WCBI News at Ten - 04/15/2020

WCBI News at Ten - 04/15/2020

Up with us tonight// it's no secret that covid-19 has presented both a public health and economic crisis// there is some federal money on its way to individuals and the state// but as courtney ann jackson explains, there are other programs to help families that were just announced today// "we are in the middle of a fight for our state.

It is taking a tremendous cost."

And much of that cost burden is falling into the laps of you and your families.

Governor reeves announcing that help is available for one bill that you may be struggling to pay.

"if you have lost the ability to earn during this crisis through no fault of your own and you are at risk of losing your home, we can provide temporary assistance."

The mississippi home corporation has moved 10 million dollars into a mortgage assistance pipeline.

It was initially a fund created after the 09-09 economic crisis and the program will expire next year.

"forbearance is not forgiveness and it's not forever.

If people are putting their mortgages in forebearance, that debt still exists.

And that's one of the reasons this is going to be an important program so that they don't have to go into loss mitigation and they don't have to come up with a number of mortgage payments when forbearance is finally over."

For those who still have their jobs---the essential workers---they're finding a new challenge.

The state never ordered childcare centers to close.

But 60 percent of the providers have shut down.

The department of human services and health department are creating a new way to fill that gap.

"we want this c- care idea to make it one less thing they have to think about...that they have emergency childcare the announcement of these programs comes just as the state is at or near its peak and what governor reeves calls the most painful part of this crisis// video in monitor covid 19 continues to impact millions of americans lives// such as kids with special needs, who are adapting to a new way of getting therapy// bobby martinez talks to a therapist about what she's doing to help her clients during this unfamiliar time// "communication is huge right now."

Team work.... between parents and melissa davis is the most important factor during these tough times.

Places like the kids therapy spot in starkville..

Is shut down for the time being..

During the covid- 19.

Leaving therapists like davis, to tap in to the world of technology to communicate with her patients..

Sot - melissa davis - part owner, kids therapy spot "so the first little bit we really researched to make sure that we knew all things teletherapy and we were making sure that we were doing everything right by our professional organization and of course for our children."

It wasn't easy, at first... "there was a lot of anxiety around it because it's a new world we are used to hands-on with our children and being right in front of their face and if something was to be off or anything like that we are able to be there to kind of physically fix things."

But with time... davis says the transition has become easier..

"it really started to feel natural i really enjoyed it because i feel like i'm more of a coach for my families right now and all the goals that we consistently work on now we're being able to do a lot of carryover at home."

Davis says it is very important that parents follow each instruction provided to them..

"while they are trying to do everything you know the best they can of being a parent lets throw these specific activities in there so we can further enhance the skills while we are not directly seeing them."

Reporting in starkville.

Bobby martinez wcbi news first look stinger nice weather will continue for the next couple of days as temperatures return to near normal.

We'll see some increased rain chances by the weekend before we dry out again to begin next week.

After that, our next chance for rain will be next wednesday.

Wednesday night: mostly clear and cold.

Patchy frost is possible.

Temperatures will fall to the mid and upper 30s by the morning with a calm wind.

Thursday: we're in for a beautiful day as temperatures warm up to near 70 under a blue sky.

Winds will be out of the east at 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: clouds increase through the day, but we will remain dry until after sunset.

Highs in the mid 70s.

Take new at 10 stinger oktibbeha county deputies are asking for your help finding andre rice// the 19-year-old is wanted for auto burglary and false id charges// investigators say the alleged crimes happened in the past couple of weeks// rice is five foot - eight inches tall and weighs about 210 pounds// if you know where he is tonight, call 9-1-1// take developing story stinger a project that is expected to be a boost to downtown houston is underway// new sidewalks are being built along the north, west and east portion of the downtown square// the project has been in the planning stages for years and recently funding was made available through the city's 2 year old tourism tax// mayor stacey parker says it's all about making the square more attractive for locals, visitors and businesses// sot "we are trying to fill the buildings we have, the ones vacant or already there, sustain those, and trying to give them an avenue, and understanding we are trying to make things better, beautiful and most importantly, economic development side, when you see this on the news, or see what we put out there on facebook, what the city of houston is trying to do , we're doing it ourselves and we will make a difference."

The budget for the project is about 600 thousand dollars.

