The Associated Press
Here are some news and notes from around Mississippi:
In Olive Branch, city officials acted swiftly to do something about their beaver overpopulation, which could lead to a flooding problem if left unchecked.
The Commercial Appeal reports the Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Tuesday to hire DFT Wildlife Control to trap beavers and remove them from city drains and drainage right of ways.
The city took a similar measure in 2008 and hired a different company to remove beavers. They also were suspect in flooding problems in the Maywood area years earlier when a flash flood was thought to have prompted a beaver dam to break.
DeSoto County officials also have acted to control beavers, spending money for each beaver trapped.
In Purvis, Attorney General Jim Hood says two Lamar County men are going to prison after pleading guilty to one count of child exploitation.
The Hattiesburg American reports 31-year-old Hunter Richardson Howell, of Hattiesburg, and 29-year-old Robert Shawn Sumrall, of Purvis, each pleaded guilty to one count of child exploitation before special circuit Judge William E. Andrews III, in Lamar County on Monday.
Hood said each defendant was sentenced to a term of 10 years with five years to serve, five suspended and five years post release supervision.
The Attorney General’s investigation showed both defendants were in possession of multiple images of child pornography.
In Pontotoc, Kitty Pittman got a banana cream snow cone from the place she’s always gotten them — The Sno Shoppe.
She’s been a regular at the Sno Shoppe since she was a kindergartner in 1988.
“Their snow cones are like no other,” she said. “I’ve only had banana cream– it’s perfect.”
The Sno Shoppe’s last day was Monday, as owners Bob and Barbara Warren shut the doors — or in this case, the windows — on the 8-by-8-foot stand they’ve operated for 27 years.
“I’m having heart surgery,” Bob Warren said.
Since news spread recently about the snow cone stand’s closure, customers have flocked to The Sno Shoppe. On Monday, more than 60 people were in line around midday.
And they all received free snow cones. It was the Warrens’ way of saying “thank you” to their customers, whom they consider family.
On Sunday, they sold snow cones to donate money to St. Jude’s in Memphis and raised $700.
That’s a lot of snow cones, considering The Sno Shoppe sells them starting at $1 for a mini and $2 for a large. A cream topping is just 50 cents more.
In Brookhaven, Five County Community Transportation Co. plans for a daily bus service in Lincoln County.
Tony Middleton, the company’s operations supervisor, tells The Daily Leader a start date hasn’t been determined.
Middleton says bus routes will be set up to transport passengers from Auburn, Bogue Chitto, East Lincoln and Ruth to Brookhaven. The buses will run every 30 minutes to 45 minutes.
Middleton says service is now provided to rural areas but only by appointment.
Middleton said a number of people have been using the
He says tickets bought at the stops will range from $5 to $7 for a day pass. He says they can be bought ahead of time for $3.50.
Middleton says this is the first time the company has tried a daily bus system.
In Vicksburg, a Vicksburg man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in a fatal 2013 shooting in Warren County.
The Vicksburg Post reports Quenterius Cortez Williams, 19, was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by five years’ probation.
Williams was sentenced this past week by Circuit Judge M. James Chaney.
Williams had been indicted for murder in April 2013. He was set to go to trial in September.
Prosecutors say Williams shot 19-year-old Jules Humphrey of Jackson in the head with a pistol on Jan. 1, 2013. Williams had argued the men were fighting over a gun when it accidently discharged and shot Humphrey.
Humphrey’s body was found Jan. 2 on a county road about a mile from Vicksburg’s city limits.
A co-defendant, Edward Mazie, 29, initially was charged with murder. He was arraigned in May 2013 on the lesser charge of accessory after the fact to murder. His trial is pending.
