WCBI News at 6- 10/29/2020

WCBI News at 6- 10/29/2020

Some folks in noxubee county spent today clearing trees and debris from an ef-1 tornado, spun from hurricane zeta.

Most of the damage was centered around the magnolia drive area.

The national weather service says the twister brought at least 95 mile per hour winds to the area.

Utility poles were broken and pieces of tin thrown in yards and fields because of the twister.

A spokesperson for the mississippi emergency management agency says noxubee county could be added to the state's approved federal disaster declaration, depending on the amount of damages received.

One of the homes damaged by the twister in noxubee county caught fire early this morning.

It's believed electrical wiring inside the magnolia drive house was damaged and started the blaze about 4:30 am.

Owner bennie haynes tells wcbi the wires to his meter box received the damage and when power was restored the fire started.

Two people were inside the house at the time but no one was injured.

Noxubee county volunteer firefighters put out the blaze.

Hurricane zeta relief efforts are well underway for residents along the gulf coast.

Two crews from 4 county electric power association left this morning on their way to assist singing river electric power association with power restoration efforts.

The two groups are made up of 11 men equipped with bucket trucks, digger derrick truck, and crew trucks.

As of this morning, two thirds of singing river's 83 thousand members were without power.

The two 4 county crews will assist with downed power lines and sub stations.

First look stinger first look summary: sunny, quiet, and seasonable weather is coming back.

We're keeping rain out of the forecast for at least the next week.

A frost or light freeze is possible monday morning and tuesday morning.

Thursday night: mostly cloudy, breezy, and cooler.

Lows in the mid to low 40s.

Winds nw 10-15 mph.

Friday: mostly cloudy to start with sunny skies taking over during the day.

Highs in the upper 50s to around 60.

Winds n 10-15 mph.

Coats are needed for high school football with temperatures in the low 50s and 40s during the games.

Monitor intro a washout shut down the bridge across highway 404 in bellefontaine.

For the past month, area first responders have had to use alternative routes when responding to a call.

Wcbi reporter stephen pimpo is in the studio with the challenges they are facing.

Webster county emergency managment tell me they are constantly monitoring the situation.

Still, its taken coordination at every level to make sure crews can still get to emergencies as fast as possible.

"minutes do count and we want to get people out there as quickly as we can."

When a washout closed down the bridge over highway 404 in september, the walthall fire department said they expected the shutdown to last at least a week, possibly longer.

"rainfall that washed out part of the bridge or part of the area around the bridge, causing the mississippi department of transportation to close it down."

That was more than a month ago.

Law enforcement and emergency crews have had to adapt to losing one of the busiest and most direct routes through webster county.

Su: you can see the full extent of the washouts damage below.

Before that...authorities say 7-800 cars a day would drive over this bridge.

Deputy emergency management director tom booth say their teams have been successfull in using the alternate routes of shaw road or martin luther king drive.

"most locations are probably not going to see any changes in any of the response times but their may be some areas that experience small delays."

Booth says its those locations on the west side of the bridge that would be most impacted.

"we're actually having to come in from a different location that's on down past it and actually coming back to that area."

The gps app on my phone estimated it would take an extra 7-9 minutes traveling the speed limit to get from the webster county court house to highway 404 using one of those new routes.

But local emergency crews have much more at their disposal to cut that time down.

"911 dispatch has been good about giving good enough directions and plotting the best route for emergency services to get to those people to get them assistance as quickly as possible."

Booth says that the webster county community still knows that they are doing everything they can to keep them safe.

"they understand the inconvenience it is but they also understand that emergency services will get to them when they call."

Deputy director booth says the mississippi department of transportation is expected to start repairs on the bridge in early november.

Top a vernon man is killed in a wednesday night crash.

The alabama law enforcement agency says the vehicle 56-year-old bruce allenbaugh the second was driving left the road and flipped.

State troopers say the accident happened on moore's mill road, about five miles south of vernon, about 7:45 pm.

Alea says the investigation into the crash continues.

Top one man is dead and another is in jail after a head- on collision in aberdeen sunday.

In an update today the monroe county sheriff's department says the suspect, eric william patton, is accused of avoiding a safety check point on highway 45.

Deputies say patton swerved off the roadway and into the southbound lane into oncoming traffic.

The vehicle went through all of the aberdeen intersections along highway 45, traveling in the wrong lane with deputies close behind.

The chase ended after patton collided with another vehicle traveling south near wendy's.

The passenger of the vehicle struck by patton died.

Patton was taken to a nearby hospital.

Deputies say a felony amount of marijuana was found in the suspect's vehicle.

The mississippi highway patrol is investigating.

Off top columbus police make an arrest in a northside shooting.

The gunfire happened near the intersection of 18th street and 7th avenue north early wednesday morning.

Officers were called to the area after the victim was found lying in the street.

Police chief fred shelton says 46- year-old carlos humphries is charged with aggravated assault in connection with that shooting.

