CD: Trio arrested after car chase through Crawford

DISPATCH STAFF REPORT

What started as a vehicle chase for Lowndes County Sheriff’s deputies last Friday netted arrests of two Starkville residents and a Columbus resident on two different charges, according to Detective Eli Perrigin of the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department.

Perrigin identified those arrested as Kenyon Tequile Tuggle, 24, of 202 19th St. N. in Columbus, who was arrested on a charge of accessory after the fact; Shanerica Rline Tuggle, 21, of 1553 Chapel Hill Road in Starkville, was also arrested on a charge of accessory after the fact.

Valene Maggie Brooks, 34, of 1553 Chapel Hill Road in Starkville, was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault with weapon or other means.

Perrigin said deputies were called out at 4:30 a.m. on what he described as a “vehicle chase” through Crawford.

“We received a complaint from Sherita Rogers, who said her car had been rammed, and the arrests resulted from the complaint,” Perrigin said.

The case remains under investigation, Perrigin said.

All three have had an initial appearance in court and were released on bond, he added.

According to Pat Tuggle, administrative assistant with the Lowndes County jail, Brooks was released on a $15,000 bond, while Shanerica and Kenyon Tuggle were each released on a $3,500 bond.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

CD: Jobless: Outlook bleak for Golden Triangle

STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

New jobless numbers released by the state provided little good news for the Golden Triangle, with new evidence that unemployment continues to tighten its grip on the area.

Unemployment rates rose across the Golden Triangle in January, according to the state report that showed Clay County had the third-highest unemployment rate in the state. In Columbus, nearly one in five workers was unemployed, while Oktibbeha County joined the majority of Mississippi counties reporting double-digit unemployment.

Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Clay counties all experienced jumps in county unemployment rates for the month.

In Lowndes, the January rate was 13.4 percent, compared to 11.6 percent in December 2009 and 10.1 percent in January 2009.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

CD: Unemployment jumps across Golden Triangle in January, report shows

DISPATCH STAFF REPORT

New jobless numbers released by the state provided little good news for the Golden Triangle, with new evidence that unemployment continues to tighten its grip on the area.

Unemployment rates rose across the Golden Triangle in January, according to the state Department of Employment Security report that showed Clay County had the third highest unemployment rate in the state. In Columbus, nearly one in five workers was unemployed, while Oktibbeha County joined the majority of Mississippi counties reporting double-digit unemployment.

Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Clay counties all experienced jumps in county unemployment rates for the month.

In Lowndes, the January rate was 13.4 percent, compared to 11.6 percent in December 2009 and 10.1 percent in January 2009.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

Press Release from Dux D’Lux

PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Haley Montgomery, Art Director
Dux D’Lux Advertising
301 C.C. Clark Rd
Starkville, MS 39759
Phone: 662-323-1503
Email: haley.montgomery@duxdlux.com???For Immediate Release

DUX D’LUX ADVERTISING TO HOST ONLINE ?WOMEN IN BUSINESS FORUM
Starkville, MS – March 8, 2010
Dux D’Lux Advertising, a Starkville-based full service advertising agency will host an online Women in Business Forum, March 15 – 26, 2010. The Forum is a creative collaboration between Dux D’Lux and the Paducah, KY-based coaching and consulting company, Her Executive Coach. The Women in Business Forum will be hosted exclusively on the social networking website, Facebook, with discussions featured on the “fan pages” of both companies.
Targeting women entrepreneurs, business professionals and small business owners, the Women in Business Forum aims to provide opportunities for learning, interacting and networking in a unique venue.
“Social networking websites such as Facebook offer unprecedented opportunities for finding resources and sharing expertise. We felt that the collaboration between our two companies on Facebook “fan pages” provided the perfect vehicle for bringing professional women together in a format that was convenient for time-conscious entrepreneurs and small business owners and would also allow for maximum networking opportunities,” said Haley Montgomery, Art Director of Dux D’Lux.
The first week of the Forum event will be hosted at the Her Executive Coach fan page. Jennifer Wyatt, owner and resident business coach for Her Executive Coach will facilitate discussions on small business coaching topics such as assessing current business practices and strengths, shifting or updating business priorities and re-focusing business strategies.
Dux D’Lux Advertising will host the second Forum week on its Facebook page. Haley Montgomery, one of the design and marketing specialists with Dux D’Lux will facilitate discussions on small business marketing including an outline of marketing essentials for small businesses, budget-friendly marketing strategies and ways to market through new media such as social networks and blogs.
“Jennifer Wyatt has collaborated with our staff for more than 8 years in helping to promote and market a number of small business start-ups. When we came up with the idea of an online information-sharing forum, Her Executive Coach was the obvious choice for a partnership,” Montgomery said.
Women in Business Forum online participants are invited to “become a fan” of each company’s Facebook profile before or during the March 15-26 event. Facebook ?“fans “ may view and participate in the ongoing discussions that will be posted throughout the two-week period, as well as download available topic materials. In addition, two “real-time” mentoring sessions are scheduled with Debra Shafer, owner of Dux D’Lux. Debra will field questions and share her perspectives on being a woman entrepreneur and a successful 30-year small business owner.

For more information about the online Women in Business Forum, please visit http://facebook.duxdlux.com

CD: Arsenal of history: Starkville man turns Civil War collection into museum

TIM PRATT

The building sits just off Troy Lane in the Sunset subdivision west of Starkville.

From the outside, it has no distinct features. The brown metal, coupled with white bay doors, gives the 2,200-square-foot structure the appearance of a storage unit. It doesn’t even have an address.

But a step inside takes visitors back to the 1860s.

It’s the Starkville Civil War Arsenal and it opened recently under the auspices of curator Duffy Neubauer, a seasoned battle re-enactor and Civil War artifact collector who has called Starkville home since the early 1970s.

