Headlines – 10/10/2003

Published 12:00 am Friday, October 10, 2003

Panolian Headlines: October 10, 2003

For complete stories, pick up the 10/10/03  issue of The Panolian

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Much of the steel structure is up on Dunlap and Kyle’s new 150,000-square-foot tire storage warehouse on Eureka Street. The contractor is McCain Builders of Batesville.
    


Attempted Rape Charge
     Filed in Como
    
BY JASON C MATTOX
SENIOR STAFF WRITE


A Como man stands accused of three charges, including attempted rape, stemming from an incident early Sunday morning.

According to Como Police Chief Cleve Gale, William Michael Lipscomb, 39, of 505 Butler St., Sardis, has been charged with breaking and entering, molestation and attempted rape.

Gale said two officers responded to a 911 call from the Heatherstate Apartments at approximately 1 a.m. on Sunday morning.

"When the officers entered the apartment, they found the alleged assailant in a bedroom," Gale said.

According to the chief, Lipscomb allegedly broke into the apartment which was occupied by a pair of teenage girls. The names of the victims were not released.
    


Homeland Security Funds
     Foster Local Preparedness
    
Panola County could be better prepared against attacks with weapons of mass destruction thanks to funds made available by the new Office of Homeland Security.

The Office of Homeland Security, established as a cabinet-level position by President George W. Bush in light of the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001, made federal funding available to make sure people were prepared on the local level.

According to Col. Gerald Legge of the Batesville Police Department, who serves as the City of Batesville’s Point of Contact for Homeland Security, said in Mississippi the money is administered by Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).

"Essentially what is happening is the Office of Homeland Security is working with local governments to see how prepared they are to handle incidents with weapons of mass destruction," Legge said. "The funding is to help purchase equipment to better prepare for possible attacks.
    
 



 
 
   

Doctors Back New Administrator
Nine Physicians Sign Letter
     Endorsing Corkern’s Leadership
    
BY KATE B DICKSON
EDITOR


A group of Batesville doctors have banded together to "fully support and endorse" the new management of Tri-Lakes Medical Center under the leadership of Dr. Bob Corkern.

It’s Corkern who replaced administrator Richard Manning in July and who plans to submit a proposal to purchase the hospital.

"It is exciting to see the progress being made under his leadership," the physicians wrote. "Dr. Corkern shares the concerns of local physicians and has a vision to provide this county with an exceptional medical facility. We want him to be given the opportunity to make this happen."

The physicians who signed the letter are Dr. David A. Ball, Dr. W.C. Haire, Dr. Lee Linder, Dr. Michael Havens, Dr. Johnnie E. Cummings III, Dr. John Smoot, Dr. H.D. Stone, Dr. R.H. Rosenkranz and Dr. George Quesnel.
    


$1,250 Reward Set in Apartment Arson
    
There’s a $1,250 reward offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for setting a Sept. 19 apartment fire in Batesville.

Det. Lee Martin said the fire at 4:14 a.m. at Panola Apartments, 107 Martin Luther King Drive, was started in unit 5-H when someone attempted to set the apartment below it ablaze.
The tenants in the upper apartment were forced to escape from a bedroom window, he said.

Police have received information that two young black men may be responsible for the crime, Martin said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Martin at 563-5653 or Mississippi State Fire Marshal Investigator Chuck Moore at 1-888-648-0877.
    


Auditor Taking Look
     at NDPDD Records
    
BY KATE B DICKSON
EDITOR


North Delta Planning and Development District’s executive director says he "welcomes" a financial review now under way by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor.

A member of the office’s Audit Response Team was at the PDD’s Batesville office on Wednesday and took away some financial records, PDD executive director Glenn Brown told The Panolian.

The PDD serves seven northwest Mississippi Counties dispensing some "$5-to-$6 million" a year in federal, state and private foundation grant funds, said Brown.

Financial aid goes to a variety of sources ranging from Meals on Wheels to fostering economic development.

The review is being done at the request of State Rep. John Mayo who asked the state auditor, he said, to look into the PDD’s finances after a Clarksdale senior citizen’s center was almost forced to close because it did not get money due from the PDD.