Investigators are still trying to determine what sparked the shooting.

Shelton says area residents played a big role in helping make the arrest.

The victim continues to recover in the hospital.

Bond has not been set for humphries.

Intro it's called break the chains..

An initiative highlighting the dangers of chaining animals wcbi's bobby martinez looks at why chains can endanger dogs physically and mentally.

A shout for change... sot - doll stanley - in defense of animals - director "we have seen dogs who have lost limbs."

To an on going issue.

Karen johnwick - director - columbus lowndes humane society.

"if that pet has to live on a chain... that's no life.."

Doll stanley, director of in defense for animals.

Says she has seen some of the most heartbreaking cases of chained dogs here in the state.

Sot - doll stanley - in defense for animals - director "we just had one dog where the collar had to be surgically removed.

Sometimes it's chains that have become embedded in the neck.

Can you imagine how that animal suffered for something that has been in there for so long?"

Stanley is hoping her campaign will help saves lives of innocent dogs... sot - doll stanley - in defense for animals - director "the goal is for people who actually care, to teach them how to properly shelter your dog, how to properly tether it.

Even those of us who may be on a fixed income, you know we set money aside for what we want.

Set some money aside a little bit at a time until you can afford an enclosure for your dog."

Karen johnwick, director of columbus lowndes humane society..

Says dogs who have lived a life on a chain..

Have a hard time finding happiness.

Karen johnwick - director - columbus lowndes humane society.

"most of the dogs that come into our shelter at least, that has been a chained dog, is aggressive and a lot of the times we are not able to rehabilitate and be able to get that animal adopted because it got so many feared issues of different things.

New experiences that they probably never experienced just being on a chain."

And to current and future pet owners..

Johnwick says... karen johnwick - director - columbus lowndes humane society.

"if you have a pet you should have a pet as a family pet.

And you have that choice as a pet owner, you have that choice if you do not want this animal to be part of your family, then don't have it.

There are resources out there.

Reach out to your shelter, reach out to different organizations to help take that pet."

Stinger with only a few weeks left in the semester, some parents say they are upset about online classes.

More some ole miss parents and students say measures to curb the spread of covid 19 by the university have negatively impacted the quality of education.

Tonight, in the first part of a two part series, wcbi's allie martin tells us about the specific concerns from parents and students, plus we have reaction from an university spokesman.

Patrick tucker and other parents of ole miss students are concerned about how classes are being taught.

Tucker's son is a senior.

Before the fall semester started, the university released its plans to have a combination of face to face instruction, in the classroom, and hybrid instruction, with at least 50 percent in class, and the other half by remote, such as zoom.

Tucker's son says that's not how things played out for his schedule.

Now, the parent is claiming four of his sons are not taught by an instructor.

Tucker claims no one shows up to teach those virtual learning classes.

"that's not what we paid for, we are paying very good money for him to teach himself."

An ole miss spokesman wanted more information before commenting on this claim.

Tucker says he's taken in complaints to the university and didn't feel like he got a good response.

That's why he created the a facebook group called "keep mississippi universities open."

As the university of mississippi began to plan for its fall semester, a resolution from the institutions of higher learning encouraged universities to offer as many in person classes as possible, while taking steps to keep students, faculty and staff safe.

The ihl also said class size and location would remain fluid.

Tucker believes many professors and instructors are properly teaching class.

However, he wants something done about those that he claims are not showing up or responding to students.

"there are many, that, when they receive an email from students, with a question and don't get back to those students within three weeks, they don't deserve to be a professor at ole miss."

Jim zook chief marketing and communications officer for ole miss.

He says the university has heard from parents and had a plan in place.

"our overarching goal was to enable our students to stay on track while earning their degrees, while at the same time, protecting the safety and well being of everybody in our campus community, we think we got a lot of things right and we've learned some lessons along the way."

Zook believes recent mid-term results show some students are making adjustments successfully.

"academically, the student body as a whole, performed better at mid term, grade wise, then the student body had in either of the previous two falls, that doesn't mean everybody is doing well, we know there are students for whom this environment is not conducive to learn effectively" standup close covid numbers have been low through most of the semester on campus.

This week, two students and one employee have tested positive.

University officials will say that's because of protocols in place, while concerned parents and students say it's a good indication it's time to open the classrooms for more in person learning.

Allie martin, wcbi news tomorrow night in part two of our series, we look at how the university is planning for the spring semester and parents tell us what they would like to see.

Stinger summary: sunny, quiet, and seasonable weather is coming back.

We're keeping rain out of the forecast for at least the next week.

A frost or light freeze is possible monday morning and tuesday morning.

Thursday night: mostly cloudy, breezy, and cooler.

Lows in the mid to low 40s.

Winds nw 10-15 mph.

Friday: mostly cloudy to start with sunny skies taking over during the day.

Highs in the upper 50s to around 60.

