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WCBI NEWS AT SIX - 06/24/2020

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WCBI NEWS AT SIX - 06/24/2020
WCBI NEWS AT SIX - 06/24/2020
WCBI NEWS AT SIX - 06/24/2020

Thank you for joining us..

A sex discrimination lawsuit dismissed in mississippi federal court is headed to the 5th circuit court of appeals..

The case centers around a transgender woman who claims she was discriminated against based on her sexual identity.

Scott martin joins us in the studio.

Scott, strangely enough this dismissal came just days before a big federal ruling?

The united states district court for the northern district of mississippi dismissed the case on june 11th.

On june 15th, the united states supreme court ruled the civil rights law protects lgbtq workers.

A coincidence?

Yes.

But for joselyn kelly, the fight's still on and she wants others to not be afraid to share their voice.

The civil suit is the appeal has to be submitted by july 10th..at that point it'll be up to the judges in the appellate court to decide the next steps.

The attorney representing aes the louisville municipal school district is in the market for new superintendent.

Dr. randy grierson tells wcbi he resigned at last night's school board meeting.

He called his resignation "a mutual decision to move forward and part ways."

Grierson has been with the school district for two years.

Noxapater and nanih waiya are also in the district.

Grierson says he looks forward to going somewhere that he can fit in and help kids in his next move.

Sot take continuing coverage stinger an about-face at the state capitol today from lt.

Governor delbert hosemann on the state flag debate.

Hosemann has long supported changing the flag but thought it should be done by voters at the ballot box.

In his statement today, the republican said the legislature should address the change.

He says quote..."failing to do so only harms us and postpones the inevitable," noting that lawmakers in 1894 that adopted the current banner.

Hosemann supports a flag with with the state seal, which has the national motto "in god we trust."

Also today, the mississippi economic council releasing the results of a poll done in mississippi from june 16th through the 18th.

It found 72% of the likely voters polled would support a new state flag that had the state seal on it.

Mec says it's the highest percentage of people ever polled in the state that supported changing the flag.

Intro take vo in monitor people all over the country are taking to the streets calling for change and standing up to racial injustices many are following in the footsteps of a generation now old enough to be their grandparents.

A generation who marched for voting rights, civil rights and equal rights.

Our savannah gaido joins us in the studio with more.

Savannah... protests over the years have been motivated by one thing -- change.

From generation to generation, protesting still holds true to its title.

ááánat popááá from louisville, mississippi to selma, alabama.

Memphis, tennessee.

Chicago and washington, dc this has always been the voice of change.

And that change all starts with.... "action.

Like so many people talk about change and you have to do this and you have to do that, but when you actually see people standing up and actually getting out there and doing it and just pushing themselves forward and being consistent and determined, you know that's what it's all about.

Real change starts with action."

Dr. marty wiseman taught political science for years at mississippi state university.

He has watched history unfold.

"one thing that you can compare it to is the protests in the 60s.

You had back then a confluence of ant- war protests and the culmination of the civil rights movement, so you had a lot of people making their statements in the streets."

Arthur harris is one of the newest generation of protesters.

"us having all of these protests and rallies we are drawing awareness and pulling out the problems and we are letting people know that 'hey, it's that time now'.

And we are tired of having our mouths closed , you know it's defintely that time."

Wiseman says there is one big change from the 60's to now.

Information is instant.

And some protests take place solely on social media.

"the internet, facebook, snapchat, and all of the different means of communication and the 24 hour news channels that are constantly searching for content."

Take vo in monitor in the 1960's the us congress passed the civil rights act and the voting rights act, both connected to the protests held in the nation at that time.

First look stinger first look summary: summer storms, heat, and humidity are here to stay for a while.

Rain chances will be slightly higher thursday and friday before settling back into that 30% range for the weekend and next week.

No major weather makers are expected in our region for a while.

Wednesday night: partly to mostly cloudy.

A few lingering showers and storms are possible.

Lows in the upper 60s with light wind.

Thursday: scattered rain and storms with the chance around 50%.

Highs will remain in the low to mid 80s.

Winds wsw 5-10 mph.

Mississippi continues to see high covid-19 numbers, including a record high yesterday.

This as the state continues to re- open businesses... most of those are being cautious to make sure customers and employees are safe// wcbi's bobby martinez is live in starkville with more..

That is right joey... customers who plan on shopping here at book mart and cafe..

Should keep a mask at hand... "if we do six feet of masks in small groups...we basically would see corona virus start to fade out.."

