News – Page 709 – The Mississippi Link

Hickerson’s bust presented to Ole Miss

The Pro Football Hall of Fame bust of the late Gene Hickerson has found a permanent home at University of Mississippi.

The Oxford Eagle reports that the bust was presented to Ole Miss by Hickerson’s family. Hickerson helped the Rebels to the 1955 SEC title and a 1956 Cotton Bowl win over TCU, plus a victory over Texas in the 1958 Sugar Bowl.

Hickerson went on to play 15 seasons for the Cleveland Browns as the lead blocker for three Hall of Famers – Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly and Bobby Mitchell. […]

MSU raises more than $80 million for third consecutive year

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For three consecutive years, Mississippi State University has raised more than $80 million in outright gifts and pledges of future support from individuals, corporations, foundations, trusts and estates, with the just-ended 2013 fiscal year exceeding $81.3 million

Previous record years included FY 2012, in which Mississippi State experienced its largest single giving year total in school history with over $86.4 million. More than $80.3 million was raised in FY 2011.

“We deeply appreciate the generosity of alumni and friends who are investing their personal resources to help Mississippi State University carry out its invaluable mission of teaching, research and service,” said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. […]

Lockheed-Martin remembers deadly shooting anniversary

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This month marks the 10th anniversary of the July 8, 2003 workplace shooting at the Lockheed Martin plant in Meridian, where Douglas Williams, 48 shot 14 co-workers, killing six of them before committing suicide.

The memory of that event is still fresh for investigators with the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office who responded to the call.

“We were living the nightmare all law enforcement agencies have,” Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie said. “Every year I relive this event. I can see the fleet of TV trucks that showed up from all over the nation. I can see the faces of the relatives of those who died. It isn’t a good memory.” […]

Sears store closing in Gautier

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The Sears and Sears Auto Center in Gautier will be closed for good in mid-October.

Howard Riefs, director of corporate communications with Sears Corporation, said in a press release received by The Sun Herald the store will begin a liquidation sale July 26.

Riefs says the 71 employees will have an opportunity to apply at other Sears and Kmart stores in the area.

He says store closures are part of a series of actions the company is taking to reduce ongoing expenses. […]

Education

MSU wins grant to help students manage money

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Mississippi State University is one of 15 schools nationwide to get a grant to help students with their finances.

The Council of Graduate Schools announced that it would give MSU $40,000 to pay for the program.

Associate Dean of the Graduate School Karen Coats says MSU will use the money to educate graduate students about financial literacy. Because students are borrowing more to pay for education, they may need help managing their personal finances and making decisions about saving, spending and borrowing. […]

Jackson residents face arson charges

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Authorities said a weekend house fire in Jackson was intentionally set.

WAPT-TV reports that firefighters responded to the fire on Shady Circle on Sunday about 2 a.m.

Nobody was injured in the blaze. Authorities arrested 39-year-old Ernest Day and 19-year-old Hezekiah Beach.

The fire department said Day and Beach were taken to the Raymond Detention Center to await their initial court appearance on arson charges. […]

Police: Man claims assault after Zimmerman verdict

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Police are investigating claims that a man was assaulted in Senatobia, apparently in retaliation for the verdict in the George Zimmerman trial.

Police Chief Steve Holts says a man called police about 11 p.m. Sunday, saying he has out jogging when forced into a car and beaten after an assailant asked if he knew who Trayvon Martin was.

The victim – whom police aren’t naming – is white. He says his assailants were black. The victim says he was dropped off on a road about three miles north of Senatobia in rural Tate County. […]

Former MSU player Mitchell dead at 72

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Leland Mitchell, a former Mississippi State basketball star who played in the renowned MSU-Loyola game in 1963, died Saturday, July 6 at the age of 72.

Mitchell died at his home in Starkville.

Officials with Welch Funeral Home in Starkville said services were held on July 11.

The 6-foot-4 Mitchell starred at guard on the MSU team that won the Southeastern Conference championship and earned a berth in the NCAA tournament. State law prohibited the all-white Bulldogs from traveling to East Lansing, Mich., to face an integrated Loyola University of Chicago team, but MSU coach Babe McCarthy sneaked the team out of town to play the game. […]

Noxubee County inmate captured

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A 44-year-old work inmate who failed to return from a weekend pass has been captured, MDOC officials said.

Noxubee County Community Work Center inmate John Jason Lee was arrested around midnight, July 16, in Mathiston by officers with the Mississippi Department of Corrections. They were assisted by Choctaw County Sheriffs’ deputies, Mathiston Police Department officers, Webster County Sheriff’s deputies and the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force.

Lee was serving a 12-year sentence for an auto burglary conviction and a vehicle theft from Clay and Webster Counties. […]

FBI Jackson Hosts Public Safety Training

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The Jackson Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigations is facing their second day of their Active Shooter Executive Law Enforcement Conference in Starkville.

The conference, which began on Tuesday and will wrap up on Wednesday, July 17, is the second of at least three to be held in various locations in Mississippi.

The conference was developed pursuant to a 2013 White House training initiative and was designed to present local, tribal, federal, and state law enforcement partners with best crisis management practices and lessons learned in mass casualty/active shooter events. […]