News Briefs From Across The State
Roommate finds student in bed
The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that a 20-year-old female student at Mississippi State was found dead in her apartment Friday night, and police have no idea what caused her death.
Teresa Veal was discovered by her roommate around 1 a.m. Friday. Authorities said Veal was in her bed and dead when authorities arrived.
Starkville Police Chief David Lindley confirmed that Veal lived at Bulldog Landing, an apartment complex on Louisville Street in Starkville.
“There did not appear to be any signs of foul play, but there were no apparent reasons for her death,” Lindley told the Columbus Dispatch.
Veal was a member of a MSU sorority, according to Oktibbeha County Coroner Michael Hunt, but he did not know which sorority.
Her body was transported to Jackson for an autopsy, Hunt said. Results of the autopsy are expected this week.
Vancleave teen dies after car hits tree
Jackson County Coroner Vicki Broadus says a Vancleave teen died at a hospital of injuries from a one-vehicle crash on Mississippi 57.
Broadus identified the victim as 16-year-old Darin McMaster.
Mississippi Highway Patrol Master Sgt. Johnny Poulos tells The Sun Herald the crash occurred about 9 p.m. Wednesday.
Poulos said McMaster was northbound when the car ran off the right side of the road and hit a tree.
McMaster was taken to Ocean Springs Hospital, where he died early Thursday morning.
More troops headed in and out of Camp Shelby
Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center is preparing for a troop increase for mobilization and demobilization training through April.
About 1,800 soldiers are expected from the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the New York Army National Guard. The brigade includes the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment, New York Army National Guard and the 4th Battalion, 118th Infantry Regiment, South Carolina Army National Guard.
Another 3,500 soldiers will arrive during the next few months for demobilization.
They include the 869th Vertical Construction Engineer Company of the Florida Army National Guard and the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Oklahoma Army National Guard.
Troops conducting deployment training will conduct extensive live-fire and maneuver exercises through March.
Camp Shelby is located south of Hattiesburg on U.S. Highway 49.
Cell tower plan dropped by AT&T
Plans for a controversial AT&T cell tower south of Hernando have been dropped.
The Commercial Appeal reports AT&T, facing static from neighbors fearing harm to health and safety and from history buffs noting a nearby Civil War clash in 1863, has retreated.
The site of the proposed tower was off Robertson Gin Road south of Hernando.
DeSoto County Interim Planning Director Gina Tynan says AT&T submitted a letter last week formally withdrawing their application.
Her office notified landowner Mike Charnes, who had filed an appeal with the supervisors to overturn the county Board of Adjustment’s Oct. 10 approval of the tower on adjacent agricultural property.
She said if AT&T resubmits an application for another site, the review process starts all over again.
$90k in suspected drug money seized
A traffic stop in Natchez ended with the seizure of more than $90,000 in suspected drug money.
The Natchez Democrat reports a police officer made a traffic stop on an 18-wheeler hauling cars at approximately 8 p.m. Wednesday. The traffic stop was initiated because the truck’s trailer had a light out and the officer noticed that one of the vehicles was older and more beaten up than the other cars.
Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield says a drug dog located a hidden compartment under the vehicle.
Inside was $90,530 bound with black duct tape in four bundles. Mayfield said the truck driver disavowed any knowledge of the money, signed a waiver and was released.
Adams Co. gets shelter funds
Adams County will receive the funds to build another hurricane shelter.
The Natchez Democrat reports the $3.25 million project would be largely funded by the federal government, which will pay $3,087,500 – 95 percent of the total cost.
Adams County Emergency Management Director Stan Owens says the county has been working on the project since 2009.
The county will have to match the remaining 5 percent of the funds, but Owens said most if not all of that could be done with in-kind matches.
The shelter will be able to house 1,000 people safely in the event of a tornado or hurricane.
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