Neubauer, who spends his days as operations coordinator at Mississippi State University’s Humphrey Coliseum, became interested in cannons and other military ordnance when he was growing up in Wisconsin. He became a full-fledged collector 35 years ago and only recently put those items on display at the Starkville Civil War Arsenal.

When visitors enter the Arsenal, they encounter Neubauer dressed in Civil War garb. After a short presentation, visitors can tour the collection of rolling stock and carriages which made up Union and Confederate battery during the Civil War.

Among the collection sits three cannons that were used in the war. One dates back to 1861, another to 1862 and the third was constructed in 1863, though Neubauer built each of the carriages on which they rest. The cannons still fire. Neubauer also put two replica cannons on display.

About two dozen authentic Civil War projectiles, from 3-pound shots to a 100-pound shell, also are featured, along with 150 to 200 period tools, photographs and other items.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

CD: Woman tries to put out fire, suffers smoke inhalation

TIM PRATT

STARKVILLE — A Starkville woman was treated for minor smoke inhalation this weekend after fire broke out in her home on Highway 25 South and she tried to extinguish the blaze herself.

The Starkville Fire Department was dispatched just before noon Saturday to a duplex at 1429 Highway 25 S., in the Conner Heights subdivision, for a report of a residential fire. The resident, Carlene Ware, had arrived home to find a small fire in the kitchen/laundry area, SFD Chief Rodger Mann said.

Ware attempted to put out the blaze with two fire extinguishers and suffered minor smoke inhalation, Mann said. Starkville firefighters arrived at the scene and extinguished the blaze; Ware was transported to Oktibbeha County Hospital, where she was treated and released, Mann said.

“A small fire can still produce a lot of smoke,” Mann said.

Mann described the damage to Ware’s apartment as “light to moderate,” but said it is now uninhabitable.

Ware and her son, who was not home at the time of the blaze and was not identified by fire officials, were displaced due to the damage, though it is unclear where they are staying now. The Oktibbeha County Red Cross was unaware of the fire when contacted Monday.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

CD: MSU students arrested for stealing beer

TIM PRATT

The Starkville Police Department arrested two Mississippi State University students Sunday morning for breaking into a convenience store on Highway 182 and stealing several 12-packs of beer.

Officers on patrol responded to an alarm at Sprint Mart, at the corner of Highway 182 and Jackson Street, Sunday between 5 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., SPD Sgt. Chadd Garnett said. When officers arrived at the store, they found one of the front windows busted out with what appeared to be a chunk of concrete, Garnett said.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

CD: Foster homes needed for Starkville puppies

SPECIAL TO THE DISPATCH

STARKVILLE — Six puppies from the Oktibbeha County Humane Society need temporary foster homes for the next two weeks before being transported to New England where their forever homes await them.

Foster families provide a much-needed service to OCHS as they provide a temporary home where the puppies can experience living in a home setting, socialize with other people and animals, and be observed for any medical or behavioral issues. Foster homes are needed from March 5th until the transport on March 20th. Foster families receive food and supplies to care for the animal(s) they take in. All animals are up-to-date on shots and spayed/neutered.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

CD: Police still searching for suspects in computer, identity theft cases

TIM PRATT

STARKVILLE — The Starkville Police Department is still searching for two suspects wanted for stealing four touch-screen computers from Wal-Mart over the past three months, and a woman suspected of illegally using another woman’s debit card to purchase items from the same store.

Starkville police last week released security camera photos of two suspects wanted in the computer theft case and have since interviewed one person, but the man had a valid alibi and was not charged with the crime, SPD Detective Landon Stamps said Wednesday.

Police also stopped a car matching the description of a vehicle seen at Wal-Mart during all three computer theft incidents — a white, older-model, box-style Cadillac or Lincoln — but the traffic stop yielded no suspects, Stamps said.

“We have no (additional) leads as of yet …” Stamps said. “At this time, I’ve got a blurry (security camera) picture and that’s about it.”

The latest computer theft took place the evening of Feb. 19, when a black male put two Hewlett Packard touch-screen desktop units in a cart and walked out of the store without paying, despite a greeter’s attempt to stop him, Stamps said. The man is described as middle-aged, between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, with a slender build.

It was the second such incident in February.

On Feb. 11, a different man, whom Stamps described as black, about 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-8, and younger than the suspect in the Feb. 19 theft, also attempted to leave Wal-Mart with two HP touch screen computers, but a greeter at the door stepped in front of the cart and put her hand on it to stop him, Stamps said. The suspect then left his cart and ran from the store.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

CD: Cadence Bank laying off local workers

JASON BROWNE

Cadence Bank could layoff as many as nine employees from its 11 Golden Triangle branches, a company spokesman said today.

Senior Vice President of Marketing John Boydstun said the Starkville-based bank is currently conducting productivity and efficiency studies aimed at reorganizing multiple aspects of company operations, including employees. The majority of the impact to employees will be restructuring job duties, but, “some employees will lose their jobs.”

“We don’t know specifically at which locations because we’re not at the point of finishing all reviews. In the Golden Triangle it could be somewhere around nine (employees),” said Boydstun.

He says Cadence managers and human resources officials will determine how many employees to lay off and when after the study has concluded. At that time the company will communicate to employees whether their jobs have been restructured or eliminated.

Boydstun says this is the first time in years Cadence has conducted an efficiency study on this scale. He declined to speculate how many total Cadence employees would be dismissed, or if those jobs would return.

“This is just part of dealing with the economic conditions that all businesses have been operating under in the last 18 months,” said Boydstun. “It’s always unfortunate if anyone loses their job in any business. We have to examine our business and see if there is duplication of areas and get things in the right perspective for our shareholders.”

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

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