A whole lot went on in Attala County in 2017.
Here, we highlight some of the major issues and events in our communities.
JANUARY
Kary Ellington took over the gavel Tuesday morning from Tim Pinkard as the new president of the Attala County Board of Supervisors.
By tradition, the Attala County Board of Supervisors rotate the president and vice president positions annually.
Ellington, who represents the District 4 in western Attala county, is serving his second term on the board.
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Qualifying for Kosciusko municipal elections kicked off with the city’s current mayor and aldermen filing their qualifying papers for re-election. No other candidates have filed in opposition of the current officials.
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Helping Hands Ministry named a new director, filling a position vacated by Pat Rice who retired last October after serving for almost 30 years. Matt Tucker of Kosciusko has been named director of the ministry that helps needy and impoverished families of Attala County.
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What was once a small repair shop in Kosciusko flourished into a $185 million company that remains headquartered in the town where it started 70 years ago.
Ivey Mechanical, which was founded in 1947 by Kermit Ivey, has become one of the top mechanical contractors in the southeast. It specializes in the design, fabrication, manufacturing and installation of sheet metal, plumbing and pipe as well as providing plumbing and HVAC units from its locally-operated fabrication shops for commercial, industrial, healthcare and government contracts. It operates across the country with 11 divisions in ten major cities across the southeast.
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A group of Kosciusko students witnessed history last week.
Nine students from Kosciusko High School stood among eager supporters and protesters in Washington, D.C. as President Donald J. Trump took the oath of office Friday.
FEBRUARY
More than half a dozen people were charged after a drug raid in Kosciusko.
KPD officers found marijuana, cocaine, money and weapons at a single residential home on Carter Street with seven people placed under arrest on charges ranging from possession of a controlled substance to weapon possession by a felon and malicious mischief. All seven individuals were taken to the Leake County Correction Facility in Carthage.
Police recovered $938 in cash, three hand guns, small amounts of marijuana and approximately two ounces of cocaine valued at $7,000.
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After sitting on the shelf for years, plans for a new station for the Attala County Sheriff’s Office moved forward. Sheriff Tim Nail told the county board more about the move to a county-owned building on Ridgewood Circle in Kosciusko. The prior Sheriff’s Office, constructed in 1957, was located on West Adams Street. The Supervisors voted in September to close the adjoining jail.
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A request to move Kosciusko Lower Elementary and Middle Elementary back to separate schools with separate principals received no vote from the district Board of Trustees during its regular meeting Monday night. The prior August, the board had voted to move current KLE principal Michelle Nowell over both schools after the late resignation of the KME principal with the board unable to fill the role with a “qualified candidate.”
The dual role would continue for Nowell through the end of the school year in June.
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A new work program is in the works for Attala County. County supervisors agreed to move forward in the process for an ordinance allowing those sentenced with fines in justice court the ability to work them off. The City of Kosciusko and many other surrounding counties already have a work program in effect.
“Some people have a tough time paying off their fines, so this is a good way to help them work it off and it can help keep our highways and county roads clean,” said Kary Ellington, president of the Board of Supervisors.
MARCH
Kosciusko Superintendent Gina Smith and the Board of Trustees have mutually agreed to part ways after just over one year of leading the city public school system, the board announced during a special called meeting Monday night.
Smith will continue in her position through June 30 and then be released from her contract. The Board will immediately begin the search to find a replacement for the district.
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Seven filed for spots on the Kosciusko Board of Aldermen with only one position facing opposition. Cheryl Bayne and Billy Coffee challenged current alderman Henry Daniels in Ward 2 in the democrat primary, while Alderman-at-large Tim Kyle, Ward 1 Alderman Taylor Casey, Ward 3 Alderman Robert Ellis and Ward 4 Alderman Jeffery Woods had no opposition. Current mayor Jimmy Cockroft had only one opponent in Dorothy Patrick on the democratic ticket.
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A large sinkhole caused a small section of a major highway to be reduced to one lane for northbound traffic for a full week. The stretch of road located at approximately 195 Veterans Memorial Drive caved in, creating a sinkhole about 15 feet long and five feet wide. The cause of the sinkhole was a large leak in 15-inch sewer line beneath the road.
