Port Gibson bicyclist killed when hit by truck

News Briefs From Across The State

By Monica Land

Truck driver being questioned

A Port Gibson bicyclist died in the predawn hours Friday after being struck by a truck in Claiborne County.

County Coroner J.W. Mallet tells the Vicksburg Post that 53-year-old Delecta Collins was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sheriff Marvin Lucas says the accident occurred about 2:40 a.m. as Collins rode his bike on Mississippi Highway 18 in the area of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Lucas says the Highway Patrol was questioning the driver of the pickup truck. No charges have been filed.

Olive Branch to borrow up to $1M

Olive Branch officials will borrow $1 million from the city’s natural gas fund to meet financial obligations.

Mayor Sam Rikard tells the Commercial Appeal that the funds would be repaid with interest wants property tax collections come in.

It’s not uncommon for cities to take out tax anticipation loans. Officials may borrow from a bank or from their own city.

Olive Branch aldermen authorized loans of up to $2 million last year. Rikard says only about $450,000 was borrowed.

Officials expect the money as property taxes paid by residents are filtered through DeSoto County to the city through April.

Hospital sale paying off in Oxford

The $30 million investment that the city of Oxford made with money from the sale of a hospital in 2011 is paying off.

Attorney Robert Paine with the Oxford Municipal Reserve and Trust Fund Committee reported Wednesday that the market value of the trust fund assets was over $31. 2 million. That is a gain of more than $1.2 million.

The original capital came from the sale of a hospital jointly owned with Lafayette County.

Earnings can go into the city’s general account, but its capital can be used only under very limited terms in case of emergency.

Officials: Alcohol a factor in Lizana wreck

Authorities said alcohol was a factor in an accident on New Year’s Eve that resulted in two men being thrown from a vehicle in Lizana.

According to Harrison County Fire Marshall Pat Sullivan, the accident occurred just before midnight on Saucier-Lizana Road just a few miles north of Fazzios.

Toxicology results indicated that both the driver and his passenger had been drinking, Sullivan said.

The unidentified driver allegedly ran off the road and hit several trees causing the car to rollover.

Lizana firefighters, Harrison County Fire Services and the Harrison County Sheriff’s Department all responded to the scene.

While the condition of the two men was not released, Sullivan said one man was in critical condition.