Week in Vicksburg
Published 12:00 am Sunday, May 17, 2009
Spring humidity hit the area hard, with highs lingering in the mid- to upper 80s daily. Overnight lows ranged from 64 to 71 degrees. The area saw just under 1 1/2 inches of rain during the week.
The Mississippi River continued its climb, hitting 44.2 feet on the gauge by week’s end. A crest forecast of 46 feet next week was holding steady, and flood-related precautions were beginning throughout the county.
The unveiling of murals continued at Vicksburg’s riverfront with one honoring the late Gov. Kirk Fordice and his former wife, Pat. The Fordices’ friends, family and 13-year-old Labrador, Lance, attended the event, which marked the countdown to the close of the city’s mural project.
The retrial of Richard Dane Davenport, accused of sex crimes against two teen boys in Warren County, was postponed to March 2010 after Davenport was admitted to a local hospital for an emergency surgical procedure. The trial would have been the fourth in nine months for Davenport, a Mississippi State trooper on unpaid administrative leave, after others ended in mistrial.
Strong winds on Riverfest weekend were blamed in the disappearance of a metal sign along Clay Street honoring the Red Tops, a famed blues and jazz band in the 1950s and ’60s. The blues marker was found and will be recast, repaired and replaced under the supervision of the Mississippi Development Authority.
Doug Upchurch, a Realtor who helped establish River City Rescue Mission, died of an apparent heart attack. A Vicksburg resident since 1965 and president of Jones & Upchurch Realty, Doug had battled health problems previously.
During National Tourism Week, a renovated visitor center opened to the public on Clay Street. The $120,000, three-month redo was the first facelift the 30-year-old building has received.
Four Vicksburg teens, including Warren Central basketball standout Sha’Kayla Caples, were arrested and charged with six of 10 robberies of pedestrians reported in the city in the last couple of weeks. Also charged were Deshawn Williams, Jacorey Wright and Blake Reed. If bonds are posted, they will be released from custody pending action of the next grand jury.
After a decision was made by the Vicksburg Housing Authority to file theft charges against former VHA manager Charles Jones Jr., Jones was charged with embezzlement of VHA property. VHA Executive Director Jim Stirgus Sr. had walked out on the earlier meeting at which the decision was made, calling the meeting illegal and “politically motivated.” In the meantime, Mayor Laurence Leyens filed charges against Stirgus, saying that, as a federal employee, Stirgus cannot openly campaign for Leyens’ mayoral challenger. Stirgus has since taken medical leave, prompting VHA board members to seek federal input on whether to appoint a temporary replacement for Stirgus.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, Warren County has become one of six counties in the nation that became “majority minority” between 2007 and 2008. Census estimates show 50.4 percent of Warren Countians are black, Hispanic, Asian or part of another racial minority.
Porters Chapel Academy won its third Mississippi Private School Association Class A baseball championship since 2003. The team defeated Bayou Academy in a 5-1 victory.
Areas near Washington and Oak streets were put under increased patrol by Vicksburg police following a string of armed robberies in the past couple of weeks.
In addition to Upchurch, local deaths during the week were Ruben Johnson, Travis G. Coleman, Willie “Phillip” Kuhn, Alice Blackmore Williams, George T. “Buddy” Bryant, Leandrew “Buddy” Tolliver Jr., Hilliard “Butch” Berry Jr., Charlene E. Simmons, Mark Ray Bynum and Hilda Ezelle McGuffee.