A whole lot went on in Attala County in 2021. Here, we highlight some of the major issues and events in our communities.
January
Mayor Cockroft one of the residents to suffer from COVID-19 early
Jimmy Cockroft, then mayor of Kosciusko, was recovering at home in January after spending a week in the hospital due to COVID-19 infection.
Cockroft and his wife, Linda, tested positive on Dec. 30.
“Symptoms were light for both of us for a few days, then mine began to get worse,” he told The Star-Herald. “I went to the clinic on Jan. 8 for a chest X-ray and ended up in the emergency room. I was then admitted and stayed until the 13th.”
His release from the hospital coincided with his 64th birthday.
A day later, Cockroft posted a note on social media, expressing gratitude to the medical team that cared for him, and for all the birthday wishes he had received from the community.
“Spent most of it at Baptist-Attala, but thankfully got to come home yesterday afternoon. I appreciate Dr. Holdiness, Dr. Carter, Dr. Wallace, and ALL the staff for taking care of me for six days,” he wrote on Jan. 14.
Cockroft said Tuesday that he is recovering but remains unsure of an exact date for his return to regular hours at city hall.
“Doctors tell me I’m looking at another couple weeks’ recovery time,” he said.
In his Jan. 14 online post, Cockroft urged people to take COVID-19 seriously.
“If you doubt COVID is real,” he said, “I can attest it’s the real deal — especially when you get COVID pneumonia.”
February
Sick of the stench, city officials sought to control sewage lagoon odor
It appeared Kosciusko officials had hit a tipping point over the stench that periodically emanated from the city sewage lagoon that receives wastewater from the Prairie Farms plant on Veterans Memorial Drive.
At then Mayor Jimmy Cockroft’s request, the aldermen had unanimously agreed to send a letter to company officials, all but demanding representatives appear at the board’s Feb. 16 meeting to explain what the company intends to do to stem the stench.
The move came after the city undertook several actions in recent years to resolve the ongoing issue, including the purchase of about $250,000 in aerators for the lagoon, as well as implementing the use of more and different chemical treatments at the lagoon.
Cockroft said the city had done everything it could on its end to resolve the issue, and that the city needed Prairie Farms to do something about its discharge into the city system.
March
City expanded Strand theater project
The Kosciusko Board of Aldermen voted to purchase the building at 207 N. Madison St. — to the left of The Strand. The cost was $95,000.
Then Mayor Jimmy Cockroft said the additional square footage would be used to construct bathrooms, offices and other facilities that would enhance the conference center/museum plan for the former theater next door.
In the preliminary concept sketch above, the blue highlighted area is the newly acquired property. City attorney Jason White and building owner John Shaw were finalizing the sale agreement.
The city is pursuing redevelopment of The Strand after the state legislature reallocated $1 million originally intended for the construction of a Native American museum at the former Leonard’s Department store site on the square. The city requested the funding transfer after that building collapsed.
The Star-Herald, which had been housed at 207 N. Madison St. for more than 20 years, was preparing to move to another court square location.
April
Kosciusko school present bold plan for athletic facilities upgrades
The KSD Athletics department presented a wide-reaching, three-phase facilities upgrade proposal to the school board during the board’s April meeting.
The development of the plan came after Jonathan Powers addressed a prior board meeting, asking the district to invest in the future of the district athletics program. Powers joined Athletic Director Macy Wilbanks and football Head Coach Casey Orr in the presentation of the proposal the group developed.
“I wanted to come back and say thank you. It is amazing to me that you took this seriously,” he said. “We’re asking that you be very bold.”
According to Wilbanks, the group met with head coaches of every sport to gather their wish lists for facility additions or improvements, and then set about developing a plan that would address as much as possible in a single comprehensive proposal.
“We really worked hard to hit as many wants and needs as we could in one proposal,” Wilbanks told The Star-Herald. “We want it to serve as many students as possible and put the district in the forefront to attract and retain students, coaches, and teachers. This would put us in the elites in District 4A.”
The centerpiece of the proposal is the installation of a turf field in the current football stadium, turning it from a football game field into a facility that can be utilized by football, soccer, band, and other sports for both practice and game play. Even baseball and softball teams could use it when the diamonds are unusable following significant rain.