But as of late... there has been an uptick of positive covid-19 cases... tuesday marked the highest single day positive cases with 611..

As for today, an additional 526 new cases, according to the mississippi department of health..

Bringing the total of cases here since march 11..

To 23, 424 along with 1,011 deaths..

Dr. dobbs says if people don't follow all health guidelines... these numbers will continue to increase... sot - dr. dobbs - mississippi department of health "because we lack the patience or discipline to stick with those sort of things.

We are going to see ongoing cases and and i'm really fearful going into the fall that it's going to be an absolute disaster."

With an attempt to help prevent the spread of covid-19..

Stand up here at book mart and cafe in starkville... they are urging customers to wear a face mask upon entering the store... and the first thing customers will see when they enter the store..

Is hand sanitizer on a table... and if you forget your face mask..

One will be provided for you as well... "upon coming in we provide facemasks and hand sanitizer so you can just quickly wipe your hands off.

And we also keep the handles cleaned and we also sanitize the desk and stuff just to keep everything sanitized."

Blackwell says this is one way to keep everyone safe.... "we think it's very important that everyone that comes in the store wears a facemask to help prevent spreading the covid-19 and obviously it's protection for you and for anybody else that you may come in contact with."

Addison bunton says people should to continue to wear face masks in public... we should all wear them i mean even though they are uncomfortable especially in the summer when it's really hot but i mean we have to stop this somehow.

We can't just let it go on go on and have more people getting it."

And if you would like to learn more on how to keep safe and the best way to prevent covid-19..

You can always visit the cdc website for the latest information..

Reporting live in starkville - bobby martinez - wcbi news..

Thank you for joining us..

A sex discrimination lawsuit dismissed in mississippi federal court is headed to the 5th circuit court of appeals..

The case centers around a transgender woman who claims she was discriminated against based on her sexual identity.

Scott martin joins us in the studio.

Scott, strangely enough this dismissal came just days before a big federal ruling?

The united states district court for the northern district of mississippi dismissed the case on june 11th.

On june 15th, the united states supreme court ruled the civil rights law protects lgbtq workers.

A coincidence?

Yes.

But for joselyn kelly, the fight's still on and she wants others to not be afraid to share their voice.

The civil suit is against aes enterprises, inc.

They own and operate several mcdonald's restaurants in the state.

Kelly was hired in 2019 as an area supervisor.

She claims managers and other employees made remarks about her gender identity.

"they thought it was funny because i was using the women's restroom.

They called me juwanna mann."

After going to hr, kelly says she was moved to another store where she says the ridicule increased.

"i was told i was an abomination and her nephew worked there called me a faááot and i had to deal with that."

In court documents, aes alleges kelly's job performance was questionable.

The corporation says she lost her temper with customers and didn't master individual workstations required in her training.

Aes made a motion for summary judgement which was granted by a judge, ultimately dismissing the case.

"summary judgement is when there's no dispute of material fact.

Our appeal will say there is a state of material fact and here's the reasons why."

Kelly's attorney hays burchfield says his clients side of the story wasn't played out in court.

"we had witnesses lined up but of course the summary judgement was granted before we could ever go to a jury trial so we could never call up our witnesses and have them testify."

The summary judgement also states kelly listed she had a master's in businesses administration, which later on goes to say she admits she didn't finish.

Aes enterprises sent a statement saying the case was dismissed because because "kelly failed to prove she was discriminated against by aes."

They also stated, "in fact, the court specifically found that transgendered persons are protected from employment discrimination under federal law.

The court's ruling is consistent with the june 15th united states supreme court decision on that subject.

But that's not how kelly sees it.

"i was heartbroken because i didn't understand the decision without even coming forth, interacting with me to get my side of the story, behind the paper, to find out what actually, actually happened."

No matter the outcome of the appeal, kelly's hope is that her story helps others find their voice.

"i encourage people, transgender, lgbt, anyone, it don't have to be lgbt to speak out because the appeal has to be submitted by july 10th..at that point it'll be up to the judges in the appellate court to decide the next steps.

The attorney representing aes declined an on camera interview.

You can look at the dismissal and full statement from aes on our website.

A man recently arrested by lowndes county deputies is back in a jail.

He's accused of contacting a witness in the original case.

James dooley jr is charged with intimidating a witness.

Investigators say dooley tried to get a victim to drop the charges in a threatening manner.