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The parents of three children who died in an Attala County house fire in December were charged with felony child neglect.
Rachel Ann Keith, 30, and John Denver Leach, 35, were arrested by the Attala County Sheriff’s Office after being charged with three counts of child neglect by a grand jury. Circuit Court judge Joseph H. Loper set their bond at $15,000 each.
The Dec. 10, 2016, fire on Attala Road 3217 near the Friendship Community, killed the couple’s three children whose ages ranged from four to 11.
According to authorities, parents were not at home at the time of the fire, which happened just after midnight.
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Helping people find work in the manufacturing field was the main focal point of a new program offered at The Attala Center of Holmes Community College. The program serving Holmes and Attala Counties was rolled out to the community during an info session.
The eight-week course, which partners with Kosciusko Attala Partnership and the Attala Works initiative, provides high school graduates an alternative to college and training for people changing careers. Students taking the course will be provided with the basic skills needed to be successful in a high-performance manufacturing environment.
APRIL
Authorities arrested a 28-year-old man suspected in a string of burglaries spanning multiple counties. The Attala County Sheriff’s Office had issued a search alert for Daniel Black of Ackerman in connection with multiple break-ins in Attala County. Black was also wanted in connection with burglaries in Webster, Choctaw and Oktibbeha counties. Black was apprehended in Greenwood.
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The Attala County Board of Supervisors agreed to sponsor a grant application requesting $523,800 from the Mississippi Development Authority on behalf of the McAdams Water Association.
The Association seeks the Community Development Block Grant to update its water system and increase capacity.
John Wiggers of North Central Planning and Development provided an overview of the project.
According to Wiggers, if funded, the project will include installation of a 40,000-gallon stand pipe, which is required since the system is approaching80 percent capacity. They will also drain, sandblast and repaint the interior and exterior of the main tank, remove old treatment plant equipment, and add 5,000-gallon storage tank at a booster station.
The grant would require the Association to contribute $30,000 toward the treatment plant removal and another $50,000 toward the improvement project. Those commitments can be in-kind services, not necessarily cash investments.
The Association will also be required to regularly set funds aside – $300 per month - to maintain the system improvements.
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While some positive results were reported from merged Kosciusko Lower and Middle Elementary schools for the 2016-17 school year, the School Board was compelled to revert to divided schools due to state standards. State regulations require that each school have a full-time principal onsite. For this single year, however, the board had voted to have Lower Elementary Principal Michelle Nowell oversee both schools with the help of new Assistant Principal Chris Terry. Goals for the temporary unification were to allow Terry to train under an experienced principal for a year and to evaluate the impact of aligning curriculum across the grades and subjects.
MAY
The City of Durant suffered a major tornado strike, resulting in the death of one man and severe damage to many homes and businesses.
The storm took the life of Carlton Hurt, a former town employee, who was killed when a beam collapsed after a large tree fell onto the house where he lived. Children in the home at the time did not suffer significant injury, according to city officials.
Despite significant storm damage and a lack of power, the city of Durant held scheduled elections. Attala County sustained some damage, but had the capacity to send personnel and equipment to assist Durant.
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The Holmes Attala Center dedicated new facilities for its Practical Nursing program. The program moved to Kosciusko from the Goodman campus in August 2016. The 30 students accepted to the program annually now enjoy more than double the space, which now separates the classroom and laboratory areas. The unit also adds a nursing station, as well as simulation and observation rooms.
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The annual Natchez Trace Festival drew crowds to Kosciusko for entertainment, food and sporting events.
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A couple of dozen parents, teachers and community leaders gathered at Buffalo United Methodist Church to air concerns about area schools. The community meeting, hosted by the NAACP, was requested by the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, which sent two staff attorneys to gain input in conjunction with school site visits at each of the Kosciusko and Attala County schools this week. The school visits are part of the DOJ periodic review of schools that have open desegregation orders. The orders for both Kosciusko and Attala County schools were originally issued in the 1970s.
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Tami Mann (aka Tami Mckee) has been sentenced to 40 years in a Rankin County state prison facility after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the September 2015 death of her 20-month-old daughter, Jasmine Irwin.
