like a hub for the community.

We provide so many services for small children, for teenagers, for adults, for the elderly."

The need for those services has not gone away during the covid-19 pandemic.

But it has changed how northern mississippi communities can access those services and stay safe.

"we opened back up in early may after being shutdown for several weeks and people just wanted something to read.

They were going crazy."

The winston county library requires visitors to wear masks, have their hands sanatized and temperatures checked.

Even then, there are restrictions on where they can go.

"we have had to limit access to the library to this room only and not into the stacks."

The choctaw county public library has been closed to in- person visitors since march but there are still several options available for checking out books.

"they can reserve books through our online catalog.

They can call and request certain things and we've got new books and we've put those up in the windows so people can come in and window shop."

Another significant change has been the loss of their in-person programs, which library director cristin chandler says over 3,000 people participated in.

"we've adapted during the pandemic to offer outdoor programs. we've done story walks, scavenger hunts, we've done make and take bags and some virtual programs on our facebook page."

The winston county library moved to an all virtual option for many of their in- person programs. "our summer library program was all virtual.

We had snake man, we had dorian lechance the magician and many others that children could watch from home."

They are also offering digital options for renting audio and e-books with the hoopla app as well as free, online tutoring through brainfuze help now.

"we're offering so many things online and the numbers have shown that they're really jumping up and people are really taking advantage of it."

The winston county library says the new digital advances, such as apps, e- books, and brainfuze, will continue to be used in the future when the pandemic is over.

Stinger weather open hurricane delta: a very dangerous and destructive storm will move into the southern gulf of mexico by thursday.

It is expected to take a northerly turn and make landfall somewhere along the louisiana coastline late friday or early saturday.

The remnant low center should move somewhere into north mississippi during the course of the weekend.

It's still too early to pinpoint the exact time frame for the greatest impacts but some issues are possible anytime saturday and/or sunday.

Stay tuned& tuesday night: clear, quiet, and comfy.

Lows in the low 50s.

Calm wind.

Wednesday: bright sunshine and seasonably warm highs in the low to mid 80s.

Light northerly breezes.

Wednesday night: mostly clear and continued quiet.

Lows in the 50s.

Thursday: a mix of sun and clouds.

Highs in the 80s.

Friday: partly to mostly cloudy with a 40% chance of rain showers.

Highs in the upper 70s.

Saturday & sunday: the remnants of delta are expected to swirl through the region.

Rainfall between 2 & 6?

Is possible, along with some wind gusts in the 30-40+ mph range.

An isolated tornado risk is going to continue for areas east of the circulation center.

Plan on highs in the 70s with humid lows in the upper 60s.

Hurricane delta: a very dangerous and destructive storm will move into the southern gulf of mexico by thursday.

It is expected to take a northerly turn and make landfall somewhere along the louisiana coastline late friday or early saturday.

The remnant low center should move somewhere into north mississippi during the course of the weekend.

It's still too early to pinpoint the exact time frame for the greatest impacts but some issues are possible anytime saturday and/or sunday.

Stay tuned& tuesday night: clear, quiet, and comfy.

Lows in the low 50s.

Calm wind.

Wednesday: bright sunshine and seasonably warm highs in the low to mid 80s.

Light northerly breezes.

Wednesday night: mostly clear and continued quiet.

Lows in the 50s.

Thursday: a mix of sun and clouds.

Highs in the 80s.

Friday: partly to mostly cloudy with a 40% chance of rain showers.

Highs in the upper 70s.

Saturday & sunday: the remnants of delta are expected to swirl through the region.

Rainfall between 2 & 6?

Is possible, along with some wind gusts in the 30-40+ mph range.

An isolated tornado risk is going to continue for areas east of the circulation center.

Plan on highs in the 70s with humid lows in the upper 60s.

Stinger sports open mississippi state football... trying to put the arkansas loss in the rear view mirror..

Mike leach's bunch was one of eight top 25 teams across the nation to fall short... the bulldogs were heavy favorites against arkansas..

Ended up failing on two fourth and 1 attempts late in the fourth... along with losing a fumble on a punt late as well..

Despite star running back kylin hill likely being available this week after he only played one snap and got injured saturday... leach says this past week consisted of a missed opportunity you gotta go out there an execute.

They did and we didn't.

We just have to get better and we have to be a steady and consistent team.

We can't rest on any level of perceived success.

We need to be the same team at every snap and i don't think we were.

,.

Lane kiffin and the ole miss rebels will certainly have their hands full this saturday... hosting #2 alabama... kiffin and crimson tide head coach nick saban have quite the history... lane was saban's offensive coordinator in tuscaloosa from 2014 through 2016... there's certainly familiarity there... but kiffin says that has favored saban in the past..

All of those people that say it's an advantage that i have worked with him i don't really understand that.

He's 20-0 against coaches who have worked for him.

If you're saying it's an advantage then you're probably not a very good gambler because 20-0 is a pretty strong record.

It's never too early to talk a little college baseball... especially considering the fact that the bulldogs have advanced to the college world series each of the past two seasons... head coach chris lemonis says his team is built for another omaha run... the bulldogs have plenty of returners.... state is loaded with returners on the mound... christian mcleod... jt ginn..

Will bednar... and eric serantola to name a few... the ncaa also is allowing an extra year of eligibility for spring athletes because of last year's shortened season due to the pandemic , .

We're in shape, we've played the game enough and we have gotten enough reps.

We've been able to expand some of our pitchers.

We think from a pitching staff standpoint we've put together one of the best staffs in our school's history.

We have some help with some guys jumping in but it's a very talented, deep pitching staff.

Quick look at the newest ap polls for mississippi high school football... top of 6-a.... starkville high school.... oxford making the top five as well in that final spot... in 5a... west point is at number one... no shock there... lafayette making the cut as well... the commodores are 2-2 on the season... 4a... louisville is at the top... powercats with a strong start 3a... noxubee county coming in at number three... the tigers are coming off a big win against houston... in the 2a ranks... calhoun city sliding in there at the five spot... 1a... nanih waiya in first after the big cross creek rivalry win over noxapater 47-6... tupelo christian prep in there as well at number five... when we return...chief meteorologist keith gibson will have a last look at your forecast.

You are watching wcbi news last look stinger last look stinger