News – Page 719 – The Mississippi Link

CertainTeed restarting production in Meridian

CertainTeed joined local and state officials Monday to announce the company is restarting its ceiling tile manufacturing operations in Meridian, in the same facility it purchased in 2005.

The project represents a $24 million company investment and will create 110 new jobs by 2016.

Production is expected to resume during the second quarter of 2014. Once operational, the facility will produce a range of ceiling tiles and acoustical wall panels used in commercial construction applications. […]

Man gets 2 years for lying about slashing tires

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A Warren County man has been sentenced to two years in prison for lying under oath about slashing four sets of tires.

The Vicksburg Post reports that 43-year-old Johnny Wayne Nevels pleaded guilty last week to perjury and malicious mischief.

Nevels allegedly lied during a June 15 probation hearing when he denied slashing the tires. Court records show a woman testified that she saw him slash the tires, and his blood was found on one of them. […]

Kid-Friendly fun in the ‘True South’

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Mississippi is the perfect place to let your children explore and discover all the fun of the True South this spring and summer. It’s also the right location for a memorable and affordable family getaway.

“With beautiful weather from the hills to the Gulf Coast, Mississippi offers a diverse and fun-filled array of activities for children this spring and summer,” said Malcolm White, director of the Mississippi Development Authority’s Tourism Division. “Being centrally located between Memphis and New Orleans, Birmingham and Baton Rouge, and Atlanta and Dallas makes Mississippi a great choice for an affordable family vacation within easy driving distance of many major cities. Our kid-friendly attractions and events – like interactive museums and food festivals – are easy to access from most parts of the country.” […]

Miss. to give $15M for Biloxi minor league stadium

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Mississippi plans to use $15 million of BP oil spill recovery money to help build a minor league baseball stadium in downtown Biloxi.

Gov. Phil Bryant made the announcement Thursday.

The rest of the $35 million stadium will be paid for by up to $21 million that the city of Biloxi has agreed to borrow.

Bryant says it’s appropriate to use BP money because the stadium will enhance tourism on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, offsetting effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill.
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Child, 3, drowns in Jackson County swimming pool

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The Sheriff’s Office in Jackson County is reporting the death of a 3-year-old child in a swimming pool.

The Sun Herald reports the death is believed to be the result of an accidental drowning Saturday, May 25, in a pool in the Gulf Park Estates area in the St. Andrews community.

The child’s name was being withheld pending further investigation and notification of family members.
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2 more junior colleges announce tuition hikes

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Two more Mississippi community colleges have announced tuition increases for the fall semester.

Northeast Mississippi Community College and Itawamba Community College announced its board of trustees approved the higher fees at meetings in April.

Earlier this month, Copiah-Lincoln Community College said tuition would be going up for the 2013-14 school year. The tuition for a fulltime student will increase $125 per semester to $1,100. […]

Mississippi jobless rate dips as fewer seek work

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Mississippi’s unemployment rate dipped in April, but mainly because fewer people were looking for work.

However, a separate survey of employer payrolls continued to rise, suggesting Mississippi’s slow climb out of recession continues.

Both sets of figures were released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The jobless rate fell to 9.1 percent from 9.4 percent in March. Mississippi continued to have the third-highest unemployment rate among states. […]

Vicksburg toddler run over and killed by aunt

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A 2-year-old girl died Sunday after being hit by a car at a family gathering.

Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey told the Vicksburg Post that Carmyia Buck was pronounced dead of abdominal trauma at River Region Medical Center.

Huskey says no autopsy has been ordered.

Police Chief Walter Armstrong says the child was struck by a car driven by her aunt, 27-year-old Ebonay Brown, just before 7 p.m. […]

USDA revokes Collins Zoo exhibitor license

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has revoked the exhibitor license from the Collins Zoo.

Over the years the USDA has cited zoo owners Gus and Betty White for a wide range of violations to include failing to safely handle animals, failure to provide adequate veterinarian care and cages holding dangerous animals lacking structural integrity.

In January of 2012 the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks seized tigers, cougars, leopards, a monkey, and some wolves from the zoo. […]

Only abortion clinic in Miss. fights to stay open

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It can’t meet the mandates of a 2012 state law and the governor wants to shut it down, but Mississippi’s only abortion clinic is not about to quietly retreat.

The clinic’s owners are fighting on a legal front, with a federal lawsuit against the state, and supporters and staff are trying to make inroads on site – urging patients to call elected officials and peppering state-required counseling with their own views and information.

Protesters, too, are zeroing in on the clinic. A national anti-abortion group, Operation Save America, has targeted Mississippi as a state where it hopes to end abortion, and it has sent people from as far as Colorado and Nevada to protest. Congregants from local churches pray outside the clinic several days a week. Some hold fetus posters and use microphones to call out to patients. […]