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A community committee interviewed eight candidates for the Kosciusko Superintendent slot which was to be vacated by Superintendent Gina Smith at the end of June. The Kosciusko School Board formed the committee after receiving 21 applications through the Mississippi School Board Association on the city’s behalf.
JUNE
Massey Clothing Co. on the east side of the courthouse square, offering clothing for men and women, announced its closure. Owner Kristi Massey cited business conditions and family as reasons for the decision to close.
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Attala County officials sounded the alarm that they would not be able to fight wildfires as in the past due to budget cuts to the Mississippi Forestry Commission.
The commission announced a state-wide 75-person reduction in force and a merging of seven districts into four new coverage regions in response to a $2.67 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2018, which begins July 1. That amounts to a 16% reduction in the Commission annual budget.
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Politics was not for Ethel mayor-elect Gwen Sims until she felt the desire to help her town get back on its feet, so to speak.
“I have lived in Ethel since 1982 and when we first moved here, we had two grocery stores on Main Street, a branch of the Merchants & Farmers Bank, a café, a saddle shop and a small hardware store. Now we only have a quick stop and a glass repair shop, and that’s it on Main Street in Ethel,” she said. “I don’t want to see Ethel die because I love living here. When I first came to Ethel and we looked at a house and bought it, I felt like I was coming home even though I wasn’t born here.”
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The Kosciusko School Board announced Billy Ellzey as the next superintendent in a release to district staff. He assumed his new role July 1. He replaced outgoing Superintendent Gina Smith.
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Kosciusko police and the Mississippi State Crime Lab have ruled what they believed to be an attempted murder/suicide at 10 p.m. on June 13 at 1015 Linden Drive just that.
Jimmie T. Fletcher, 36, died of a single gunshot wound to the head, and 33-year-old Demetria Fletcher survived a single gunshot wound to the body.
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Fargo Assembly announced it would cease production of wire harnesses at their Kosciusko facility on August 31, putting some 95 local employees out of work.
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A group of 17 Attala County first responders spent most of its evenings last week training in Search and Rescue (SAR) techniques that will help responders better serve area communities in the event of a natural disaster.
JULY
Fourteen year-old Hunter Kittrell is being called a hero by family members following his rescue of his great-grandmother, Kate Townsend, from her burning home on Attala Road 1032, just off Highway 35 South last Friday at 3:50 p.m.
This is the second home Ralph and Kate Townsend have lost to fire. Their previous home in the same location burned in 1984 and was replaced.
Kittrell, who lives next door with his parents Mack and Amanda Kittrell, attends Kosciusko Junior High School.
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The Kosciusko Board of Aldermen ordered an annexation study at the request of Mayor Jimmy Cockroft, who asked the board to consider a study that would determine the pros and cons of expanding the city limits to include some lands now outside, but adjacent to, the current boundaries.
Those who may be affected would become subject to city property taxes. While increasing the city lands would increase municipal revenue, it could also cost the city in services, such as extending sewer and water services and providing fire and police coverage.
That cost/benefit analysis would be included the the scope of the study.
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Kosciusko was again one of the Mississippi Main Street Association (MMSA) members in Mississippi that have been designated as Accredited Main Street America programs for meeting rigorous performance standards set by the National Main Street Center.
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Neshoba County native Patrick Boyle was named principal at Ethel High School following approval of the board of trustees.
Boyle, 34, previously served as assistant principal at Morgantown Arts Academy in Natchez for the two years. Before moving into school administration, he taught at Neshoba Central Middle School in Philadelphia for nine years.
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On June 30, Sara Cummins ended her nearly 34-year ownership of a downtown restaurant staple – Rib Alley.
“It was a good job over the years. I met a lot of good people over the years and I made a lot of good friendships over the years,” said Cummins of her long tenure running the business in the center of Kosciusko center.
“If you compare me to everyone else on the square, I’m the dinosaur,” she said with a laugh.
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Tina McNeal was named to the Kosciusko School Baord of Trustees during the Board of Aldermen’s meeting last Wednesday. McNeal will serve out the remainder of an unexpired term, which will end December 31, 2018.
AUGUST
On August 5, a seven-year-old boy asleep in a residence at 500 Tipton St. in Kosciusko suffered a gunshot wound during the early morning hours.
