The Dispatch highlights Starkville’s own Cre8tive Warehouse in Sunday’s Life section. It is a warehouse studio for local artists. Great concept.

Companion piece that ran along side is about one of the principals, Heath Kleinke. Great article.

One of the columnist I read weekly is PBS’ Robert X. Cringely. He’s mostly techno issues oriented (inner geek rejoice again). He’s a good read with inisght on tech issues. Plus he’s a tad bit sarcastic at time. Not really local news, but a good read.

Metrocast and Starkville made the popular tech blog Engadget’s HD version EngadgetHD.com. That’s pretty cool (as I reveal my inner geek). The post highlights Metrocast’s 6 new HD channels. Rumor also has it that they are looking to roll out fibre to homes, dramatically increasing possibilities for new channels and network speed.

by Jogee Lenarduzzi
StarkvilleNow correspondent.

For the next three months, Starkville Police Department will be using a privately owned prison facility located in Clay County.

“I think this is a good solution to what is a reoccurring problem,” Chief David Lindley said.

Previous to this Board of Aldermen decision, SPD was having to go “jail shopping” for open cells whenever they arrested someone because Oktibbeha County Jail is currently full.

This is costly because the department has to pay the officer while they are transporting the prisoner to the open jail. The fuel used to transport them also is costly. Lindley said the SPD is already over budget for the year because of this expense, and a quarter still remains in the year.

On top of the present costs, there is considerable liability for the officer and the PD. Transporting the prisoner puts the officer and the prisoner out of their jurisdiction, and if something were to happen, the SPD would be liable.

The SPD has arranged to reserve 15 beds in Clay County at $35 a day for the next three months. This $35 includes transportation to and from court and also pays for Clay County to transport the prisoner to the jail.

After hearing Lindley’s presentation of the problem and his temporary solution, Alderman P.C. “Mac” McLaurin moved to approve this request, and his motion was second by Aldermen Sumner Davis. All present voted in favor of the motion, but Richard Corey was absent.

The board heard presentations from the Mississippi State University Student Association and the Starkville Beautification Committee asking for support of the annual Bulldog Bash in the Cotton District.

Braxton Coombs of the MSU Student Association said Bulldog Bash is the largest free event in the state and asked the board to approve Starkville’s $10,000 sponsorship of the event. This money includes the aid from the Police Department, closing University Drive for the event, etc.

McLaurin motioned to approve and was second by Matt Cox. All present were in favor of giving the support.

The Beautification Committee asked aldermen to push for improvements on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, also known as Highway 182.

“This has been going on for decades and with that in mind, we’d like to initiate a dialogue between MDOT [Mississippi Department of Transportation] and the Greater Starkville Development Partnership,” said committee member Richard Mullenax.

Committee member Ben Bounds spoke on behalf of the Beautification Committee and other organizations such as Starkville in Motion, Starkville Young Professionals, Greater Starkville Development Partnership and Greener Starkville and presented a plan for urban renewal of MLK Jr. Drive.

The plan includes building sidewalks, bike lanes, crosswalks, putting in trash cans and underground utilities, paving, striping, curbing and guttering the street, weekly street sweepings and installing landscaping to make the road more aesthetically pleasing.

Those that support improving the area say business will increase and Starkville will become an even better place.

“This area certainly needs revitalization and hopefully this board can provide,” Alderman Roy Perkins said.

Mullenax said that the Beautification Committee did not expect the city to pay for everything and said he believed the city could get grants to pay for this project.

Cox suggested the board refer the plan to the Infrastructure Committee and then hear their recommendations at the next meeting. The IC will meet at 4 pm Tuesday.

The ongoing discussion of the city’s false alarm ordinance continued. The ordinance was tweaked and submitted for approval, but some citizens were not fully content with the revisions.

The revised version was not approved, but instead Cox motioned to refer it to the Infrastructure Committee as well.

The aldermen handled several other matters of business, including a consent agenda that included a large portion of the official agenda.

BOA approved a request from Starkville Police Department to contract with a private jail in Clay County for 15 bed for people arrested in Starkville. The contract lasts for the next three months and costs $35 per day, per bed. Considerable money has been spent on transporting prisoners to surrounding jails because Oktibbeha County Jail is currently full. This contract will save SPD time and money.

BOA approved a $10 thousand sponsorship to the MSU Student Association for this fall’s Bulldog Bash. They also heard from the Starkville Beautification Committee about a plan for urban renewal of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive/Highway 182. They BOA referred the plan to the Infrastructure Committee and will hear the Committee’s recommendations at the next BOA meeting.

For more information on the above items and the details on the rest of the meeting, read tomorrow’s post.

Sixteen months after launch, we’ve decided to update our look and add new content.

Here are some things about the new layout. We’ve re-odered the categories and added a few. Instead of dividing local news into city and county, we’ve lumped everything together in “Local.”
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