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Thursday, March 28, 2024

WCBI New at Six - 05/14/2020

Credit: WCBI
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WCBI New at Six - 05/14/2020
WCBI New at Six - 05/14/2020
WCBI New at Six - 05/14/2020

Several agencies are investigating a possible homicide in oktibbeha county// thank you for joining us..

Investigators say 60-year-old joyce bostick was found dead inside this mobile home on sykes road yesterday// oktibbeha county deputies were called to the home for a welfare concern.

Deputies say the home was also partially burned inside// oktibbeha county coroner michael hunt confirmed to wcbi the death was ruled a homicide however the body is being sent for an autopsy// a person of interest in the case is in custody on unrelated charges// the mbi, mbi crime scene unit, and state fire marshals office are assisting with the investigation// it has been a busy week for the macon police department..

2 shootings... both within a span of a few days.

Both in the same area... wcbi's bobby martinez spoke to macon police chief devine beck to find out if they are connected.... macon police department were responding to a shooting here on turner drive tuesday night.

That suspect has since been arrested.

And they are investigating a separate shooting that happened in the same area over the weekend.

That's where they say a suspect fired off over 20 shots.

It all started saturday around 12 a.m.

On walnut street..

Sot - devine beck - macon police chief "first of all..

It's a blessing that nobody got killed with those amount of rounds being fired.."

Macon police chief devine beck says the suspect fired a total of 22 shots into a mobile home..

- striking two people who were nearby in vehicles.

"most of them was fired at a mobile home in conjunction with a vehicle there.

The other ones were fired in vehicles that were passing by.

Unfortunately two people got injured."

Beck says they do have a person of interest..

But they are facing challenges with the investigation.... "we do have a strong person of interest, but we are still trying to collect evidence to try and tie that person in with that particular crime.

Basically witness.

We are having trouble getting eye witnesses.

Nobody seen anything, a lot of people heard the shooting but they didn't see anything."

And just days later..

A second shooting occurred in the same area on turner drive... where beck says they arrested and charged 31-year- old willie slaughter jr. "our guys responded to the area pretty quick.

We were able to identify the person that actually shot in the house.

He was charged with two counts of simple assault one count of discharge of a firearm, and possession of marijuana less than an ounce."

And when asked if these two shooting are related.... "no it is not at this time we still are investigating these incidents separate."

On cam tag macon police department also advise anyone with any information on both these shootings to contact macon police department or golden triangle crime stoppers..

Reporting in macon..

Bobby martinez wcbi news... take gfx off top an arrest is made in an april robbery in tupelo// 35-year-old keyon lenior was arrested monday and taken into custody in monroe county// at the time of his arrest, investigators say he was also on mdoc probation// the alleged crime happened on april 27th at the west main kroger// investigators allege lenoir took money from a woman and ran off// he's charged with strong armed robbery.

His bond was set at 50-thousand dollars in municipal court yesterday// first look stinger first look summary: summer- like weather will continue friday through the weekend.

Daily chances of showers and storms stick around, especially friday and sunday.

A cutoff low could develop in the southeast during the middle of next week giving the region a little bit of a cool down.

Thursday night: isolated showers and storms will fade away by 9 p.m.

Or so.

Variably cloudy during the night with lows in the 60s.

Winds sse 5-10 mph.

Friday: a 40-50% chance of scattered showers and storms. some storms could produce locally heavy downpours.

Highs in the low to mid 80s.

Winds s 5- 15 mph.

First look summary: summer- like weather will continue friday we're learning more about a worker at the arrington assisted living community who passed away from covid-19// the plantation pointe community tells wcbi the employee was a 56- year-old caregiver// described as a hero, a person who showed up to work everyday to care for those in the facility, administrators say it's a devastating loss// the employee was hospitalized may 5th due to complications from the virus// six additional residents we're told are in the recovery phase from covid-19 infection// wipe to vo state medical officer, doctor thomas dobbs says mississippi has a suspected case of the mysterious pediatric illness believed to be connected to covid-19// the illness is an immune reaction that happens sometimes after possible cornonavirus, according to doctor dobbs.

It seems to be targeting children five years old and younger.

Dobbs says physicians need to start sending case reports of possible diagnoses of the disease, so they can report to the centers for disease control.