Investigators believe at least one shot was fired outside the residence - in the 500 block of Tipton Street - with at least one projectile penetrating the home.
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During her 41-year career as a librarian, the Attala County library became much more than shelves of books to Eloise Williams.
Williams told The Star-Herald that she could probably add a volume to the library shelves by writing a book about the changes she has experienced.
Technology has brought better ways of carrying out daily work, and e-books now provide better access to a wider range of material.
Her passion for encouraging people to read will remain with her, and she intends to continue her visits to elementary schools, where she has been involved with other library staff in weekly reading to students.
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Kosciusko native Jessica Reynolds turned Washington lobbyist in June, advocating for carbon fee and dividend legislation as a climate change solution.
Reynolds, a Geology & Biology major with a minor in Environmental Studies, is founder of the Millsaps chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. She formed the group after hearing Dominiqua Perry, CCL Mississippi state coordinator speak during a Friday Forum on campus.
“I wasn’t sure how to get things started,” said the student, but advisor Kenneth Townsend, a Millsaps professor and Kosciusko native, and CCL helped get her started. By the end of last semester, the group was drawing 15-20 participants to its on-campus meetings. Reynolds said the chance to participate in the two-day national CCL conference and additional lobbying day made her feel like she has a say in what happens within government.
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During a brief called special meeting, the Kosciusko School Board approved a $19.3 million budget for the 2017-18 school year.
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Juvenile drug use and crime go hand-in-hand, and the new juvenile drug court serving the Sixth Chancery District of Attala, Neshoba and Winston Counties was founded with the hope of breaking that cycle.
Chancellor Joseph Kilgore was set to oversee the program that would also accept referees from Carroll, Choctaw and Kemper counties who qualify for drug court services.
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Former Kosciusko Mayor Freddie George was remembered for his service to the community and as an ambassador of the area at his funeral services.
SEPTEMBER
Two people were shot, one fatally, at 502 South East Street in Kosciusko.
A 47-year-old black female victim survived the incident despite wounds to her face and arm, but a second victim, Billy Ray Johnson, a 61-year-old black male, was pronounced dead by Attala County Coroner Sam Bell at Baptist-Attala hospital.
Within the week, Kosciusko police made two arrests in the case. Albert Mallet, 51, of West, was charged with weapons possession by a felon, possession of a stolen weapon, aggravated assault and murder. He is being held on a $425,000 bond.
Eris Moore, 26, also of West, was charged with weapon possession by a felon, aggravated assault, and murder. He is being held on a $375,000 bond.
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A Kosciusko family tried to locate the person responsible for shooting and injuring Bailey, their three-year-old red and white male husky earlier this week. The dog had escaped from its pen at the home of Daniel Frazier, 205 Burdine Road, while the family was away. When they returned and found the dog missing, they immediately searched the neighborhood and surrounding area in an effort to locate their beloved pet.
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Dr. Jenny Bailey Jones was named director of the Holmes Community College Attala Center in Kosciusko.
In addition to running the Attala Center, she continues to serve as an academic dean at the college, overseeing instruction in Goodman and Kosciusko.
Jones would later decide not to run for reelection to her seat on the Kosciusko School Board of Trustees.
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Three suspects – one the alleged shooter, two others accessories after the fact – were arraigned in Kosciusko Municipal Court for shooting Darnell Greer, 32, in the head.
Greer suffered a gunshot wound to the left forehead, but the bullet did not penetrate his skull, instead skimming around the left side of his head all the way to the back, according to Kosciusko Police Chief Herbert Dew.
Carlton Ashford, 23, of Kosciusko, was held on a $225,000 bond after being charged with attempted murder after Greer identified him to police who had responded to Baptist-Attala Hospital Saturday morning regarding the shooting.
“He is a blessed, lucky, hard-headed individual,” said Dew, who added that Greer was treated and released from UMMC.
OCTOBER
Orlando Malone, 29, was killed at a home on County Road 1140 after being shot, according to Attala County Sheriff Tim Nail. Malone suffered a single gunshot wound to the neck. The victim, who had a last known address in Sallis, was pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Sam Bell.