“If we can build a Whippets turf field, everything else just kind of fits. At first, we asked who else in 4A has a turf field. Then, we decided to ask, ‘Why can’t we be the first?’” she told the board. “This would not just make us catch up but be ahead of everybody for the first time in a while.”
If that single major project can be completed, the variety of other facility additions and improvements become feasible, according to Wilbanks.
The next major project on the list is the construction of a new field house on the back portion of the current practice football field. It would contain the football program but also expanded weightlifting facilities for the use of all athletic programs. Other projects in the plan include installing air conditioning/heating in the junior high and high school gymnasiums, resurfacing the track at the high school, extending and upgrading the KHS gym floor and replacing the bleachers, and replacing and upgrading lighting at the outdoor athletic fields.
Superintendent Billy Ellzey told the board that expected ESSER III federal funding could be used to construct any of the facilities that house students for credit if the plan is approved.
The district has since drawn up preliminary architectural plans and continues to pursue the project.
May
Lady Whippets come from behind to win 4A state championship
To quote Yogi Berra, “it was deja vu all over again” when Kosciusko defeated North Pike for the 4A state softball championship. Same venue and same type of incredible comeback.
Three years earlier, Kosciusko trailed Lawrence County 7-1 entering the seventh inning during the first game of the championship series at the USM softball complex. The Lady Whippets tied the game with six runs, then won it 9-7 with two in the ninth on their way to the championship.
Flash forward to May 2021. Kosciusko was in a 6-1 hole against North Pike entering the seventh. Only this time it was the third game in the series. There was no tomorrow.
Not to worry.
Five runs forced an extra inning that required a second comeback after North Pike scored three in the top of the eighth. Four in the bottom of the eighth completed the deal for Kosciusko, 10-9.
“This is a team that never quits. A never-give-up attitude,” said Coach Tony Terry. “Determination.”
June
As pandemic drags on, local schools plan for virtual school year
The Kosciusko School Board approved new guidelines for virtual learning in the elementary schools for the coming school year as the COVID-19 pandemic continued into the summer. The district approved guidelines for families that chose to keep their children in a virtual learning environment for the next school year:
Lesson delivery
• There will be one virtual teacher per grade level. Virtual teachers will be limited to 10 in-person students or less.
• Teachers will use virtual meeting tools to allow for live student participation.
• Students will be required to attend live, synchronous class sessions.
• Daily classwork will be delivered through a predetermined Learning Management System and printed materials.
Attendance
• Students will be required to login to their virtual class session on time each day to be counted present.
• Students who are failing after the first 9 weeks will be required to transition to on-campus attendance, unless they have a doctor’s excuse.
Assessments
• Students will be expected to take all assessments (weekly/diagnostic/benchmark) in person.
• Space will be made available for appropriate distancing and cleansing measures.
Student expectations
• Students must apply to be virtual for the 2021-22 school year.
• Students will be expected to finish assignments on time.
July
Ables retires after nearly 50 years of service
After nearly 50 years of service to the town of Sallis, longtime mayor Jack Ables retired.
In 1972, he was elected to the board of aldermen. Seventeen years later, he was elected mayor and he has served in that role ever since. His life’s dedication to the town was fueled by his heart of servanthood.
Ables grew up in Sallis and in the Boyette Crossing community and graduated from Sallis High School before serving in the military. Ables and his family returned to Sallis in 1967. Five years later, he was elected an alderman.
In 1989, Ables’s lifelong friend and then Sallis mayor T.L. “Bud” McLellan passed away. Ables was asked to run for the mayoral office. He ran unopposed and gladly took on the position as a way to give back to his community.
He said he could not have served all those years without the help and support of his wife of 63 years, Shirley Aldy Ables.
“I appreciate the opportunity I had to serve and just trust that it might be in better shape than it was when I got there,” said Ables.
August
Tommy Chisholm gets life without parole for murder of ex-girlfriend
26 minutes, 39 seconds.
That is how long it took an Oktibbeha County jury to convict William Thomas “Tommy” Chisholm of Kosciusko of capital murder following a four-day trial in August,
Chisholm, 44, was charged in the Jan. 13, 2018, shooting murder of his ex-girlfriend, Dr. Shauna L. Witt, as she worked in her vision practice located in the Starkville Walmart located on Hwy. 12.
