November 4, 2007

Brilliant sunshine and seasonal temperatures dominated all week. No rain was recorded. Highs most days were in the upper 60s to lower 70s. Lows dipped as far as 41 degrees.

The Mississippi River rose steadily almost all week on the Vicksburg gauge, starting the week at a reading of 9.5 feet and ending at 16.6 feet. Forecasters expected a reading of 14.9 feet today.

Sparkling clear skies set the perfect stage for the Mississippi Heritage Air Show attended by thousands at Vicksburg-Tallulah Regional Airport. The show featured the Aeroshell Aerobatic Team as well as other performers and on-the-ground displays.

Canton beat Vicksburg while Warren Central scored a stellar upset of Clinton in high school football play. Porters Chapel beat Benton and St. Aloysius scored 56 points en route to a win over West Lincoln.

School-attendance incentives, including parties and prizes, translate into cash for the Vicksburg Warren School District. For every 10-student increase in average daily attendance, the district adds $44,590 in state funds.

River City Rescue Mission added a new facility, a dining hall, to its complex on Washington Street.

The United Way honored Fred Farrell, Larry Lambiotte and Pat and Barbara Cashman as donors providing more than $10,000 to the combined charity campaign.

For the ninth time in about 20 years, the U.S. Army Engineering Research and Development Center received the Army Large Research Lab of the Year award.

Attorney R.E. “Gene” Parker Jr. was identified in a publication listing “The Best Lawyers in America.”

An untitled three-dimensional work by Janet Akers was judged Best In Show at the 27th annual Mississippi Artists Exhibition organized by the Vicksburg Art Association. Judge Jan Laurens Siesling of the University of Southern Mississippi said making decisions among the 145 works submitted was challenging.

Delvin M. Paige, 20, died after sustaining a gunshot wound at the 1320 Second North St. residence he shared with DeMarcus Preacely, his roommate. Preacely told police he was responsible, but that it was an accident.

Sheriff’s department officials reported 18 arrests under a new state law that makes possession of more than 9,000 milligrams of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine a misdemeanor. Three felony arrests related to crystal meth were also made while deputies served warrants in the cases.

The Vicksburg Early Education Center, founded when there were no other programs for profoundly disabled children to receive expert instruction, celebrated its 30th anniversary.

Culkin Volunteer and City of Vicksburg fire departments both obtained new, smaller fire trucks to attack blazes, grass fires in particular. The Culkin truck, costing $107,000, is on a Ford F550 chassis. The city truck is being obtained through a lease-purchase arrangement.

The next use for the buildings and campus of All Saint’s Episcopal School on Confederate Avenue may be as a regional center for AmeriCorps, depending on federal funding. The school closed in 2005 after 99 years of operation.

Halls Ferry Station, a strip mall partially built near Halls Ferry and South Frontage roads, was subjected to foreclosure, apparently due to a lack of developer financing.

Warren County grand jurors indicted Antonio Hicks, 27, on a charge of murder and Willie F. Sanders, 42, on a charge of manslaughter in two of Vicksburg’s five homicides this year. Hicks is accused of killing Leroy Barnes, 31, on Aug. 17. Sanders is accused of killing William Mayer, 36, on May 5. Both of the men to stand trial had previous felony convictions.

In addition to Delvin Paige, deaths during the week include Katie Mae Sanders Harris, Flossie Jones, Sherman Ware Jr., Joylene Abraham Carlson, John Nunnery Jr., Elmarie W. Upshire and Tommie Brown.