Top Stories – Page 109 – The Mississippi Link

Bank sets $500 million loan fund for Miss. firms

BancorpSouth is setting aside a $500 million loan fund aimed at Mississippi businesses, saying it will work with state officials to find qualified borrowers.

Gov. Phil Bryant appeared with BancorpSouth executives to laud the move on March 28. The officials spoke at the headquarters of C Spire Wireless, citing the eight-story office building as an example of a project made possible by cooperation between BancorpSouth and a state program.

“Ensuring that businesses have access to capital is a critical element in positioning Mississippi as the top spot for economic development,” Bryant said. “I applaud BancorpSouth for taking a leadership role in this new effort.” […]

5th Annual Safety Fair set for Saturday

Kermit 0

The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) and other Mississippians are planning for a fun and educational day at the 5thAnnual Safety Fair on Saturday, April 6. The event will be held at the Mississippi Trade Mart from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the fairgrounds in Jackson.

The Safety Fair is a free event that’s open to everyone.

Attendees will get a chance to participate in many activities that promote MDOT’s goal of improving the safety of motorists and pedestrians by educating children and parents about child passenger safety, the dangers of distracted driving, and occupant protection. Some of the attractions include the “Rover” safety rollover demonstration, impaired driving simulations (SIDNE) as well as the low-speed simulation of a head on collision, the “Convincer.” MDOT’s virtual texting and driving simulator will also return to the event. […]

Missing woman's body found in pond

Kermit 1

Meridian police said the body of a woman found in a pond has been identified as 34-year-old Jamie Wilkes, who was reported missing by family members on March 2.

Police Capt. Dean Harper said the property owner had been draining the pond and a passerby noticed something suspicious about 8 a.m. Wednesday. Harper said.

Wilkes’ remains were found at the bottom of the pond. He said the woman was identified by a family member. […]

Corinth Marine among those killed in murder-suicide at Quantico

Kermit 0

Funeral services are scheduled for 1 p.m. today for a Mississippi native and Marine corporal gunned down during a murder-suicide at the Quantico Marine Base in Virginia.

On Thursday, March 21, Cpl. Jacob Lee Wooley, 23, of Corinth, was pronounced dead at the scene after a shooting incident at Taylor Hall during Officer Candidates School (OCS) in Triangle, Virginia.

Wooley and 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Sara Castromata, of Oakley, Calif., were shot to death by fellow Marine and tactics instructor, 25-year-old Sgt. Eusebio Lopez. Lopez then shot himself. Officials at Quantico said all three Marines had been assigned to OCS and all three were pronounced at the scene. […]

Pastor indicted for sexual battery of child

Kermit 0

A 71-year-old Mississippi pastor has been indicted by a Tate County grand jury on 18 felony counts related to the sexual battery of a child.

Sheriff Brad Lance says in a news release that Larry Gene Singleton was on two counts of fondling, six counts of sexual battery and 10 counts of child pornography.

Singleton, the former pastor of Bay Springs Baptist Church in Abbeville, Miss., was arrested in December after sheriff’s investigators received a complaint from the victim, who accused Singleton of forcing him to have sex. […]

Murder-suicide confirmed in deaths of couple and child in Lee County

Kermit 0

A coroner has confirmed that two adults and a 13-year-old girl found shot to death in a home in Lee County Tuesday were the victims of a murder-suicide. The bodies of 55-year-old Wiley Young, 46-year-old Danica McCord and her daughter, Destiny McCord were discovered around 8:30 a.m. March 26.

Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson said an officer with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks arrived at the residence on County Road 49 and found the victims after efforts to contact them had failed.

Unconfirmed reports said the officer was Young’s adult son. […]

Escaped inmate found dead in jail cell

Kermit 1

An escaped Rankin County inmate was discovered dead in his jail cell one day after being found in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Officials with the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) said 27-year-old Bryan Owens was found hanging from his cell late Tuesday afternoon.

MDOC Spokesperson Tara Booth said officers were serving dinner when they found Owens hanging from a sheet in his cell.

Owens was housed alone, Booth said, and he was pronounced dead at 5:09 p.m.

Owens escaped on Sunday, March 24. […]

Condoleezza Rice: Democracy requires responsibility

Kermit 0

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a Mississippi State University audience that a mature democracy requires individual citizens understand not only their rights, but also their responsibilities.

Rice spoke about current world events, saying the United States and the world are facing some very difficult times, yet with great opportunities that suggest optimism.

“Whenever I visit a place like this, a great university where our best and brightest are studying, I am indeed optimistic,” she said. […]

Medgar Evers’ exhibit coming to Dept. of Archives and History

Kermit 0

In observance of the 50th anniversary of his death, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) will commemorate the life of civil rights leader Medgar Evers with exhibits and programs.

Evers was the Mississippi field secretary for the NAACP from 1954 until his assassination in the driveway of his family’s home in Jackson on June 11, 1963.

On May 1, a History Is Lunch lecture by Myrlie Evers-Williams, former director of the NAACP and Medgar Evers’s widow, will open the exhibit “This is Home”: Medgar Evers, Mississippi, and the Movement.

Evers-Williams is now a distinguished scholar-in-residence at Alcorn State University in Lorman, Miss. […]

Lillie Ayers, key figure in historic lawsuit, dies at 85

Kermit 1

Lillie B. Ayers, who became the lead plaintiff in Mississippi’s college desegregation lawsuit after the death of her husband, Jake Ayers, died Sunday at her home in Glen Allan in Washington County. She was 85.

Henry Ayers, Lillie Ayers’ son, said his mother died of complications from bone cancer.

Funeral services are pending. […]