KRISTIN MAMRACK

In front of a large crowd of community and business leaders and elected officials, the ribbon was cut Monday on Stark Aerospace’s new 86,000-square-foot facility at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport.

And Stark Aerospace CEO David Eudy presented a $10,000 donation to East Mississippi Community College President Dr. Rick Young and EMCC Vice President of Workforce and Community Services Raj Shaunak.

“If we’re going to recover from this economic recession, we’re going to have to continue to look internationally,” said Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director Gray Swoope, noting Gov. Haley Barbour, who was scheduled to speak at the grand opening ceremony, was unable to attend. “The key to recovery is in our international partnerships.

“In times like these, strategic partnerships are important,” he continued. “We’ll have to continue to work together, but, most importantly, we have to be open to business.”

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

TIM PRATT

The Starkville Police Department is asking for the public’s help to locate two pieces of equipment stolen recently from area homes.

The most recent theft occurred Nov. 6, when an Exmark 52-inch zero-turnaround mower, the trailer on which it was sitting, and an assortment of landscaping equipment were taken from an apartment on Wood Street in the Brownsville Station complex, according to Starkville police. The trailer with the mower and landscaping equipment was disconnected from a pickup truck and stolen sometime between midnight and 3 a.m., police believe.

Starkville police said the trailer was hooked up to another vehicle and driven away. The Exmark is valued at approximately $8,000.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

TIM PRATT

In an effort to keep sustainable living fresh in the public’s mind, the city of Starkville is introducing residents to one new facet of its recycling program every month.

The city in October began free curbside recycling pickup, although the program was limited to single-family homes whose residents’ trash is picked up by the Sanitation Department. More than 1,000 residents have signed up for the curbside pickup program so far and Sanitation Department trucks have transported 24.68 tons of recyclable material to Starkville Recycling for sorting and processing.

“It’s picking up for sure,” said Joe Bell, operations manager for Starkville Recycling.

This month, the city distributed green recycling bags to the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, who handed them out to downtown businesses looking to recycle. As of Thursday, 20 downtown businesses had signed up for the recycling program.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

ALLEN BASWELL

A fundraiser for Columbus resident Danielle “Danie” Nowland is scheduled for Saturday in Starkville on the day she turns 18.

Nowland, the daughter of Donna and Mike Nowland, recently underwent a double-lung transplant at University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) Medical Center.

“She received it on Oct.12, and she is doing phenomenally well. She has been going to the mall and spending time with her friends,” said Donna Nowland.

Nowland said the Starkville Choppers, a local motorcycle enthusiast club, will be selling barbecue plates Saturday.

“They are going to set up on Highway 12 between Montgomery and Jackson Streets. They will also raffle tickets for two tattoos at Dragon’s Ink and two haircuts at Legends,” she said.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

JASON BROWNE

The Starkville Planning and Zoning Commission granted a request Tuesday to allow church services at a Louisville Street single-family residence.

The board agreed to grant conditional permission to The Church, which has a congregation of eight, to meet at 1315 Louisville St. each Sunday and Wednesday. The decision followed a brief discussion and a public hearing, during which only members of The Church appeared.

Discussion over the change centered on available parking at the residence, which shares a wide driveway with a row of duplexes, and how often the board will check with The Church to determine if the conditions of the zoning change are being met.

Commission members Ira Loveless and Jerry Emison questioned Starkville City Planner Ben Griffith on the amount of parking available at the home and whether it would be adequate if The Church’s membership grew.

“It seems to me if there’s a substantial increase in size they need to come in for another conditional use request,” said Emison.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

TIM PRATT

STARKVILLE — A Mississippi State University study released Monday shows a 27 percent decrease in heart attacks among Starkville residents since the city passed its no-smoking ordinance in 2006.

The study by Robert McMillen and Dr. Robert Collins focused on Starkville residents in the three years since the city’s Board of Aldermen passed the indoor smoking ban compared to the three prior years. Oktibbeha County Hospital and North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo treated a combined 51 Starkville residents for heart attacks in the three years before the smoking ban was enacted, but only 37 in the three years since, the study revealed.

Researchers see a correlation between the no-smoking policy and the decrease in heart attacks.

“My response would be what else changed to cause it?” Collins said when asked if the smoking ban led to the decrease in heart attacks. “Less obesity? Better (blood pressure) control? Better eating habits? All of those are associated with long-term risk of heart attacks. Only cessation of smoking and smoke exposure has an immediate effect on heart attacks.”

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.

TIM PRATT

Throughout the recent capital murder trial of Bobby Batiste in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court, family and friends of victim Andreas Galanis sat in a group two rows behind the prosecution’s table, sometimes in tears, other times stoic.

The group sat through graphic testimony and photos of the crime scene; detailed stories of deception and fraud; and even pictures of Galanis’ battered and lifeless body.

Yet, through it all, one woman was by their side, even though she never met Galanis or his family until shortly after the murder.

For the past 19 years, Greta Bryan has served as victim assistance coordinator in 16th Circuit Court District and does what she can to help victims and their families in the wake of a crime. She’s also married to Oktibbeha County Sheriff Dolph Bryan.

First of all, can you just explain what your job entails?

This position was started in, I think it was 1987, because that’s when the Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights came about. It’s when crime victims were first really recognized. So the Legislature passed a bill where every (Circuit Court) district would have a victim assistance coordinator. Mainly we’re just a liaison between the court system and the victims.

Read complete article at Commercial Dispatch.