LUY-Development

Category: Mississippi News

  • Highway Worker Killed Clearing Trees From Road

    Highway Worker Killed Clearing Trees From Road

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi highway maintenance supervisor has been killed in an accident while clearing trees from a highway following stormy weather.

    The Mississippi Department of Transportation says in a news release that Jason Boyd died in the accident on Highway 489 in Newton County. Details of the accident were not released. The department said it is under investigation.

    The statement said Boyd was a maintenance superintendent who had served the department “with distinction” for 12 years.

    High winds and heavy rains hit much of Mississippi and other Southern states Saturday as the remnants of what had been Tropical Storm Olga moved across the region.

  • No Time 2 Cook Expanding To Stores Across The South

    No Time 2 Cook Expanding To Stores Across The South

    OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — When Karen Kurr began her business, No Time 2 Cook, in 2005, she was preparing dishes out of her home.

    Fifteen years later, Kurr has turned her cottage industry into a full-fledged operation.

    No Time 2 Cook started in a family kitchen and can now be found in the freezer aisle of Kroger and, beginning next week, Walmart.

    From going to farmer’s markets in Oxford and Tupelo and buying a space at The Mustard Seed Antique Mall, Kurr has seen her family recipes become staples in the grocery stores she and her neighbors frequent.

    “It literally was birthed in my home kitchen,” Kurr said. “It didn’t take long. Once we got started, just within a couple of months, it just went so well.”

    After having to abide by government regulations for cottage industries, Kurr relocated her homegrown business to a facility off of North Lamar Boulevard behind Chicory Market. There, most of the Cajun and southern dishes she’s famous for are made from scratch and prepared to ship to Kroger and independent retailers across the Southeast.

    In 2017, Kurr applied to go to Walmart’s open call, an initiative to bring American-grown and based products to their shelves in support of creating more USA-based jobs. Kurr’s business was accepted and invited to the three-day event. The final stage is getting in front of buyers, who then try the product themselves.

    If the buyers like the products, a green card is issued to the business owner. Kurr left Walmart headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. with a green card and was invited to come back for the category review that fall.

    Around this time last year, Kurr’s products were in 250 stores across the southern region. With the expansion to Walmart, they will be in over 620 stores.

    “We’ve more than doubled our distribution in a year,” Kurr said. “We’re in all the deep south states.”

    Over the next couple of weeks, Walmart stores in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia will begin carrying Kurr’s products.

    People will be able to find No Time 2 Cook’s chicken and dumplings, chicken tetrazzini and poppyseed chicken in Walmart stores. Kroger also carries chicken and dumplings, along with cornbread dressing with chicken.

    Marketplace at Oxford Commons and Moore’s Store in Batesville off Highway 6 are some of the independent retailers who currently carry No Time 2 Cook products.

    The demand for a new product is always there, and Kurr is using her new corporate lunch catering to test out what they have been working on in their research and development department. The catering is designed to serve as small-scale research and development, she said.

    “(The demand for new products) is like an animal that’s constantly saying, ‘What’s new? What’s new? What’s New?’” Kurr said. “We’re always wanting to bring in new products and that’s part of this catering that we’ve just launched, to help R&D.”

    Kurr said the catering side of the business has already produced some potential new products that she thinks will find their way the freezer section soon.

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  • Jones Lumber plans $18 million expansion in Natchez, adding 35 jobs

    Jones Lumber plans $18 million expansion in Natchez, adding 35 jobs

    MBJ staff

    Jones Lumber Co. is expanding its Mississippi grade-lumber operations with an $18-million corporate investment in Natchez that will create 35 jobs.

    Jones Lumber has operations in locations throughout Mississippi, all of which produce hardwood mats. In January 2018, the company acquired the former Rives and Reynolds lumber mill in Natchez, where it will specialize in grade lumber. Jones retained Rives and Reynolds’ existing 50 employees, and the company is investing in new equipment and facility upgrades.

    “Jones Lumber Co. is looking forward to our growth in Natchez, and our investment in and expansion of our facility indicates our commitment to the area, Chief Financial Officer Chad Ervin said in a release.

    The Mississippi Development Authority is providing a $234,243 grant for road improvements. Adams County is providing matching funds in the amount of $24,000. Adams County also is granting property tax abatements.

    “Mississippi ranks first in the U.S. in the number of tree farms, comprising approximately 20 million acres of forestland. The Mississippi Development Authority is proud to support Jones Lumber as they optimize our timber resources to achieve their goals in Mississippi,” said MDA Executive Director Glenn McCullough Jr.

    Jones Lumber also has mills in Bay Springs, Sandy Hook, Gloster and Hazlehurst.

  • Heavy rains dousing South as tropical disturbance looms

    Heavy rains dousing South as tropical disturbance looms

    BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Parts of the drought-parched South were under flood watches and warnings Friday with forecasters saying as much as 10 inches of rain could fall.

    The National Weather service said an advancing cold front would collide with a weather disturbance that became a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico.

    The National Hurricane Center said the storm’s center was 320 miles (515 kilometers) south-southwest of Lake Charles, Louisiana. It had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph).

    Forecasters issued a tornado watch for southern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama, but heavy rains were the immediate threat.

    Coastal Louisiana could receive as much as 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain Friday and Saturday, forecasters said, and 6 inches (15 centimeters) was possible across a wide section of Mississippi.

