News Briefs From Across The State
By Monica Land
Sutton scheduled to come home this year
The military said a soldier from Mississippi has died from a medical condition unrelated to combat in Afghanistan. The Pentagon said Sgt. 1st Class Billy A. Sutton died Feb. 7 in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.
The Department of Defense (DoD) said Sutton was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Sutton, who was from Tupelo, was assigned to the 223rd Engineer Battalion, 168th Engineer Brigade, Mississippi National Guard, West Point, Miss.
Mississippi National Guard spokesman Tim Powell said the 42-year-old soldier lived in Mooreville and was married. Sutton enlisted on Sept. 5, 2001 and was reportedly expected to return to the U.S. in the fall of 2012.
Lance Cpl. Edward J. Dycus, 22, of Greenville, was Mississippi’s first casualty from the war in Afghanistan this year when he died at the hands of an Afghan soldier who was guarding a joint operating base with him in the Helmand province, officials said.
Dycus was killed on Feb. 1 while conducting combat operations.
The Defense Department said the incident is under investigation and would not release any further details.
Dycus was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Philadelphia liquor bill goes to Legislature
The city of Philadelphia has asked the Mississippi Legislature to give it “qualified resort status.”
The Neshoba Democrat reports that the city wants the designation to attract national chain restaurants and to allow all restaurants in the city to serve wine and liquor by the glass. The issue could require a citywide referendum.
Mayor James Young says he’s fielded numerous calls from residents about the lack of sit down restaurants in Philadelphia.
The nearby casinos operated by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians can serve liquor 24 hours a day. Young says a 2010 study showed $12.3 million in sit-down restaurant business leaves Philadelphia annually. A similar bill died in the Legislature in 2011.
The Philadelphia Main Street Association, Chamber of Commerce and Tourism support the issue.
Food Depot opens in Jackson
A large storefront in South Jackson that stood empty for nearly two years has been transformed into a new Food Depot store.
Food Depot opened this week in the 56,000-square-foot location Brookshire’s called home before that Texas-based grocer closed its four metro Jackson locations in early 2010 amid a slumping economy.
Roy Sims, president of Kosciusko-based Potter and Sims Foods, which operates that store and a second local Food Depot in the city, told the Clarion-Ledger that business at the new location has been better than expected.
The store employs 65 people and features a full selection of fresh-cut meats, produce and other items as well as a sit-down deli with space for up to 60 people. Opening in the next few weeks will be an on-site gas station.
2012 Mississippi tour guide now available
The 2012 Official Mississippi Tour Guide, a comprehensive handbook of Mississippi attractions, events, accommodations, restaurants, local contacts, maps, mileage charts and other useful information, is now available.
The tour guide is published by MDA’s Tourism Division in partnership with the Mississippi Tourism Association each year. Within the 2012 tour guide, visitors will find links to local websites, along with contact information for local visitors’ bureaus.
The guide also directs travelers to the state’s 13 Welcome Centers, offers sample travel itineraries, outlines travel services available statewide and features a pull-out road map of the state.
Award-winning photographer Ken Murphy of Bay St. Louis provided the cover image, which features the Great Mississippi Balloon Race held each year in Natchez.
For copies of the 2012 Official tour guide, go to www.VisitMississippi.org or www.mstourguide.com to view the online version or call 1-888-SEEMISS to request a hard copy.
MDA’s Tupelo regional office moves to new location
In a cost-saving effort that will allow MDA to further strengthen existing partnerships in north Mississippi,
MDA’s regional office in Tupelo has relocated to Suite 230 on the second floor of the Renasant Center for Ideas, located at 398 East Main Street in Tupelo. The regional office’s official first day at the new location was February 1, 2012.
The Renasant Center for Ideas is the Tupelo/Lee County regional business incubator. The center provides critical physical and social infrastructure for start-up businesses in the region to help them launch and successfully grow their operations.
With MDA’s Tupelo regional office staff working to support area entrepreneurs and small businesses through MDA’s Entrepreneur Center, the office’s move to the incubator facility will help MDA better align its small business support efforts with those of the agency’s partners in the region.
The Mississippi office of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has also relocated to the Renasant Center for Ideas and continues to be co-located with MDA’s Tupelo regional office.
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