DISPATCH STAFF REPORT

A two-vehicle accident Monday afternoon on Highway 82 just west of the Highway 45 Alternate exit claimed a Starkville man’s life.

Nicholas Hendrix, 29, of 635 Hendricks Road in Starkville, was killed when his late-model Chevrolet Trailblazer crossed the median while traveling west and was struck head-on by an eastbound 18-wheeler.

The collision tore the Trailblazer’s body from its frame and smashed the front of the 18-wheeler. Hendrix was taken to Oktibbeha County Hospital where he was pronounced dead by Oktibbeha County Coroner Michael Hunt at 2:28 p.m. Hunt cited multi-system trauma as the cause of death.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

TIM PRATT

STARKVILLE — Construction is set to begin soon on two long-awaited infrastructure projects in Oktibbeha County.

The second phase of the Poorhouse Road paving project, which extends 1.4 miles from the edge of the recently paved first section to an area just west the Highway 25 bypass, is set to begin within the next month. The Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors Monday opened bids for the contract and selected Ellis Construction, of Columbus, and its bid of $1.25 million. Ellis beat out seven other contractors.

Contractors initially submitted bids this spring, but the county delayed the project following a land dispute with a property owner. Eminent domain proceedings subsequently have taken place and the landowner was awarded an estimated $880 for 0.11 acres, County Administrator Don Posey said. The land was needed for a wider right-of-way.

Posey hopes the second phase of the Poorhouse Road project will be complete by spring 2010, though weather will be a determining factor, he said.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

Thursday, Sept. 24th, 2009 @ the State Theater
Green Starkville’s monthly meeting, being held on Thursday September 24th at 5:30pm in the State Room @ the State Bistro & Theater on Main Street!

We will be talking about lots of items everyday people can do to be more “green” (not just recycling) and ways that Green Starkville can make a deeper impact in the community. As it is our first formal meeting of the year, there will be plenty of opportunities to give your own input and raise awareness to issues you would like to see addressed in our effort to make Starkville greener! For more information contact Nisreen Cain at 662-312-8080 or info@greenstarkville.org

“A Classic Country Christmas” will be the theme for the 2009 Starkville Christmas Parade, set to take place on Saturday, December 5 at 5:00 p.m.

The GSDP is partnering this year with the Starkville Civic League and various Downtown merchants to increase activities planned for the weekend. Festivities will begin the morning of Saturday, December 5 at 10:00 a.m. with selected merchants offering specials, sidewalk sales, and holiday entertainment on Main Street. The “Lighting of the Tree” Christmas tree lighting ceremony will take place at 4:00 p.m. on the plaza of Cadence Bank on University Drive, followed by the Starkville Christmas parade at 5:00 p.m. Starkville Christmas activities will commence on Sunday, December 6 with the Starkville Civic League Tour of Homes. All four homes on the tour are located in Browning Creek, and a reception with light refreshments will kick-off the tour at 1:30 p.m. at the Oktoc Community Center. Tickets for the Tour of Homes are $20 each and will be available for purchase beginning in October.

A parade interest meeting will be held at the GSDP on Thursday, October 1 at 5:30 p.m. for all individuals interested in becoming a volunteer coordinator or in participating in the parade.
For more information on the Starkville Christmas Parade or any of the associated activities, please contact Tasha Hill, GSDP special events coordinator at (662) 323-3322 or lhill@starkville.org

TIM PRATT

STARKVILLE — As Starkville residents continue to sign up for the city’s new curbside recycling program, officials and “green” advocates in town can’t help but feel like their efforts are finally paying off.

As of Sept. 21, 474 households were signed up for curbside recycling, said Sharon Boyd, head of the city’s Sanitation Department. Sanitation Department trucks will collect residents’ recyclables beginning Oct. 7 and take the items to Starkville Recycling, where they will be sorted and processed.

Ward 5 Alderman Jeremiah Dumas, a strong advocate of sustainable living, is one of the many city residents looking forward to the start of curbside pickup.

“I think it’s a fantastic step,” Dumas said. “I think it’s something that’s long overdue for the city. I’m glad we’re moving in the right direction. It’s something a lot of cities in the state aren’t doing and it gives us a chance to lead the way.”

The program is available only to single-family homes whose residents use the city’s curbside garbage pickup services, though Boyd hopes to one day expand curbside recycling to apartments and businesses.

Participating residents will receive green translucent bags in which they can place their recyclables. Residents whose garbage is picked up on Mondays and Thursdays will have their recyclables collected on the first and third Wednesday of every month; Tuesday and Friday residential routes will be picked up on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

SPECIAL TO THE DISPATCH

STARKVILLE — A Columbia University historian of the early British empire’s efforts to abolish the African slave trade will discuss his research Wednesday at Mississippi State University.

Christopher L. Brown, author of “Moral Capital: Foundations of British Abolitionism” (University of North Carolina Press, 2006), speaks at a 4 p.m. public program in the McCool Hall atrium.

Titled “Anniversaries and Teleologies: Slave Trade Abolition Two Hundred Years Later,” his presentation is sponsored by the Institute for the Humanities, a part of the university’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“Moral Capital” won the 2007 Frederick Douglass Prize from Yale University’s Gilder Lehrman Center and was praised in the Journal of American History as “beautifully written.”

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

TIM PRATT

The final chapter in Starkville’s Sunday alcohol sales debate was written Wednesday in Jackson by the Mississippi Tax Commission.

The Tax Commission approved the city’s request to allow restaurants to sell beer, liquor and wine by the glass on Sundays, a spokeswoman said.

An extension of hours, which is effective immediately, will allow alcohol sales for on-site consumption from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Jay Yates, owner of The Veranda and president of the Starkville Restaurant Association, feels Sunday sales will lead to more business and more jobs in the city. The Veranda currently isn’t open on Sundays, but Yates now plans to open every Sunday and hire as many as 10 new people to work the additional hours. Other restaurants are planning similar moves, he said.

“We’re very happy that the (office of Alcoholic Beverage Control) and the State Tax Commission has chosen to honor the will of the people in Oktibbeha County and Starkville and allow Sunday alcohol sales following the approval of the Sunday beer sales that (the Board of Aldermen) passed here,” Yates said. “We’re glad, obviously, and we’ve been anticipating that, hoping that was the way it was going to go. Hopefully now we can get on with the business of doing business and generating revenue and new taxes and hopefully jobs.”

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.