December 2012 – Page 6 – The Mississippi Link

Judge criticizes DHS in child custody case

December 13, 2012 Kermit 1

A Lamar County judge has criticized the Department of Human Services related to the custody of a 3-year-old child whose biological father is a registered sex offender.

The Clarion-Ledger reported that the biological father is 24 years older than the child’s mother. He was convicted for having sex with the mother when she was a minor and pleaded guilty to fondling her daughter from a previous relationship.

The woman allegedly has mental problems.
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Water association employee pleads guilty to falsifying samples

December 13, 2012 Kermit 0

The former manager of the North Lee Water Association has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of falsifying water samples.

Dan Durham, 66, waived indictment and entered a guilty plea in U. S. District Court in Aberdeen Wednesday afternoon.

The water district was required to provide samples from wells across the association to the Mississippi State Department of Health for testing. The federal charge accuses Durham of having the sample drawn from one well, but submitted as being taken system wide.
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Bomb threat closes courthouse

December 13, 2012 Kermit 0

WTVA is reporting that the Calhoun County Courthouse was closed Wednesday afternoon after someone allegedly called in a bomb threat.

Sheriff Greg Pollan said nothing was found following during an initial search of the building, but the courthouse will not reopen until 8 a.m. Thursday morning.

Officials also confirmed that the Lowndes County, Lee County, Itawamba County, and Clay County courthouses were evacuated after threats were made there as well. […]

Deer gun season reopens Dec. 15

December 13, 2012 Kermit 0

Mississippi’s white-tailed deer hunting season with guns reopens Dec. 15 and runs through Dec. 23.

Hunting with dogs is not allowed during this season.

Legal deer include either-sex on private lands and legal bucks only on open public lands.

Open public lands may include National Forests and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lands that have statewide seasons without special regulations. […]

Holmes County honored with blues marker in Tchula

December 12, 2012 Kermit 0

On Wednesday, Dec. 12, the Mississippi Blues Trail will unveil the latest marker in recognition of Holmes County and Tchula, Miss. The 167th marker unveiling is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Memorial Park at 15387 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in Tchula.

Many blues performers who gained fame in the Mississippi Delta, Jackson, Miss., Chicago and on the southern soul circuit have lived in or near Tchula, including Elmore James, Hound Dog Taylor, Jimmy Dawkins, Jesse Robinson, Lewis “Love Doctor” Clark, Little Smokey Smothers, Arelean Brown and Lester Davenport. Even long after most of its famous sons and daughters had departed, Tchula remained a center of juke joint revelry along Highway 49. […]

Cancer center fraud doctor sentenced to 20 years, repay $8.2M

December 12, 2012 Kermit Comments Off

A federal judge on Friday sentenced a doctor to 20 years in prison and ordered her to repay nearly $8.2 million for fraud at a former Mississippi cancer center she ran. U.S. District Judge Daniel P. Jordan III said he was “appalled” at how Dr. Meera Sachdeva treated patients at a vulnerable time of their lives.

Syringes were re-used and different patients’ chemotherapy drugs were drawn from the same bag at Rose Cancer Center in the small town of Summit, Jordan said. He said prosecutors were unable to prove drugs were watered down, as they originally believed. […]

Meridian library wants food for fines to help homeless

December 12, 2012 Kermit 0

The Meridian-Lauderdale County Public Library has ramped up its Food for Fines program.

Library director Steve McCartney tells The Meridian Star that each canned good or nonperishable item such as rice or pasta brought in will count as $1 off a library fine for the donor.

He says the program will continue through Dec. 21. […]

Lupus forces singer Toni Braxton into LA hospital

December 12, 2012 Kermit Comments Off

Singer Toni Braxton has been hospitalized in Los Angeles.

The R&B performer says in a Tweet on Friday that she’s been hospitalized because of “minor health issues” related to Lupus. A spokeswoman confirmed the hospitalization but had no other details. “ But no worries!,” Braxton wrote to fans. “I will be out any day now.”
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Man’s body found on school grounds

December 11, 2012 Kermit 0

Lt. James Massey said a man found dead on the grounds of an elementary school Sunday morning died of natural causes.

Massey said 50-year-old Sidney Jackson was found on the athletic field of Colmer Middle School at 3112 Eden Street in Pascagoula around 8:17 a.m.

Initially described as a “black male”, Jackson was later identified and an autopsy was performed by a local pathologist. […]

Chickasaw residents face additional counterfeit charges

December 11, 2012 Kermit 0

Two Chickasaw County residents have been arrested for a second time in a year after allegedly selling counterfeit clothing from Urban Wear located at 205 Church Street in Okolona.

Attorney General Jim Hood said Willie McMillian, 46, and Sophia Hill, 47, of Okolona, were taken into custody by investigators with the Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Division, Chickasaw County Sheriff’s Office, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the Okolona Police Department, and the North Mississippi Narcotics Unit following a successful undercover operation by member of the Attorney General’s Knock Out Knock-Offs Task Force at Urban Wear.
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