Pontotoc News

Sixteen to 20 Columbus High School juniors will receive the chance to learn work skills and get college credit while in high school - and get paid to do it - thanks to a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Officials with the United Way of Northeast Mississippi say the organization is poised to meet its $2.1 million goal despite the tough economy.

PONTOTOC and FULTON a ' The U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Agriculture have selected 19 integrated biorefinery projects to receive up to $564 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to accelerate the construction and operation of pilot, demonstration, and commercial scale facilities.

Biofuels projects in Pontotoc and Fulton will share in $131 million from the U.S. Department of Energy.

A lawmaker expects the governor to announce new budget cuts in the coming days to make up for lost revenue.

ACROSS MISSISSIPPI a ' The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency has awarded Local Emergency Planning Committee grants to 27 Mississippi counties and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians .

Extension participates in food drive WTVA, WLOV, and WKDH TV present the "Food For Families Food Drive." North Mississippians are encouraged to drop off non-perishable canned goods at any of the 17 Mississippi State University Extension offices and the Tupelo Automobile Museum.

ACROSS MISSISSIPPI a ' From the hills of Northeast Mississippi to the sugar-white beaches of the Gulf Coast, residents from across the state are invited to bring their most comfortable shoes and go walking.

PONTOTOC, Miss. - Josh West has one mission, and it's nothing complicated. "We want more and better jobs," said West, the regional economic director for Union and Pontotoc counties.

By JOEL McNEECE Calhoun County recorded its lowest unemployment rate in nearly a year in September, according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will offer an oil painting workshop by artist Dot Courson for beginning to intermediate level painters on October 15 - 17 in the Carriage House Studio.

OXFORD - Some might say Billy Ray Autry lost both his sons last week when one of them killed the other in dramatic standoff in an upscale Oxford subdivision.

There's nothing subtle about the sales pitch by abortion opponents who are gathering signatures at the Colorado State Fair for a ballot measure that would give legal rights to fertilized embryos.

After some confusion last week, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker has been confirmed for the Jones Co.

Some Methodists in Mississippi remain aggrieved over the testimony of a same-sex couple during a June worship service, raising worries that it will drive some members from the denomination.

Haley Stewart sat contemplating questions she had been asked by Miss Hospitality judges and writing in blue ink in a notebook.

Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents, along with Pontotoc deputies and police officers, over the weekend arrested a local woman wanted for attempted burglary by Illinois authorities for fraudulently obtaining prescriptions, according to MBN Director Marshall Fisher.

A Pontotoc woman wanted by Illinois authorities on attempted burglary charges was arrested this weekend for for allegedly fraudulently obtaining prescriptions in Mississippi, according to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the arresting agency.

TUPELO - The Post 24 Hub City Bombers are one win away from a Senior American Legion baseball state championship.

Former Jackson Police Chief Robert Moore, who served during Mayor Harvey Johnson's last administration, said today he is not a candidate for the position of police chief.