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MDOT commemorates fallen workers and promotes work zone safety

A gust of wind kicks up a trail of dust as forty tons of metal on wheels speeds past. A car full of children waving their hands passes a flagman on the side of the road. A teenager heading to class looks down for a spilt second to check his phone, and then disaster strikes.

Every day, men and women face these dangers in work zones across Mississippi. Truthfully, a lot of road crews never see a fatality during their time on the job, but it happens more frequently than one might think. The month of April is when the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) joins other agencies and companies around the nation to raise awareness for work zone safety and to commemorate workers who have been fatally injured on the job.

Over the past couple weeks, MDOT has coordinated multiple events through the Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Center and Traffic Engineering Safety Programs to raise awareness of the realistic dangers of work zones and promote safer driving habits. […]

2 women killed after stalled car hit by 18-wheeler

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Two women were killed after their stalled vehicle was hit by a truck. Angela Dame, 44, and Taetha Young, 19, both of Macon, died Thursday night, April 18, in the crash on U.S. 82 in Columbus, The Commercial Dispatch reports.

Antonio Gregory, also of Macon, was driving the Ford Crown Victoria when it stalled.

Authorities said Gregory exited the vehicle to check the engine when the car was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler driven by Timothy Lee Webb. […]

Female inmate captured after escaping Amite County jail

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A female escapee from the Amite County jail has been recaptured in Centreville, authorities said.

Sheriff Tom Wroten told The Enterprise-Journal that 20-year-old Kenita Harris of Crosby got through an exercise yard gate around 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 20.

Harris fled on foot, Wroten said, and flagged down cars for a ride into Centreville. He said authorities believe the lock on the yard gate was faulty. […]

1 inmate killed in southwestern Miss. prison fights

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A prison official says that one inmate has died and several were injured in fights at a prison in southwestern Mississippi that resulted in the facility being put on lockdown.

Wilkinson County Correctional facility spokeswoman Angela Smith says one inmate died after fights broke out Saturday morning at the Woodville prison. Smith says that there were multiple fights starting around 10 a.m. The fights were quelled by around noon.

Nine inmates were taken to area hospitals for injuries. The prison was put on lockdown for at least several hours. Smith says the public was never at risk. […]

New study suggests link between obesity and kidney disease in black men

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A study in Jackson-area African-Americans found a correlation between weight and chronic kidney disease in obese men but not in the same category of women.

“I kind of had a hunch about that,” said Dr. Marino Bruce, assistant professor of medicine and the study’s principal investigator. “So we designed a study that would pick up those differences if they existed.

“In a nutshell, the findings say we need to pay more attention to weight status in African-American men.” […]

Ricin Letters Case: Attorney says scant evidence links Curtis to letters

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Federal authorities have produced scant evidence linking a Mississippi man to the mailing of ricin-laced letters to the president and a senator, his attorney says.

Christi McCoy said after a court hearing Friday that the government has offered no evidence to prove her client, Paul Kevin Curtis, had possession of any ricin or the seed from which it is extracted – castor beans. An FBI agent testified during the hearing that he could not say if investigators had found ricin at Curtis’ home, and McCoy said the evidence linking the 45-year-old to the crime so far has hinged on his writings posted online.

He is adamant that he did not do this, and she said she has seen nothing to prove him wrong. […]

Free oral cancer screening set for Monday and Tuesday

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Mississippi has one of the highest smoking rates in the nation, with 26 percent of its residents lighting up regularly. But even non-smokers should be aware of the warning signs for oral cancer.

For that reason, physicians and dentists at the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Oral Oncology Clinic urge everyone to take advantage of the free oral screenings to be on Monday, April 22, and Tuesday, April 23, as part of Oral, Head & Neck Cancer Awareness Week.

The oral-screening event will be held at the clinic’s location in the Thad C. Cochran Jackson Medical Mall Thad C. Cochran Center from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. People interested in signing up for a screening are asked to call 601-815-1181. […]

Man sentenced for DUI crash that killed nurse

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A Vicksburg man has been sentenced to serve 20 years in prison for aggravated driving under the influence in a wreck that killed a nurse in 2012.

The Vicksburg Post reports that Julius Hebron was sentenced Friday on two counts of aggravated DUI causing injury or death. Hebron pleaded guilty in March.

Authorities say Hebron ran a stoplight and struck the driver’s side of a car driven by Andrea Michelle “Shelly” Guider, a nurse at River Region Medical Center. Guider was pronounced dead at the scene. […]

Corinth man arrested in suspicious letters investigation

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At approximately 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, FBI special agents arrested Paul Kevin Curtis, the individual believed to be responsible for the mailings of the three letters sent through the U.S. Postal Service which contained a granular substance that preliminarily tested positive for ricin. The letters were addressed to a U.S. senator, the White House, and a Mississippi justice official.

The U.S. Secret Service confirmed it intercepted a letter addressed to President Barack Obama that contained a “suspicious substance.”

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said the letter was intercepted at a facility away from the White House. He said the letter was also received Tuesday. […]

Events planned for 50th anniversary of Medgar Evers’ death

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Myrlie Evers, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute (MMEI), has announced plans for a national commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of her late husband Medgar Evers, Mississippi civil rights pioneer.

Events sponsored by the Institute will begin Wednesday, June 5, in Washington, D. C., and culminate with a community celebration, and tribute gala in Jackson, on Wednesday, June 12. Joining Mrs. Evers in the announcement were representatives of community organizations helping to sponsor the activities and hosting their own events.

Reena Evers-Everette, daughter of Medgar and Myrlie Evers and executive director of the MMEI, announced that a memorial service will be held at her father’s gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery on June 5 at noon.
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