News – Page 710 – The Mississippi Link

Former officers sentenced for stealing govt. funds

Two former law enforcement officers were sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Tom S. Lee for theft of government funds and property.

Zach Robinson, a former deputy with the Hinds County Sheriff’s Office, and Kent Daniels, a former Jackson Police officer and investigator for the Hinds County District Attorney’s Office, were each sentenced to 12 months in federal prison.

They were also ordered to pay joint restitution in the amount of $21,996. […]

Settlement reached in death of Mississippi player

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The family of a Mississippi football player who died following a workout in 2010 has reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against the university and the NCAA.

Bennie Abram III, a 20-year-old non-scholarship player from Southaven, collapsed during an offseason workout and later died at a hospital in Oxford. An autopsy determined Abram’s death was caused by complications from sickle cell trait, which can alter red blood cells after strenuous exercise.

According to settlement documents, the family will receive $50,000 from the insurance company for the university’s athletic foundation. The Abrams’ attorney, Gene Egdorf of Houston, Texas, says the family also will receive $275,000 from the NCAA’s insurance policy. […]

Aretha cancels hometown show citing treatment

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Aretha Franklin has canceled a Detroit-area performance set for July 27, citing ongoing treatment.

The show at DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston initially had been scheduled for June 22, but Franklin postponed it to later this month.

Then, in a letter written by the Grammy-winning singer and distributed Friday by her publicist, Franklin says she was canceling the show “one last time” due to an unspecified ongoing treatment.
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Shuqualak rebuilding after April tornado

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Two months after a devastating tornado swept through Noxubee County, the residents of Shuqualak are rebuilding their homes and their lives.

Running Water Road received the brunt of the April 11 tornado, where nine mobile homes were destroyed, the winds seeming to pick up and drop the home as effortlessly as a child picking a dandelion. While residents were grateful that no lives were lost on that fateful day, they worried about whether they would have the money necessary to rebuild, fearful that federal assistance wouldn’t come. […]

DOJ to launch hate crime inquiry in case of George Zimmerman

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Although he is said to be in hiding after his acquittal in the shooting death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, trouble for George Zimmerman appears to be far from over.

The Justice Department said Sunday that it was restarting its investigation into Martin’s death in 2012 to consider possible separate hate crime charges against Zimmerman.

Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot Martin was acquitted of all charges by a jury late Saturday. […]

Elderly Morton woman killed in freak accident

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Reportedly, no charges have been filed in a freak accident last month that claimed the life of 73-year-old Morton woman. WLBT reported that Catherine Westman was coming out of a nail salon when she was run over by a forklift in the parking lot of the Fairway Grocery store during the afternoon hours of June 12.

The forklift was being used to remove boxes.

Scott County Coroner Joe Bradford said Westman was taken to UMC in Jackson where she died in surgery. […]

Police: UM’s Henderson appeared to have drugs; suspended indefinitely

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The Oxford police chief says Mississippi guard Marshall Henderson appeared to be in possession of a small amount of marijuana and cocaine during a traffic stop in May.

Henderson, a 6-foot-2 senior from Hurst, Texas, was suspended indefinitely by coach Andy Kennedy on Wednesday for “violation of team rules,” but no other reason was given.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the traffic stop, citing a police report. […]

Simpson County woman killed in accident

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A one car accident has claimed the life of a Simpson County woman.

Jefferson Davis County Deputy Coroner Kathy Stephens says the accident happened on Granby Road around 4:30 a.m. Sunday. That’s off Highways 84 and 35 near Prentiss.

The 24-year-old was driving a Ford Taurus when she lost control, left the roadway and hit a tree. […]

Economy impacts Natchez casino market

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Despite increased revenues since the city’s second casino opened in December, a Mississippi gambling expert says it could take several years for Natchez to see substantial growth to the local casino market.

Former University of Southern Mississippi professor, researcher and author Dr. Denise Runge said she would, of course, not have expected local gambling revenues to instantaneously double with the opening of a new casino.

“It’s so hard to draw real clear comparisons because (Magnolia Bluffs Casino) opened up on the tail end of a recession going into recovery,” she said. […]

Green Circle locating wood pellet operations to George County

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Officials from Green Circle Bio Energy said the company is locating an energy wood pellet manufacturing facility in the George County Industrial Park. The project represents a company investment of $115 million and will create 126 jobs with the potential of up to 141.

The majority of the project’s jobs will be at the George County facility with the remainder being at the Port of Pascagoula. Additional temporary jobs will also be created during plant construction.

The facility is expected to be operational by spring 2015 and will produce wood pellets for shipment from the Port of Pascagoula to European markets to be sold to electric generating facilities as a renewable alternative to coal. Initially, the plant will have the capacity to produce 500,000 tons of wood pellets per year. […]