Right now the state is not releasing where the suspected case was diagnosed// the mississippi department of health is reporting 393 new covid-19 cases today.

The new cases bring the state's total to over 10- thousand cases.

There's a demographic shift in the illness.

A majority of cases are in the 40 to 49 year old age range.

Over 105-thousand people have been tested for the virus.

15 new deaths are also being reported today.

One of those deaths is in monroe county.

Statewide, there have been 480 coronavirus deaths.

The state health department estimates about 62- hundred mississippians have recovered from the virus.

Governor reeves breaks down the plans for the first phase giving funds to small businesses through the cares act.

The first part includes 300 million dollars..

The governor says there are two main sections to this part including a direct payment to small businesses and the back to business fund small businesses forced to shut down due to covid- 19 will get a 2- thousand dollar direct payment// and small businesses that had costs that were a direct result of the pandemic could get reimbursed up to 25-thousand dollars.

Governor reeves says his goal is to get the money out as soon as possible.

And though this part is aimed at helping small businesses he says he still wants to work on passing legislation that helps individual mississippians// "i'm still, continue to be interested in helping those individuals that were harmed that perhaps were not able to get their unemployment insurance checks for instance or those individuals harmed because the state government did what they thought was right to shut down certain industries for safety reasons.

These individuals got hurt at no fault of their own and we as state governments should step up and help those individuals."

The governor says after the bill is looked over one more time, he intends on signing it into law.

There's some good news for small businesses who were impacted by covid-19... help is on the way... state lawmakers voted to allocate 300 million dollars to businesses who were affected or forced to temporarily close.

The funding will come from the one- point- two - five- billion dollars the state received through the cares act.

Our quentin smith speaks with a lawmaker and small businessman about this new grant... he joins us live in columbus with the details.... scott this grant money is for businesses that existed before march first and have no more than 50 employees... like jordan's barber and style shop here in columbus.

The business was forced to close its doors back in march, and the owner tells me this grant money is much needed...and he already has an idea on how he plans to use the funds.

Nat inside jordan's barber and style shop, the clippers are buzzing..... nat and the scissors are snipping... nat as the shop looks to re-open " we missed the clients and they missed us.

We are in a service business and they need our services, so it works out good for us as barbers and it also works out good for the clients.??

Bobby jordan's business was one of the many impacted by the coronavirus.

He was forced to closed his doors for more than a month that's why he's excited to find out lawmakers want to give small businesses like his financial relief " i'm glad that they are going to be able to do something for us because it's been hard, especially since this is our only income.

Anything that we can get will help us out greatly?

In the proposed bill, lawmakers would give 300 million dollars to small businesses.

A $60 million dollar grant will provide a direct payment of $2000 for businesses that were forced to be closed by government orders... they would not have to apply for those funds.

The other 240 million will be for places that suffered unexpected expenses due to covid19.

Business would have to apply for this grant which goes up to to $2500 per business.

" there is a $2000 direct payment that will be administered through the department of revenue, then there is an application process up to $25,000 that small businesses can apply for through mda."

Representative kabir karriem was one of the lawmakers who voted in favor of the bill.

He also works at a small business and says knows the importance of allocating this money to help small businesses get back on their feet.

"african americans have been disproportionatel y affected by this pandemic, particularly their small businesses.

Where i voted for the bill, i was hoping that there was going to be a little bit more in there for minorities of the state, but you know, it's a start.

I'm glad small businesses are going to get some help."

The funds can be used to cover anything related to the pandemic.

Jordan says he plans to use money to pay for cleaning and health supplies to help him run his shop in a safe and manner going forward..

" we've been hearing about masks and gloves and other material, disposable capes, using paper towels, disinfectant, that's going to be an on going thing so that's going to cost us so this money will enable us to buy those items" the bill was passed last night after a lengthy debate ... now i do want to point out these are grants... which means businesses would not have to repay the funds.

The bill now awaits the governor's signature before any funds can be given out and before the application process can begin.

Reporting live in columbus.

Quentin smith.

Wcbi news stinger an area city is making plans for summer sports offerings.

We take a look at what's in the works, and what they're waiting for when we come back... our aundrea self talked with governor reeves this morning about the state's response to covid- 19// they discussed a wide range of topics from reopening the economy to resuming church services to what's ahead// many of you have questions about school this fall.