    Streets were flooding around New Orleans and metro Birmingham with more rain on the way.

    Rainfall totals ranging from 1 to 4 inches (2.5 to 10 centimeters) are possible from Alabama to South Carolina, the weather service said.

  • 17-Year-Old’s Body Found After Mississippi Sound Drowning

    BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — The body of a 17-year-old Mississippi boy has been recovered after he drowned in the Mississippi Sound on Saturday.

    Harrison County Deputy Coroner Brian Switzer tells WLOX-TV that the body of Hattiesburg teen Carson Hall was found Sunday morning. Switzer says Hall died from accidental drowning after he jumped off a boat near Ship Island.

    Switzer says that Hall hit the water belly first and didn’t resurface. Others onboard jumped in to search for Hall, later calling the Coast Guard, which sent a helicopter and a boat.

    The Mississippi Marine Patrol also looked for Hall, but authorities couldn’t find him until Sunday, hampered by water conditions.

    Hall recently graduated from Sacred Heart Catholic School in Hattiesburg.

  • Mississippi Museums Seek Prohibition Items For Exhibition

    ACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is seeking items to tell the story of when liquor was illegal.

    An exhibition titled “Mississippi Distilled: Prohibition, Piety, and Politics” will open in March at the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson.

    Prohibition lasted in Mississippi from 1907 until 1966, but the exhibition will cover a longer period.

    The department says in a news release that it’s seeking Prohibition enforcement items, such as a uniform or badge from an officer involved in a raid.

    Collections director Nan Prince says museum officials are interested in “anything related to alcohol consumption and production in Mississippi,” including photos of taverns and saloons. They are also seeking artifacts related to temperance activists.

    To contribute, call 601-576-6930 or email collections@mdah.ms.gov.

  • Mississippi Sales Tax Holiday Includes School Supplies

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi will soon have its annual sales tax holiday but this year there’s more to celebrate.

    News outlets report school supplies are officially on the tax exemption list for the holiday, which is on July 26 and 27. All clothing, footwear and school supplies under $100 can be purchased minus the 7% state sales tax.

    Sen. Chuck Younger co-authored the bill that passed last year and said it’s long overdue.

    Younger says if there’s a tax-exempt holiday for firearms, then there should be one to help parents and teachers with school supplies.

    The Mississippi Department of Revenue website has a description of items that are eligible for the two-day tax break.

  • Sheriff: Foul Play Suspected In Death Of Ole Miss Student

    HARMONTOWN, Miss. (AP) — Authorities say foul play is suspected in the death of an Ole Miss student whose body was found over the weekend about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from campus.

    News outlets report deputies patrolling near Harmontown on Saturday found the body of 21-year-old Alexandria ‘Ally’ Kostial, of St. Louis, Missouri. WREG-TV reports a Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department news release says foul play was apparently involved in the woman’s death. It’s unclear what led authorities to come to the conclusion.

    The University of Mississippi said Kostial was working toward a bachelor’s degree in marketing. Kostial’s father, Keith Kostial, posted on Facebook that his daughter had been attending summer school and teaching fitness classes at the university. He says she graduated from Lindbergh High School in 2016.

  • 3 State Child Protection Workers Fired After Child’s Death

    JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services has fired two case workers and a supervisor after an investigation into the death of a 4-year-old child in Natchez.

    The department announced the terminations Friday. It says its review of a month-long internal investigation into the case involving Armani Hill is completed. The girl was pronounced dead June 5 after being beaten so severely that she could not walk. Natchez Coroner James Lee said an autopsy shows the child died from blunt force trauma.

    The girl’s 3-year-old sister, Lailah, was also critically hospitalized, but was treated and released.

    The children’s mother, 25-year-old Lakeisha Jones, faces two counts of child deprivation.

    Jones’ boyfriend, 24-year-old James Anderson, faces two counts of felony child abuse. Police say he was babysitting when the abuse occurred.

  • Proposed short-term rental limits draw debate in Starkville

    STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Supporters and opponents are clashing over proposals to restrict short-term home rentals in a north Mississippi college town.

    The city of Starkville held its second public input session Tuesday for proposed changes that would affect rentals in single-family residential neighborhoods.

    About 50 people attended the forum where supporters said that short-term rental companies, such as Airbnb, threaten the integrity and character of residential neighborhoods, while opponents argued the restrictions are government overreach and potentially harmful to the local economy, news outlets reported.

    The initial proposal included a $300 yearly license, a maximum of 30 nights or 10 weekends to rent a property per year and a requirement for owners to live in the houses they rent out. The current proposal is a $25 license fee with no night limit and no residency requirement.

    Starkville is home to Mississippi State University, which means hotel rooms and short-term rental properties are in demand for big events like football weekends.

    The proposed rules are a concern for Dede Carter, who owns a local cleaning service. She said regulations could limit the number of times homes can be rented, which would limit her chance to work.

    “Thus, what it will do is limit income,” Carter said.

    The Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing for the code on Nov. 12, and the board will have two public hearings at its December meetings before voting on the code on Dec. 17.

    The board of aldermen can revisit the policy later if they believe it is too strict or too lenient, Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk said.

    “I would ask that y’all trust us to do our job and know that we will continue to work at this,” she said. “We’re not trying to put Airbnb out of business, not at all. We’re trying to be as accommodating as possible for somebody who has a vacant property or a second home, but we’re also at the same time trying to balance the idea of there being traditional neighborhoods.”