Week of April 1, 2002

The area around Vicksburg in the past week was typically spring-like with temperatures varying widely and a bit of rain. The daytime temperatures ranged from a chilly 64 to a warm 84, while at night they varied from 42 to 67 degrees. Rainfall was recorded two days during the week for a total of 0.11 inch.

The Mississippi River continued to rise, advancing from 38.0 feet on the Vicksburg gauge to 40.7. Forecasters said the river should have crested Saturday afternoon and dropped to 40.6 by today.

Kathryn Walker has filed a lawsuit in Warren County Circuit Court against the new owners of Green Acres Memorial Park, saying they desecrated her late husband’s grave. She said the action was in retaliation for her not buying the grave marker from the new owners of the private cemetery.

All three members of the Vicksburg Civil Service Commission voted to uphold the demotion of Mike Gettinger from assistant chief to captain in the Vicksburg Fire Department. The commission ruled the decision to demote Gettinger was made in good faith and with good cause.

Jarod Clark of Front Royal Street died after he was crushed by his pickup against a neighbor’s house. Clark had stopped in his driveway to get his mail and his truck began rolling. He tried to stop it.

Hobbs Freeman and Gordon Cotton completed a resurrection of Jordan’s Chapel near Freeman’s home in south Warren County. He said a promise to a friend that the chapel would be complete in time for her wedding provided the inspiration to finish the job.

Charity Hohm-Whaley bought the Planters Hall building with the idea of turning the old Planters Bank building into a home once again. She said she hoped to complete renovations by December of this year.

As Vicksburg’s new sign ordinance took effect, city officials began the process of adopting a new, stricter one. The proposed law will do away with the 24-hour waiting period before illegal signs can be removed by city officials.

The Warren County Board of Supervisors began the process of buying the land they will need to build a new, secondary entrance into River Region Medical Center. The key property is T’Beaux’s on Culkin Road which is owned by Thomas and Mary Ray.

Josh Bell of Vicksburg has been home for a few days following his deployment to the Middle East. He is a crewman of the USS Theodore Roosevelt, one of the carriers participating in Operation Enduring Freedom.

Vicksburg lawyer Clarence Whitaker filed papers to run for Warren County Court judge. So far, he and Robert Arledge have tossed their hat in the ring although Johnny Price, Warren County prosecutor, said he plans to run in the Nov. 5 election.

Homer Jennings, one of the promoters who are trying to bring a 2,000-car hot rod show to Vicksburg, said they probably can’t put the event on this year, but 2003 is still possible. The Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau sent out questionnaires to gauge support for the event.

River forecasters predicted the Mississippi River would continue to rise to a crest of about 40.7 feet by Saturday. Officials at the Vicksburg District Corps of Engineers said the present rise has backed other streams up and flooded crop and timber land in the lower Delta.

Vicksburg elected officials allocated carryover and reserve funds to raise this fiscal year’s budget by $3.4 million. Strategic Planner Paul Rogers said much of the increase was needed to fund additional health care insurance costs for city employees.

John Mercer “J.M.” Tidwell died while inspecting the site of a new Super Junior he and family members were building. Tidwell worked for a number of grocers, owned his own supermarkets and started the Super Junior chain here.

This year’s Relay for Life was to have been dedicated to the memory of the late Betty Fletcher. Fletcher was a dedicated volunteer with the Cancer Society who died of breast cancer in August after battling it since 1974.

Kathy Lowe was only looking for a way to borrow some money to pay off some other debts when she answered an ad in The Vicksburg Post. She ended up sending the people $800 before she found out the whole thing was a scam and reported it to the Attorney General’s office, other law enforcement officers and agreeing to talk about her experience as a way to warn others.

The acting postmaster of the Vicksburg Post Office said she’s trying to find out if changes contemplated for the U.S. Postal Service will affect Vicksburg. Among the changes being discussed is doing away with six-day-a-week delivery.

Local deaths during the week were Ronald H. Windham, Doris Cummings Vance, Mary Scott Chambers, Jarod Daniel Clerk, Bernice O. Johnson, Bobby E. Bazzel, Charlie Mae Parker, Ola Ferguson Sullivan and John H. Williams.