Winds n 10-15 mph.

Coats are needed for high school football with temperatures in the low 50s and 40s during the games.

Friday night: clear and cool.

Lows around 40.

Halloween: mostly sunny.

Pleasant highs in the upper 60s.

Saturday night: clear and quiet.

Lows in the upper 40s.

Sunday: mostly sunny.

Highs in the mid to upper 60s.

Sunday night: clear and chilly.

A frost or light freeze is possible.

Lows in the mid to low 30s.

Monday: sunny & cool.

Highs in the upper 50s.

Monday night: clear and chilly.

A frost or light freeze is possible.

Lows in the mid to low 30s.

Election day: sunny.

Highs in the mid 60s.

Stay connected with @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the summary: sunny, quiet, and seasonable weather is coming back.

We're keeping rain out of the forecast for at least the next week.

A frost or light freeze is possible monday morning and tuesday morning.

Thursday night: mostly cloudy, breezy, and cooler.

Lows in the mid to low 40s.

Winds nw 10-15 mph.

Friday: mostly cloudy to start with sunny skies taking over during the day.

Highs in the upper 50s to around 60.

Winds n 10-15 mph.

Coats are needed for high school football with temperatures in the low 50s and 40s during the games.

Friday night: clear and cool.

Lows around 40.

Halloween: mostly sunny.

Pleasant highs in the upper 60s.

Saturday night: clear and quiet.

Lows in the upper 40s.

Sunday: mostly sunny.

Highs in the mid to upper 60s.

Sunday night: clear and chilly.

A frost or light freeze is possible.

Lows in the mid to low 30s.

Monday: sunny & cool.

Highs in the upper 50s.

Monday night: clear and chilly.

A frost or light freeze is possible.

Lows in the mid to stinger coming up next....ole miss guard devonate shuler shares his story on overcoming adversity to excel on the hardwood....that story, when we come back 2020 has consisted of more adversity for all of us..

Including student athletes& ole miss star guard devontae shuler isn't a stranger to it as well..

However, shuler has used it as fuel to develop himself on and off the hardwood..

Wcbi sports' jon sokoloff has the story shuler says: i'm just looking different from everyone.

I stand out in the room and i get way more attention.

People stare at me in public, they really stare at me.

Shuler has vitiligo& a condition that often results in discolored patches in different areas of the body..

It started to develop when he was in sixth grade& shuler says it was a tough adjustment shuler says: when i was first embarrassed of it i told my mom to put some makeup on it.

Shuler began to really overcome the condition around his freshman year of high school& he says basketball played a big role shuler says: "basketball was a way for me to expand my mind for how i felt about vitiligo and for how other people can overcome this condition."

Davis says: "i never see him insecure about it.

He always has a really good personality and he's very secure in his own skin.

He feels good."

Davis says shuler's ability to overcome the condition has had a positive impact on his teammates davis says: "you watch a guy handle it with confidence the way he is, not that he's a good basketball player, but how he carries himself.

He carries himself with such ease and confidence."

June 25th is world vitiligo day& and an opportunity for shuler to use his platform to help others struggling by relaying a powerful message shuler says: you're going to stand out, you have to get used to being the person in the room where everyone is thinking about what's going on.

You'll be that main person and it doesn't matter where you are.

Shuler and his sister donnella are really close... she says vitiligo didn't take over him donnella shuler says: "i think he took over vitiligo.

Just the way he carries himself.

When people stare at him, he's staring right back.

He's rocking it, you'd think it's a clothing line the way he rocks it every day.

Davis says: "we're just seeing devontae for who he is and i think our fans are too."

Shuler says: "now it's just who i am.

A lot of people tell me i am unique with it.

When they mention my name all you have to say is the kid with the vitiligo."

The rebels open up the season december 5th against memphis&.

Jon sokoloff wcbi sports something not seen every week in high school footbal -- two non division foes close the regular season in a face off for our game of the week the houston hilltoppers hit the road to take on the eupora eagles in a 3a-2a matchup!

Both teams are gearing up to make a run in the post season... first things first.....one has to get a win tomorrow night!

The toppers and eagles are bracing themselves for a cold october night that'll prove to be a tough battle between the two.

"they're a well- coached team.

They were good last year.

Coach harden did a good job.

Coach dampeer has stepped in and did a really good job.

Good athletes.

Big up front.

It's going to be a challenge for us."

"they got a good running back in #2.

He's young, but he runs it hard.

We have to rally tackle.

Play together."

"we do the little and the big things fall in place.

The little things are what count the most.

They'll get you beat or you'll win."

"it's going to come down to who takes care of the football.

I think both will be physical at times.

We'll probably try to throw it a little more than they do, but with the weather the way it is, it'll come down to who takes care of the ball and running game."

"the thing for us is playing hard.

Have that winning mentality and be physical.

Be physical."

We'll see who can outmatch the other tomorrow as the two teams gear up for the post season.

When