Here's what he had to say// as we look to the fall, i am very hopeful that our kids will get back to a more normal schedule.

But i am also convinced that we need to invest more in things like distance learning techniques.

We need to invest more in as a state in our school system for more computer systems, particularly those in the more rural communities and those in the under served communities.

You can hear aundrea's full conversation with the governor tomorrow on "midmorning" at 9am// second graders at north pontotoc elementary had a special sendoff for their summer vacation// pam simmons - a second grade teacher at the school - wanted to do something special for students, whose school year was cut short because of coronavirus restrictions// so, teachers organized a "drive by farewell" for their students// parents drove their second graders to the school// teachers handed out goody bags, supplies left in classes back in march and popsicles to kick off their summer vacation// ""we want the kids to know we're here for them, no matter what they are having to go through , it's all been a change for all of us,' but there has to be a little bit of closure this year to start next year.

" students have been keeping up with their school work by completing packets teachers have prepared since school was closed in march// the restart columbus recreation and park committee is working to get league baseball teams back on the fields for the summer// the committee agreed teams can start practices as early as june 1st.

Official games will begin june 15th and will run until the end of july// park directors developed guidelines for all athletes, coaches, and parents to follow to lower possible exposure of covid-19// these include equipment cleaning, physical contact between teams,and spectators// columbus mayor robert smith says a tentative schedule is drafted, but they still need official guidance from the governor// " we don't want anyone to get sick while they're out there and active.

We want them to have a good time at the same time we concerned about their safety and their health fair with the kids out there.

" lowndes county park directors and the city's attorney will meet next week to discuss and finalize the guidelines// stinger wx open summary: summer- like weather will continue friday through the weekend.

Daily chances of showers and storms stick around, especially friday and sunday.

A cutoff low could develop in the southeast during the middle of next week giving the region a little bit of a cool down.

Thursday night: isolated showers and storms will fade away by 9 p.m.

Or so.

Variably cloudy during the night with lows in the 60s.

Winds sse 5-10 mph.

Friday: a 40-50% chance of scattered showers and storms. some storms could produce locally heavy downpours.

Highs in the low to mid 80s.

Winds s 5- 15 mph.

Friday night: turning partly cloudy.

Mild lows in the mid 60s.

Saturday: partly cloudy and warm.

Highs in the upper 80s.

A small 20% chance of a stray shower or storm.

Saturday night: variably cloudy.

Lows in the mid 60s.

Sunday: partly to mostly cloudy with a 40-50% chance of scattered showers and storms. highs top out in the low to mid 80s.

Monday: scattered showers and storms remain possible.

Highs in the upper 70s.

Tuesday-thursday: recent data suggest a cutoff low in the atmosphere may meander slowly across the deep south.

Cooler 70s would be more likely than not in this regime along with a continuation of rain chances, depending on the track of the system.

Follow @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app stinger alabama makes a decision for high summary: summer- like weather will continue friday through the weekend.

Daily chances of showers and storms stick around, especially friday and sunday.

A cutoff low could develop in the southeast during the middle of next week giving the region a little bit of a cool stinger alabama makes a decision for high school sports for the summer.... the latest on cancelations and rules, next in sports... the alabama high school athletics association has canceled summer competition for 2020... in a release....the a- h-s-a-a says mandatory summer workouts are prohibited, but weightlifting, conditioning, and workouts are ok as long as they're voluntary to read the full release, go to our website wcbi dot com a fourth mississippi state bulldogs enters the transfer portal offensive lineman stewart reese will be immediately eligible where he plays, given he'l be a graduate transfer reese started 34 games at mississippi state 247sports was the first to report one of the area's fastest rising prospects receives an offer from the university a half hour north louisville defensive end tyvoris cooper tweeting out that he's received an offer from mississippi state cooper racked up 9 sacks and 21 tackles for loss in his junior season in 2019.... he's received offers from tennessee, memphis, and southern miss the ncaa's june third deadline for men's basketball players to withdraw from the nba draft has been pushed back the decision coming in response to the nba postponing the draft lottery and scouting combine indefinitely mississippi state forward robert woodard entered the nba draft process, but maintained his elibility...so any decision will be delayed last look stinger last look last

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