News Briefs From Across The State
By Monica Land
Work will continue until October
Crews were to start work at 8 a.m. Monday to resurface a 9-mile segment of Mississippi Highway 145 in the Tupelo area.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports the work will be done from Barnes Crossing to Mississippi Highway 348.
State transportation officials said the northbound lane of Highway 145 will be closed from Barnes Crossing to Saltillo. Motorists will encounter lane closures in both the northbound and southbound lanes during the resurfacing, which is expected to be completed by Oct. 12.
APAC-MS Inc. was awarded a $2.65 million contract for the project.
Hearing set in judge retaliation case
A competency hearing is scheduled for Aug. 28 for a Waynesboro man charged with retaliating against a federal judge by filing a false lien.
James Hennis filed the lien against U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett in 2010. Starrett was presiding over a civil lawsuit filed by Hennis.
Starrett removed himself from the case and called the FBI. It’s a federal offense to make a false claim or statement against a judge.
U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden in Gulfport ordered a mental evaluation in June after Hennis sought to fire his lawyer and represent himself.
Trial date set in Pike plant dispute
An Aug. 13 trial date has been set in U.S. District Court in Jackson in a breach-of-contract lawsuit by Pike County against a wood pellet company that never built a promised mill.
The Enterprise-Journal reports Indeck Energy Services of Buffalo Grove, Ill., bought land from Pike County in 2008 with plans to build a $17 million plant that would have employed 20 people.
But the project was abandoned, and county supervisors filed suit in 2010 in Pike County Chancery Court seeking to buy back the 16-acre property for the original $128,400 purchase price.
Indeck countersued when supervisors refused to let it sell the property to Investar, a company supervisors considered “financially insecure,” said board attorney Wayne Dowdy.
The company also was successful in transferring the lawsuit to federal court.
River City welcomes T.J. Maxx
A popular national retail chain is expanding in central Mississippi. T.J. Maxx opened its doors in Vicksburg Sunday morning.
The clothing and home goods store will provide additional tax revenue to the River City.
A number of people took advantage of grand opening deals throughout the day.
T.J. Maxx also opened a store in Greenville Sunday.
Rankin County manhunt ends with arrest
A 27-year-old Florida man wanted for armed robbery has been captured after fleeing a Mississippi police traffic stop.
Rankin County sheriff’s deputies arrested Stephan Bibb last Friday after a caller told officials a man matching his description walked out of a wooded area to a road. Bibb is being held at the Rankin County jail.
Police stopped Bibb on Interstate 20 east of Jackson last Thursday, and found he was driving a car stolen from Crestview, Fla. Bibb fled, leading authorities on a car chase through Rankin County. Bibb abandoned his car at a dead end and fled on foot. Authorities conducted a broad search, including searching vehicle trunks at roadblocks.
Two men and one woman who were riding with Bibb were also arrested.
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