Give the resort agreement a chance
Published 10:49 am Wednesday, February 11, 2015
It’s said nothing good ever happens after 2 a.m. On occasion, what happens has tragic results.
Sunday night, two Tallulah men outside LD’s Kitchen on Mulberry Street decided to resolve a disagreement with fisticuffs and ammunition rather than with common sense. Kentrell Williams, 22, was in the Issaquena County slammer Tuesday on $2.5 million bail on a trifecta of charges after the death of Jimmy Johnson, 32. Police said a fight broke out following a party that apparently was going on during the regular course of business. Shots rang out as officers arrived at 1:55 a.m. after Williams went to his car to retrieve a gun, police said. The men did know each other, police said.
Besides murder, Williams is being held for having a stolen firearm and being a felon in possession of said firearm. His plot is thick — a felony conviction in Louisiana from 10 months ago and he’s at the heart of an investigation Madison Parish didn’t elaborate on. Expect more from this part of it.
It’s also said to beware of anyone “from the government and they’re here to help,” as the old joke goes.
Vicksburg lawmakers recently cut a deal with the owners of KJ’s River Town Grille to allow businesses such as KJ’s, LD’s and others with resort status to stay open to 3 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. The arrangement resulted from settlement talks after KJ’s sued over the Mississippi Department of Revenue’s decision to reduce the business’ hours.
Forgive us for jerking our knees a little in expectation of a knee-jerk reaction in response to last weekend’s killing. In April 2008, the city changed the hours in which beer and light wine could be sold at various points of the week in reaction to a shooting the previous summer that followed late-night alcohol consumption. A similar renege on the recent agreement to loosen the closing times a tad for resort status bars would unfairly punish restaurant owners who try their level best to provide good eats and a good time to law-abiding people.
LD’s fits that bill. They’ve hosted live music and served tasty down-home dishes for years. Its operator doesn’t deserve this kind of headache on busy weekends. Here’s hoping the city gives the flexed closing time a chance without flexing any more muscle.