Beer, light wine sales approved in Greene County

Voters in Greene County have approved the sale of beer and light wine. The referendum was approved by 55 percent of voters.

News Briefs From Across The State

By Monica Land

Green County religious leaders opposed

Voters in Greene County have approved the sale of beer and light wine. The referendum was approved by 55 percent of voters.

Voters in Greene County have approved the sale of beer and light wine.

Circuit Clerk Cecelia Bounds says the referendum was approved by 55 percent of voters.

The Free Greene County group pushed to have the referendum on the Nov. 6 ballot, collecting in excess of the 1,700 signatures needed to bring the measure to a vote. By law, 20 percent of the registered voters in the county had to sign the petition.

Local religious leaders and the Greene-George Baptist Association opposed it.

Now that the referendum has been approved, the board of supervisors were scheduled to meet to begin the process of drafting an ordinance to allow the sale of beer and light wine within the county limits.

Businesses wishing to sell those beverages must be licensed by the state.

Natchez looking into business licenses

The city of Natchez is hoping to work through outdated and inaccurate records of business licenses with software already in the city's inventory that it has not been using.

Mayor Butch Brown tells The Natchez Democrat the city has discovered a piece of software that was used years ago to track business licenses but has since not been utilized. Brown says the city is implementing the software again to be used in conjunction with its current Springbrook accounting software.

A list of businesses that reportedly did not have business licenses provided by the city clerk's office showed at least several businesses that in fact do have valid business licenses.

Brown said because the city's records are not accurate, it is difficult to pinpoint which businesses do not have licenses.

Couple charged in exploitation case

A Pearl River County couple has been indicted on a charge of exploitation of a vulnerable adult in a case involving a loss of over $100,000.

Attorney General Jim Hood said 65-year-old Randall Alexander Anselmo and his 56-year-old wife, Judy, are accused of taking a vulnerable relative's Social Security check, annuity payment and other money over an 18-month period.

The wife was arrested while the husband turned himself in to authorities.

They were booked at the county jail and bonds were set at $10,000. Each faces up to 10 years in prison.

Man charged with re-entering US after deportation

A Mexican man deported in September after being convicted of smuggling other illegal immigrants has been arrested again in the United States, this time in Mississippi.

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court says Mario Hernandez-Vasques was convicted on a smuggling charge in Alabama in August. The court records say he was deported Sept. 13 and arrested again on Oct. 30 with 10 other illegal immigrants in Rankin County.

The suspected illegal immigrants were detained after being pulled over on Interstate 20.

He is charged with being an illegal immigrant and aggravated felon re-entering the United States.

Court records say he also goes by the name Mario Hernandez-Vasquez.