That project will also include new lighting for the square.

Controversy in lowndes county after a new county administrator is hired replacing ralph billingsley// our cash matlock was in today's meeting..he has the story// "i will be looking for people to file a class action lawsuit because ya'll have denied them the opportunity to be a part of it.

So, john holliman, harry sanders, trip hairston, ya'll want to run it?

That's fine, but don't expect me to go along to get along."

Longtime lowndes county district 5 supervisor leroy brooks has always said what is on his mind.

When only one candidate was presented to replace the current county administrator, brooks got mad.

He claims some members of the board want to block minorities and women from applying for county leadership positions.

"first off, my response is that mr. brooks is way off base.

This has nothing to do with minorities, nothing to do with women... like i said, it's a political issue for leroy and whatever leroy wants to say is fine."

"i asked the sheriff this morning, i said 'if leroy gets out of hand, will you calm him down' because that's his m.o."

District one supervisor harry sanders says the board of supervisors has full authority to appoint whoever they want as administrator..

Without listing the position publicly.

Both brooks and district four supervisor jeff smith claim the new hire and only candidate, james fisher, is a friend of supervisor trip hairston.

"it's not legal.

For you all to decide who you are going to select... you have violated your own policy."

"someone knew the person that was chosen.

That's obvious."

"it doesn't make any difference what friendships you have as long as your capable and qualified to do the job."

But supervisor smith says the process was disrespectful.

"completely.

Left.

Out...."

"i represent 1/5th of this county.

So, if you're not on the side of me and my ability to operate in that board room, then you're not on the side of 1/5th of the county and their opportunity to be a part of this process also.

That's disrespectful."

"when you decide to do something and you've got five people, you don't talk to all five of them all at the same time.

You don't call them in and say look, this is what we're going to do because it'd be an illegal board meeting."

Smith admits fisher may be qualified, but the process of fisher's appointment is still wrong in his opinion.

"the process has to be inclusive.

It has to be all five supervisors sitting down at the table and determining, based on all that's in front of them, the direction.

That process never took place."

Fisher will work alongside the current county administrator, ralph billingsley, from may 1st until september 30th.

His starting salary has been set at $50,000.

The money is set to come from the current payroll budget.

Sanders says there is plenty of extra money because the county is short on employees.

Stinger open nice weather will continue for the next couple of days as temperatures return to near normal.

We'll see some increased rain chances by the weekend before we dry out again to begin next week.

After that, our next chance for rain will be next wednesday.

Wednesday night: mostly clear and cold.

Patchy frost is possible.

Temperatures will fall to the mid and upper 30s by the morning with a calm wind.

Thursday: we're in for a beautiful day as temperatures warm up to near 70 under a blue sky.

Winds will be out of the east at 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: clouds increase through the day, but we will remain dry until after sunset.

Highs in the mid 70s.

Saturday-sunday: a few showers are possible through the day on saturday, but the best chances for rain will be on sunday.

A rumble of thunder or two is also possible, but severe weather is not looking likely.

Highs will be in the low to mid 70s with overnight lows in the 50s.

Monday-tuesday: rain exits and skies clear to begin next week with afternoon temperatures remaining in the mid to upper 70s.

Overnight lows will be in the 50s.

Wednesday: rain and storms look to be possible on wednesday, but it's a bit too far out to pin down specific timing or details.

We'll keep an eye on things and refine the forecast as we get closer to time.

Nice weather will continue for the next couple of days as temperatures return to near normal.

We'll see some increased rain chances by the weekend before we dry out again to begin next week.

After that, our next chance for rain will be next wednesday.

Wednesday night: mostly clear and cold.

Patchy frost is possible.

Temperatures will fall to the mid and upper 30s by the morning with a calm wind.

Thursday: we're in for a beautiful day as temperatures warm up to near 70 under a blue sky.

Winds will be out of the east at 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: clouds increase through the day, but we will remain dry until after sunset.

Highs in the mid 70s.

Stinger it is national public safety telecommunicats week.

We'll highlight some of the first responders..when we reentry welcome back... in a medical emergency you may not be able to speak for yourself.

That's why it's important to have someone or ásomethingá in place to make your wishes known..

We learn more about advance directives in tonight's health talk with baptist.

