2013 – Page 73 – The Mississippi Link

2 men charged with kidnapping university professor

Two Jackson County men are behind bars after federal authorities said they allegedly beat and kidnapped a 63-year-old-retired Alcorn State University professor, stole his car and drove him across the state line.

Arveanious Smith, aka “A.V.,” 31, and Travis Jerome Washington, 18, both of Pascagoula, were arrested by FBI agents and Pascagoula Police officers on Feb. 14.

These arrests were the result of a joint investigation by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the Pascagoula Police Department, assisted by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, into the Feb. 12 kidnapping of the professor. […]

Perkinston woman dies after 3-vehicle crash

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A 55-year-old Perkinston woman has died of her injuries from a three-vehicle collision on U.S. 49 in the McHenry community south of Wiggins.

Trooper Roy Jacobsen of the Mississippi Highway Patrol said Darlene K. Kreis was one of the drivers in a Monday night collision. Jacobsen says Kreis died early Tuesday, Feb. 12.

He sayd Kreis was one of two motorists trying to enter the divided highway when her car collided with a southbound car driven by 21-year-old Olivia Jordan Beck, of Purvis. […]

USM tornado damage estimated in tens of millions

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Officials estimate it will take tens of millions of dollars to repair damage at the University of Southern Mississippi caused by Sunday’s tornado.

The College Board voted unanimously Wednesday to allow Higher Education Commissioner Hank Bounds to sign contracts and take other actions without board approval to help the 16,000-student school in Hattiesburg recover. […]

MDEQ freezes D'Iberville's $3M grant

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The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has frozen a $3 million grant to see how D’Iberville is using the money.

MDEQ spokesman Robbie Wilbur said the order was issued Jan. 28. The grant was for work at the Ocean Expo Aquarium.

There may be concerns about a conflict of interest. […]

State Senate District 28 run-off Feb. 26

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City mayoral and council seat candidates lining up

By Ayesha K. Mustafaa

Editor

Marshand Crisler and Sollie B. Norwood will be the two run-off candidates for State Senate District 28, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013. Crisler received 25 percent of 2,789 votes cast, with Norwood receiving 22.5 percent of the votes…. […]

Mississippi activists say, ‘zero tolerance school discipline policies feeding pipeline to prison’

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By Ayesha K. Mustafaa

Editor

A call to action plan toward repealing “zero tolerance school discipline policies” was issued by Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF), at a press conference Friday, Feb. 8, held at the Central High School Auditorium in Jackson.

Edelman joined the Southern Poverty Law Center, the PERICO Institute for Youth Development and Engagement and CDF’s Southern Regional Office…. […]

West Point championship QB Doug Kenna dies

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Edgar Douglas “Doug” Kenna II, the quarterback of West Point’s 1944 undefeated national championship team and former president of the National Association of Manufacturers, has died. He was 88.

Kenna died Jan. 28 in North Palm Beach, Fla., where he had lived for years, according to Nicholas Hollis, a longtime friend who worked with him at the National Association of Manufacturers in the 1970s. Howard-Price Funeral Home in North Palm Beach confirmed his death. […]

Hundreds attend funeral for Ohio Players frontman 'Sugarfoot' Bonner

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Several hundred people gathered Saturday to say a musical and a spiritual goodbye Saturday to Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner, one of the granddads of funk music.

Bonner was a founder and lead singer of the Ohio Players, a Grammy-nominated band that originated in Southwest Ohio and dominated R&B and pop music in the 1970s.

Bonner, reportedly a father of 12 and a grandfather of 22, died of cancer on Jan. 27. He was 69. […]

Woman gets a year in jail for exploiting 92-year-old

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A Tupelo woman has been ordered to serve a year in prison for exploitation of a vulnerable adult.

Attorney General Jim Hood says Lucy Judon, 55, of Tupelo pleaded guilty at a hearing on Friday.

Judon was accused of taking over $22,000 from a 92-year-old woman she worked for as a private-sitter. She is also accused of opening credit card accounts in the woman’s name and making nearly $3,000 in charges. […]

Debate on funding for private schools shapes up

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The state House could be roiled by multiple debates in coming days over spending public money to send Mississippi students to private schools.
But prospects for such legislation remain murky in the Senate, where leaders have made no clear show of support for the concept.

The House Education Committee has passed two bills that could pay to send students to private schools. The first, House Bill 906, is a measure called Opportunity Scholarships, proposed by Republican Gov. Phil Bryant. The second, House Bill 1004, would provide vouchers using public money for the state’s 60,000-plus special education students in public schools to attend private schools. […]