Suspect Kendrick Edwards, 26, a resident of County Road 1140, initially fled the scene on foot, but turned himself in to the Attala County Sheriff’s Office early Sunday evening, Nail said. Edwards allegedly told investigators God told him to shoot Malone.
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Holmes Community College officially dedicated its Nursing school facilities at the Attala Center in Kosciusko, naming it the Shoemaker Nursing Wing.
Johnny Belk, president of the Holmes Community College Development Foundation, Board of Directors and Governors, gave a tribute to Nell and W.C. “Dub” Shoemaker in dedicating the wing.
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A $25,000 bond was set for Gamar Mallett of Sallis, 19, in Kosciusko Municipal Court after he was charged with drive-by shooting and weapons possession by a felon.
According to police, two groups of individuals exchanged at least 12 rounds of gunfire at the intersection of Bachman Street and Martin Luther King Drive around 8:40 p.m. on Tuesday, October 3.
“There had been a confrontation at McDonald’s,” said Police Chief Hebert Dew after four arrests were made in the case last Thursday and Friday.
At least one member of the group of four on foot returned fire toward the three individuals who had been in the vehicle.
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It was a sad day for the Attala County Sheriff’s Department when Brock, the department’s drug/tracking dog, had to be put down due to renal failure 
after serving the department since 2013. Attala County Deputy Sheriff Scott Walters was Brock’s handler since the department acquired him from Southern Star K9 in Texas four years ago.. Locals are now raising funds in the hope of getting a new dog.
NOVEMBER
The Kosciusko School District is now rated at a B, up from last year’s C, mostly in relation to the performance of the high and junior high schools.
Administrators at the two schools are seeing results from focusing on new tools, student and teacher buy-in, and taking a team approach to planning and teaching.
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Return to Redbud Springs and an Old City Cemetery Tour gave area residents and history buffs the opportunity to go back in time to the Old Natchez Trace and the early days of Kosciusko. The events were planned in relation to the state Bicentennial.
Historical reenactments, educational programs, musical entertainment and Native American cultural programs included a grand parade around the courthouse square and an historic route marker unveiling. Popular events that followed included a reenactment of the Tecumseh/Pushmataha/Colbert debate and the McClung/Allen Pearl River Duel.
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The Kosciusko School District Board of Trustees took several steps Monday night to create new classrooms, replace old buses and secure land for existing and new sports fields.
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With the recent tragedy at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, many area churches began reevaluating — and in some cases increasing — security measures to protect citizens as they worship.
As a result, the Attala County Sheriff;s Deaprtment began a training program for church security teams.
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The Crestview Church congregation held its first services in their new hilltop facilities, eight years after the planning for new facilities began.
DECEMBER
Mrs. Willie Mae Martin’s centennial birthday was marked with friends and family at a celebration on Saturday, Dec. 9, at the Oprah Winfrey Boys and Girls Club.
Her nieces Daisey Burt, Rena and Annethia came from Georgia for the celebration and took Martin to Jackson for a weekend stay at the Westin Hotel.
Martin said the changes and advancements she has seen in her lifetime are “too many to mention,” but during her party Saturday, family presented Martin with a video that highlighted pictures of herself and family over the years, birthday wishes and examples of all the changes that have occurred during her lifetime.
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The Mississippi Department of Education recently gave the Kosciusko School District special education program high marks – a perfect score on compliance and “meets expectations” on results, scoring 43 of the 63 point available.
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A partnership between Ivey Mechanical and Holmes Community College (HCC) prepared 11 applicants to be apprentice plumbers through an “Introduction to Plumbing Trades.”
Ivey advertised positions making potential employees aware that they could be paid to participate in the training program, and that those who were successful would potentially be employed by Ivey in entry-level plumbing jobs.
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The Attala County Sheriff's Office arrested two suspects in a shooting incident at the Attala County Lounge near Ethel.
Kendrick Barksdale, 27, a black male from Kosciusko, appeared in Attala County Justice Court this morning on a charge of aggravated assault.
Cory Dotson, a 28-year-old black male from Kosciusko, was the first suspect arrested in the case. He faces one count of aggravated assault in the incident, and was released from custody after posting a $25,000 bond.