In an effort to avoid an even lengthier case time frame, the Witt family asked prosecutors to avoid seeking the death penalty. Instead, Chisholm was sentenced by Judge Lee Howard to the mandatory life without parole sentence that accompanies a capital murder conviction where the death penalty is not sought.
Prosecutors presented testimony of witnesses to the shooting and law enforcement, as well as a series of video recordings from Walmart cameras and first responder body cameras.
District Attorney Scott Colom said there was little doubt as to Chisholm’s guilt.
“This ain’t a murder mystery. It’s clear what happened,” he insisted. “It’s about how someone allows their rage and selfishness to get to a point where they would allow someone to do one of the worst things another human can do to another human — which is take their life.”
September
The Strand roof lifted by winds, damages Star-Herald building
A storm in Kosciusko and the surrounding area damaged structures, downed trees, and caused power outages across the city. City and county crews worked alongside MDOT to clear trees blocking roads and downed power lines. No injuries were reported. Attala County Emergency Manager Danny Townsend said damage was scattered across the county.
The storm affected The Star-Herald’s office building, owned by the city of Kosciusko, which bought it to use as part of The Strand Theater redevelopment project.
Townsend said a drone view showed a large hole in the Strand Theater’s roof, from which debris flipped over and caused bricks to come off the back of the buildings. The Star-Herald’s roof was punctured by a large wooden roof panel from the theater and several newspaper offices and their contents were damaged by rain that poured into the building during the storm.
While the newspaper awaited completion of their planned new location at 104 N. Jackson St. across the square, the paper was housed in a city hall conference room while some employees worked remotely.
October
Weapons incident at local high school cause district to add new resources
Following two incidents at McAdams High School in October where students brought weapons to school, the Attala County School District and Board of Supervisors approved adding another school resource officer to the district.
Sheriff Tim Nail told The Star-Herald the district’s sole school resource officer (SRO) Matt Steed notified the department late one afternoon about a Facebook post that included a photograph of a McAdams student holding a handgun in the school bathroom. It was reportedly posted by the student in the photograph.
Nail said the 15-year-old student was brought into the department for questioning with his parents and was subsequently arrested and charged with felony possession of a firearm on school property. Superintendent Kyle Hammond said rumors were spreading on the internet about a shooting threat at the school, but officials were unable to locate any threat made online. It is believed the student was simply showing off on social media.
“We could tell it was taken in the school bathroom, and when the principal talked to him, the student admitted that he took (the gun) in there,” said Hammond.
The next day, the department was notified of a second student — a 14-year-old — who posted on social media a photograph of himself holding a knife on a school bus. Hammond said he believed the post was originally made the previous Friday. This student was also brought in by the Attala County Sheriff’s Office for questioning and was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor count of possession of a weapon on school property.
November
New KPD Police Chief Chris Wray sworn in
Christopher Wray was officially sworn in as new Kosciusko Police Chief during a special called Aldermen meeting.
Wray, a 39-year-old Kosciusko native, graduated from Kosciusko High School in 2000 before attending the University of Mississippi, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and minored in psychology. After graduating from Ole Miss, Wray was hired by the Oxford Police Department, where he served for 14 years in several roles including patrolman, DUI enforcement unit, Patrol Sergeant, Patrol Lieutenant, SWAT team leader and commander, and school resource officer at Central Elementary School. Wray is of Christian faith and is the father of one five-year-old girl.
December
Student stabbed with pencil at Kosciusko Junior High School during in-school altercation
One student at Kosciusko Junior High School was transported by EMS to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and another has been charged with aggravated assault following an incident at the school on Friday, Dec. 10.
According to Police Chief Chris Wray, his department received a call around 11:36 a.m. regarding an altercation between two juvenile students, one a male, the other a female at the Kosciusko Junior High School. Names of both students are being withheld due to their ages.
The female juvenile was reportedly transported by EMS for non-life-threatening injuries after the male student reportedly stabbed her with a pencil.
The male juvenile is being charged with aggravated assault through the juvenile court system, according to the police chief.
Kosciusko Junior High School Principal Logan Cheek said the altercation only involved those two students and no one else was harmed.
“We resolved it as quickly as possible,” said Cheek. “The safety of all the children was immediately the concern of everyone, and it was upheld.”
