FEBRUARY 1-7, 2009
Published 12:00 am Sunday, February 8, 2009
Stability was the norm for weather during the week in Vicksburg. Highs ranged from 40 degrees to 67, but were in the upper 50s most days. Lows ranged from 24 degrees to 46, but were mostly near freezing. Rain was measured one day at about one-third of an inch.
The Mississippi River fell during the first part of the week and rose during the latter portion. The reading on the Vicksburg gauge was 16.3 feet at the beginning of the period and 20.3 feet at the end. The forecast was for a reading of 23.6 feet today.
More performances of “Gold in the Hills” will be staged this year as a second group will join the Vicksburg Theatre Guild in offering the melodrama. The guild, which has a record of nearly 73 years, will be joined by the Westside Theatre Foundation, which offered its debut performance in the Coral Room at the Vicksburg Hotel.
Dane Davenport of Vicksburg, a Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol master sergeant on unpaid leave, headed back to Starkville for a second attempt to try him on a child molestation indictment returned there. The incident is alleged to have taken place in September 2007.
Advertising staff members of The Vicksburg Post won six first-place awards and 11 awards overall in annual competition sponsored by the Mississippi Press Association.
Rebecca Wilson of Vicksburg High scored three goals as the Gators defeated Saltillo in soccer, 7-0.
Warren County supervisors tacitly agreed that a $6,000 payment from Entergy to offset the cost of preparedness for any emergencies arising at Grand Gulf Nuclear Station should be shared with the City of Vicksburg. City officials have said they won’t participate in a March drill without compensation.
Chancellor Vicki Roach Barnes extended by 10 days her order blocking the owners of Green Acres Memorial Park from their back accounts. A state investigation has shown one trust account the commercial cemetery is required to fund has been drained. The state is asking that $373,000 be restored.
For the second time in five days, a raccoon’s misstep at the Porters Chapel Substation knocked out power to Entergy meters in the area. Hundreds of people spent the 27-degree night without heat as a result. The utility company pledged to take steps to keep animals out of the high-voltage area.
The Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary embarked on an effort to raise $20,000 in February by collecting 40,000 pounds of used shoes for sale to a recycler.
Planners of a new RV park on U.S. 61 South across from Vicksburg Municipal Airport were turned down by city regulators who insisted the 10-acre minimum size requirement be met. The planners have just under eight acres.
Music and drama students at Warren Central High School, augmented by elementary school children, made final preparations to stage “The King and I” as this year’s high school musical.
A series of “free” concerts to raise money to pay music licensing fees was planned at Highway 61 Coffeehouse. Owner Daniel Boone said donors could assist in paying the fees as a way to encourage live, local music in small settings to continue.
Seven high school athletes made their college plans known on football’s National Signing Day. Vicksburg High’s Jarvis Holmes will be attending Mississippi Valley State University.
Supervisors hearing a budget update four months into their spending year said it was clear adjustments would be needed. One line-item expense for health care of employees had already exceeded the cost expected for the entire fiscal year.
Deaths during the week included Yolanda Kay Davis, Carolyn W. Whitney, Johnny L. Baldwin Jr., Judy Carol Page, Fannie H. Peeples, Hersey Banks Wilson, Nancy Marie Smythe, Clyde Reeves, Nathan Carson Sr., Linda Bess Markos, Kenny Craig Bowman, Reginald Ellis, Carrie Bell Hall Jones, Lucille G. Miller and Alex B. Williams.