Dooley was arrested in may on a cyberstalking charge.

He was taken into custody on the new charge earlier this week.

Stinger wx open summary: summer storms, heat, and humidity are here to stay for a while.

Rain chances will be slightly higher thursday and friday before settling back into that 30% range for the weekend and next week.

No major weather makers are expected in our region for a while.

Wednesday night: partly to mostly cloudy.

A few lingering showers and storms are possible.

Lows in the upper 60s with light wind.

Thursday: scattered rain and storms with the chance around 50%.

Highs will remain in the low to mid 80s.

Winds wsw 5-10 mph.

Thursday night: variably cloudy with a chance of a shower or storm.

Lows in the upper 60s.

Friday: sun & clouds.

A 40% chance of scattered showers and storms will continue.

Highs in the upper 80s.

Saturday-tuesday: partly cloudy, warm, and humid.

Highs ranging from the upper 80s to lower 90s.

Lows in the lower 70s.

A daily 30% chance of pop-up showers and storms. follow @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app summary: summer storms, heat, and humidity are here to stay for a while.

Rain chances will be slightly higher thursday and friday before settling back into that 30% range for the weekend and next week.

No major weather makers are expected in our region for a while.

Wednesday night: partly to mostly cloudy.

A few lingering showers and storms are possible.

Lows in the upper 60s with light wind.

Thursday: scattered rain and storms with the chance around 50%.

Highs will remain in the low to mid 80s.

Winds wsw 5-10 mph.

Thursday night: variably cloudy with a chance of a shower or storm.

Lows in the upper 60s.

Friday: sun & clouds.

A 40% chance of scattered showers and storms will continue.

Highs in the upper 80s.

Saturday-tuesday: partly cloudy, warm, and humid.

Highs ranging from the upper 80s stinger west lowndes hoping to build on a playoff appearance from last year...adding some championship pedigree to the staff the open the high school football tour continues previewing region 2-1a...checking in with the west lowndes panthers head coach anthony king and company return to the gridiron following a successful 2019 campaign...while also adding some championship pedigree to the locker room ááááintro billboardááá west lowndes football is back and better than ever.

After a breakout winning season in 2019, the panthers want to continue building on the positive momentum that an 8-4 season brings.

Except for this year, head coach anthony king wants his team to do even more.

"we start off strong every year, but we kind of fade more towards the end," king said.

"this year, we want to finish and play all the way through."

Finishing strong this season starts with the defense for west lowndes.

Luckily for the panthers, they're learning from one the best football minds in mississippi: legendary three- time state champion head coach m.c.

Miller.

"when you retire, it gets boring," miller said.

"you get bored at home sitting around doing nothing and you want something else to do.

Here i am up in west lowndes."

Miller is working to implement an aggressive defense at west lowndes.

Miller says that his past team's found success with the defense as the focus.

"that's the name of the game.

If you're going to hit and tackle, you're going to win the ballgame.

That's all i want to do--make contact.

I think these guys will make contact."

"he's pushing us hard," junior ath marquez shelton said.

"he's teaching us everything we need to know."

Coach king believes his 2020 team, might be the best team he's coached.

However, when it comes to making a deep run in the playoffs, king says keeping his team focused on football is it's own challenge.

"we're trying to turn west lowndes into a football program because everytime it gets colder and the ball gets dribbling guys pretty much want to stop playing football and get ready for basketball," king said."

"people overlook us in football and think we're just a basketball school.

We have to prove them wrong."

Shelton said.

"we're going to try and change that with football winning down the line.

That way they aren't going to think about basketball season until it's time for them to play," miller said.

West lowndes has its sights set on being one of the top four team's in 1a this season.

That begins for the panthers at home on august 21st against ethel.

Reporting in columbus on the high school football tour, courtney robb wcbi sports.

As sports organizations as sports organizations across the country work to determine when or if a season will start due to the covid-19 pandemic... mississippi juco football is making changes mississippi juco football's season opener has been pushed back two weeks...with opening night now set for september 10th juco football will be an eight game regular season....with the normal four team playoff format still in place the playoffs would begin november seventh, with the state championship scheduled for nomember fourteenth top this fall will bring a new school year and for some students... a new scschool ábuildingá this morning, board members with the starkville oktibbeha consolidated school district toured the new partnership middle school.

All of 6th and 7th grade will be housed in the new complex.

Members of the partnership say the new campus will allow students to develop 21st century learning skills.

Last look stinger last look

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