After a week of cold temperatures and rain, Vicksburg and Warren County residents enjoyed a warm weekend with temperatures reaching into the lower 70s. The respite lasted about three days, however, before rainy weather brought another cold front and temperatures in the 40s. Weekend temps again returned to the 60s and 70s with cooler temperatures predicted for the coming week.
The Mississippi River was at 23.41 feet on Feb. 22. It was at 23.26 feet Friday. Flood stage is 43 feet.
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A 1-inch hole in a 100 year-old, 16-inch water main under Washington Street in front of Marcus Furniture forced city officials to shut off water for about three hours and issue a weekend boil water notice covering a two-block section of Washington between China and Crawford streets.
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A Vicksburg man facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of a 70-year-old man was being held in the Warren County Jail on $450,000 bond. Caleb Erves is accused of shoving Emanuel Erves down a flight of stairs at 819 Walnut St. Emanuel Erves was taken to River Region Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
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Officials with River Region Medical Center broke ground for a $13.2 million, 63,000-square-foot annex in front of its main campus on U.S. 61 North. The annex, which is expected to be completed by May 2015, will house medical services now at River Region West on North Frontage Road and at The Street Clinic on McAuley Drive.
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Faced with a limited paving budget and a lot of roads needing repair, the Warren County Board of Supervisors approved a list of 15 roads deemed to be in most serious need of repair as part of a paving plan to improve county roads. The board has a $1.125 million budget for paving in fiscal 2014, which will pay for paving 4.5 miles of roadway.
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The Board of Mayor and Aldermen authorized City Clerk Walter Osborne to advertise for bids for scrap metal left from damaged equipment and infrastructure repairs.
The list of steel, stainless steel, brass and aluminum includes items like car parts, valves and fittings, pipe and street signs.
In a related issue, the board discussed whether to display the remaining salvaged parts of the Steamship Sprague, which was heavily damaged by fire in 1974, or sell a portion of it for scrap.
North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield said efforts were underway to find a location to display the items, which include parts of the boat’s boiler and engine.
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The Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau approved a $15,000 sponsorship for RiverFest and about $2,500 for Tapestry.
The $15,000 allocation to RiverFest, which is April 25-26, is broken into $10,000 for advertising and $5,000 cash, which will go to help the RiverFest Board with expenses. The amount is $6,000 more than the $9,000 VCVB approved for RiverFest last year.
Money for Tapestry, which runs from April 3 to 26 will pay for printing an estimated 5,000 brochures on the annual event.
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NRoute’s Board of Commissioners approved a projected $938,160 fiscal 2015 budget including an anticipated $478,310 in Federal Transportation Administration grant funds. The budget was approved in advance because it must be submitted to the FTA for approval under the grant regulations.
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Warren County Emergency Manager John Elfer, whose office is in charge of the county’s building permits, told the Vicksburg Lions Club that fuel costs tied to field inspections were the primary reason the county’s building fees may be going up.
The current fee is $5 for developments valued at more than $500, and a $10 charge for buildings in flood plains, net the permitting side of his department about $2,000 a year. Elfer has asked the Board of Supervisors to raise the flat fee to $25.
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Nathaniel Williams, an auditor for the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, touted the need for an extension of federal unemployment benefits. A bill to extend emergency unemployment benefits is pending in Congress.
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Johnny L. Reynolds Sr., a patient advocate at River Region Hospital, and Jennifer Adcock, of Hattiesburg, a former Miss Mississippi who works in her family’s property management and real estate investment company, were named to the Miss Mississippi Corporation board.
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George Carr Cadillac, Buick, GMC, celebrated is 25th anniversary.
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Local deaths included Dorothy Inez Boyd McCraine, Chris C. Antoine Jr., Emanual Erves, Charles David Freeman, Walter Gaines, Walter Gaines, Ben David Lowe, Darol Lore Thorpe, Lurlene Adams Soverns, Clottie Allison, Walter Gaines, Letha Kelly and Elizabeth Ann Thompson.