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The Columbia Police Department received the first of four new cars on Tuesday. The Board of Aldermen approved the purchase of four Ford Explorers in July.

Calvary Baptist Church gifts teachers

On Sunday Calvary Baptist Church presented teachers with back to school gifts.

Can you identify this photo?

This photo of a girls basketball team was taken from a negative by Mr. B. B. Bradley. The Marion County Museum has no identification or date reference.

Truck separates from RV on 98

Marion County Sheriff Deputy Oved Dunaway examines the truck along side U.S. 98 on Monday. A 911 call was received about a truck traveling on the highway without a driver.

Circuit Clerk Janette Nolan discusses voting precincts being relocated temporarily for the Nov. 3 election to adhere to social distancing guidelines.

5 county voting precincts relocated
By Joshua Campbell, READ MORE > 100 Reads
On Wed, 08/05/2020 - 09:51 AM
Five precincts in Marion County have been temporarily relocated to accommodate social distancing guidelines for the upcoming Nov. 3 general election, affecting approximately 5,000 voters.
Time to mask up
READ MORE > 190 Reads
On Wed, 08/05/2020 - 09:43 AM
On Tuesday’s press briefing, Gov. Tate Reeves issued a statewide mandate for wearing masks out in public. The topic of wearing a mask is divided with outspoken opponents on both sides of the matter, but for the next two weeks it is something Mississippians must do.
Change, but still the same
READ MORE > 154 Reads
On Wed, 08/05/2020 - 09:40 AM
There is a line in the movie “The Color Purple,” that stands out, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” In a lot of ways, truer words have never been spoken.
Objectivity still important
By Wyatt Emmerich, READ MORE > 160 Reads
On Wed, 08/05/2020 - 09:38 AM
When I was beginning my career as a journalist, I strove to be as objective as possible. It was not only a personal goal, but it was always a goal of the newspapers for which I wrote.
Governor correct in starting schools
By Susan Amundson, READ MORE > 256 Reads
On Wed, 08/05/2020 - 09:35 AM
Gov. Tate Reeves announced local school leaders to determine the start of the school years with the exception of eight counties. Thankfully Marion County was not one of the eight.
Ted Carley, Kit Marable and Lanny Arinder await voters today at the Columbia-Marion County Public Library on Broad Street. City voters are voting today to decide whether or not to accept the franchise agreement with Mississippi Power.

Voting on franchise agreement today
By Susan Amundson, READ MORE > 6199 Reads
On Mon, 08/03/2020 - 05:50 PM
Voters in Columbia are going to polls today to vote on the franchise agreement with Mississippi Power. If it passes, the power company will pay the city 3% of its revenue collected in the city.
City referendum is Monday
READ MORE > 13571 Reads
On Fri, 07/31/2020 - 12:49 PM
Columbia’s special election on the franchise agreement with Mississippi Power will be on Monday, Aug. 3. A story in Thursday's edition had an incorrect date for the election.
Vote for utility referendum
READ MORE > 944 Reads
On Fri, 07/31/2020 - 10:38 AM
Mississippians love to vote for just about everything. From judges to coroners to school board members and everything in between, whoever the official is we like to have direct input in who they’re going to be.
Melissa Speights shops for new school supplies with her children, Briley and Jaxson, at Walmart Thursday morning. Columbia schools are set to reopen Thursday.

Columbia district lays out plans to mitigate COVID-19
By Susan Amundson, READ MORE > 629 Reads
On Fri, 07/31/2020 - 10:21 AM
Classes are set to begin Thursday for Columbia schools after being closed for nearly five months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The school board voted Tuesday to push the start date two days later to Aug. 6 to allow for a little more time for additional sanitation products to arrive and be installed at the schools.
Circuit Clerk Janette Nolan stands in the basement of the courthouse surrounded by file cabinets and boxes on Wednesday. Now, after Marion County Circuit Court officially went paperless July 20, much of the future expenses for space and printing will be saved.

Circuit court goes all digital
By Susan Amundson, READ MORE > 393 Reads
On Fri, 07/31/2020 - 10:19 AM
Thanks to the efforts of two deputy clerks, Marion County Circuit Court has gone paperless, making it one of the digital leaders in Mississippi.
Circuit Clerk Janette Nolan said she had been exploring different options, but Joni Jones and Julie Davis are the ones who made it happened.

Columbia High School graduate McKinley Newcomer signs a scholarship to play softball at Mississippi Delta Community College July 24. She is joined by, standing, from left, CHS head coach Greg Arnold and her parents, Joe and Victoria Newcomer.

CHS catcher signs with Mississippi Delta CC

Although she only got to play eight games her senior year, Columbia High School graduate McKinley Newcomer impressed Mississippi Delta Community College enough over the past several years to earn a scholarship.

The catcher and third baseman signed with the Moorhead college July 24 and said she’s very grateful for the opportunity to play college softball, especially considering that the coronavirus pandemic took her senior year away from her.

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