The Week in Vicksburg
Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 19, 2001
Week of July 9, 2001
The heat was broken by rain Thursday. Otherwise, highs ranged from 91 to 99 degrees. Lows varied from 71 to 79. The rainfall was measured at 1.08 inch.
The Mississippi River dropped from a reading of 24.6 feet on the Vicksburg gauge to 18.7 by week’s end. Forecasters believed a rise send the river to about 19.7 feet by today.
As Vicksburg’s newly installed elected officials neared the end of their first week in office, they appointed Paul Rogers, former city clerk, to the new post of strategic planner. Rogers, who had worked as a consultant with the former administration since his retirement in 1999, became the highest paid city employee at $98,500 a year.
Also as he neared the end of his first week in office, Mayor Laurence Leyens met with the heads of the various city departments. Among the comments made was a directive to reassess employees.
Better communications with city departments is one of the goals of the city’s new administration, officials said. Toward that goal, they said they planned to establish one phone number to call to deal with any city service.
Edward Porter Williams, a native of Vicksburg, was presented with nine military medals he earned as a soldier during the Korean Conflict. He received the medals after contacting the Army records center in St. Louis.
Sen. Mike Chaney and other members of the Warren County legislative delegation were among those who disagreed with the way Gov. Ronnie Musgrove called a special session of the Legislature. They said Musgrove should have worked more closely with the Legislature during the regular session, so no special call would be needed.
Thirty-nine contestants from all over Mississippi arrived in Vicksburg Sunday to begin the week-long Miss Mississippi Pageant. Of the contestants, 19 of the young ladies are competing for at least the second time.
Rep. George Flaggs of Vicksburg legislators should leave Rep. Bennie Thompson’s Second Congressional District as it is. If the proposal to add additional counties is followed, the district will be too large to visit comfortably, Flaggs said.
Members of Vicksburg’s hospitality industry said The Majesty of Spain exhibit in Jackson has brought additional visitors to the city. Figures show that visitation was up at the local visitor welcome centers and the Old Court House Museum.
Vicksburg joined the ranks of Mississippi cities where black bear have been sighted. Bunny Reihsmann saw the animal Monday morning on U.S. 61 North.
Troy White of Redwood and Otis Banks of Vicksburg were arrested early Wednesday morning after two armed men robbed the Sack & Save grocery store. City police said the two were suspects in the robberies of two other groceries and a deli and similar incidents in Louisiana, Texas and Jackson.
Senior citizens who are regulars at the Vicksburg Senior Center will have a voice in who gets the job of the new director for the center. The new director will replace Anna Lisa Cockrell.
Representatives of HNTB, the engineers for the Vicksburg Bridge Commission, told members of the commission one of the piers of the Interstate 20 bridge has been moving, just like on the bridge owned by Warren County. The Louisiana Department of Transportation is planning a $2 million study to determine the cause of the movement.
Police Chief Mitchell Dent announced five personnel changes at the Vicksburg Police Department. One involved the reassignment of officers from the code enforcement detail because that function has been returned to the Inspection Department.
A federal judge dismissed a suit filed against many Mississippi cities, including Vicksburg, over this year’s city elections. Local officials said they were happy over the news, adding they could not see how the suit applied here.
The Miss Mississippi Pageant kicked off the first of three nights of preliminary completion. The winner of the event will represent Mississippi in the Miss America Pageant.
Col. John Morris III took over command of the Corps of Engineers Engineering Research and Development Center. He will have his main headquarters at Waterways Experiment Station here.
McKinley Bell received a life without parole sentence from Warren County Circuit Judge Frank Vollor. Bell was found guilty of burglary last month.
Mayor Laurence Leyens ordered the third floor mayor’s office renovated in City Hall. He said the expanded area will be used for conferences with business and industry leaders.
Navstar, a mapping company from Texas, was hired by Warren County to create digital maps of the county. Officials said the maps would help emergency responders pinpoint locations.
Storms that dropped 1.08 inch of rainfall on the area Thursday afternoon also caused wrecks and power outages. Emergency officials said there were no serious injuries reported.
Local deaths during the week were Laura B. Washington, Keontae Matthews, Doris Lelia Teaster, Cedric A. Archer, Elizabeth A. Guercio, Solomon Henderson and Niki Cassino Lewis.