Hi.

I?m chaplain steve brown with the pastoral care team at baptist memorial hospital ?

Golden triangle.

This week we will be discussing the importance of naming a surrogate decision maker and completing our living will.

Simply put, an advance directive is a written document, prepared in advance, that tells others what you want done regarding your health care if you get too sick to make decisions for yourself.

They allow patients to document their wishes, whether they want all life- sustaining measures to be taken or if they?d prefer to avoid such procedures.

The patient self- determination act of 1992 affirms the rights of adult patients regarding their health care wishes.

Specifically, the case affirms that adults with capacity: may choose or refuse any medical or surgical procedure.

May make advance directives and transfer their decision-making authority.

Research has shown the benefits of advance directives include improved quality at the end- of-life, fewer burdens on family and health care providers and a reduced need for life-sustaining treatment.

Forty percent of adults surveyed reported that they would like to obtain information on advance medical directives from a physician; however, only twelve percent of the respondents with advance directives reported obtaining it from their doctor.

Join us next time for health talk with baptist as we they are a vital link between the community and emergency personnel.

And this week, is set aside to honor them.

This is "national public safety telecommunicator s week" it highlights the work of 9-1-1 operators and dispatchers across the country.

Chickasaw county's 9-1-1 works out of the sheriff's department, fielding calls for law enforcement, firefighters and emts in the county.

10 year veteran, nancy utz says the job is challenging, but rewarding.

"you have to be special, have to be caring but still have to be stern at times, you have to be stern if you have a hysterical caller, you have to talk over them and get their attention so you can get the proper information you need or you can't get them help."

April is national 9- 1-1 education month.

Stinger most sports may be taking a break right now, but there are some behind the scenes moves being made..

Tom has an update when we come back... "the mississippi high school athletics association makes it offical wednesday.

The executive committee making the decision to cancel all spring sports and activities for the remainder of the school year.

In a press release released wednesday, the mhsaa not only canceling spring athletics, but postponing all activities including offseason and summer sports until at least june first.

In a statement, executive director don hinton saying quote, this is an extremely difficult day because we know how much work, dedication and sacrifice these students, coaches and their families have put into these sports and activities that are unable to finish their spring seasons.

We join all of our schools in anticipation of a successful return to sports and activities in the fall of 2020.

The mhsaa thanks everyone involved for their patience and understanding throughout this process.

End quote.

One of the top tasks for newly hired mississippi state women's basketball coach nikki mccray penson will be to make sure the talented freshman core from a year ago, remains in starkville.

So far, she's off to a good start.

Based on social media, the core group of rickea jackson, jessika carter, aliyah matharu and jmya mingo young have voiced their support for the new head coach, and plan to be back in starkville in 2020.

The newest head coach says she wants her players to be just as involved in shaping the future of the program as she is.

"the conversations are going really well, and they're really excited.

For me, it is really about listening to them right now and just getting a feel for them.

Letting them get a feel for me.

Asking them what do they need from me to help speed this up.

Just learning their personalities, and asking them what do they need."

"mccray-penson will be without a core rotational player from this past season.

Chloe bibby making it official, she'll transfer to maryland.

Bibby averaged 7.5 points and five rebounds for the bulldogs this past season.

Bibby entered the transfer portal shortly after vic schaefer left to take the head coaching job at texas.

Ole miss adds two transfers to its men's basketball roster for the upcoming year.

Guard dimencio vaughn and forward robert allen join kermit davis and the rebels.

Vaughn was the fourth- ranked grad transfer prospect out of rider, and allen averaged fourteen points per game this past season at south alabama.

That's it for sports, we'll be back after the break."

Vo off top donations are being taken for a chickasaw county sheriff's deputy who lost his home and possessions in a fire.

Deputy b j gladney was on duty tuesday when 9 1 1 received a call about a house fire in the county.

That fire was at gladney's home near okolona.

The home and everything in it was destroyed.

Now, a go fund me account has been set up to help gladney "we're just asking anybody that would feel led to donate, we're hoping to be able to give it to him in next couple of days, where he can buy some clothes, shoes, it's just devastating to him because he has lost everything that he owns."

There is a link to the go fund me page for deputy gladney at the chickasaw county sheriff's department facebook page.

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