WCBI NEWS at TEN - 08/17/2020

WCBI NEWS at TEN - 08/17/2020

A death investigation under is underway in lowndes county// right now the circumstances are unknown but lowndes county coroner greg merchant confirms they're investigating the death of a man on a barge on the tombigbee// they're in the area near leroy's landing// we'll continue to follow this developing story on air and online at wcbi dot com// new at ten the steps to select a new state flag are underway.

But not all mississippians are on board.

One group filed the paperwork with the secretary of state's office today to create a ballot initiative on the issue.

Courtney ann jackson explains.

Let mississippi vote isn't satisfied with the current process that will give voters the chance to vote on one design in november.

Their biggest issue-the legislature making the call to have the flag changed.

Dan carr, let ms vote organizer: "this campaign is we the people.

We feel that our voice was taken away.

This is all about giving the voice back to the people."

Instead-they've found thousands of folks around the state willing to gather signatures to get 4 designs on the 2021 ballot.

Sen.

Chris mcdaniel, supports let ms vote effort: "we thought these flags were the ones that seem to be the most popular flags at the time.

The first flag is the 1894 flag, obviously.

The second flag will be the bicentennial flag.

The third flag will be the commissions flag, the one they recommend.

The fourth flag, is the stennis flag which has a following statewide."

One note about the stennis flag with "in god we trust" added...the group has not spoken to the designer.

And at friday's commission meeting-they said someone had tried to submit that design other than the designer.

Katie blount, mdah executive director: "communication from the original designer of the flag and she let us know that she holds copyright and she did not want the flag considered.

So we pulled it from the second round."

The group maintains they aren't lobbying to keep the old flag but do think it should be included when it goes to a vote.

"you can't change everything without including the present design.

That's the only fair way to move forward.

Unequivocally, a large percentage of our population wants to keep the present design.

We know that.

We saw the vote in 2001.

So, to omit that flag from the final ballot doesn't seem very fair...not to the people."

Let mississippi vote has more than 5,000 volunteers who will now be tasked with collecting more than 100,000 signatures in order to get this on the 2021 ballot.

As for what's happening with the flag commission--they'll narrow the designs down to five tomorrow.

More than 80 thousand votes have been cast in the non-binding poll.

First look stinger first look summary: conditions will remain seasonably warm over the coming week but it won't be as bad as it otherwise could be for august.

A few spotty storms are possible tuesday with a weak frontal boundary.

Additional showers and storms are likely later in the week and weekend as moisture levels increase.

Monday night: clear, quiet, and comfortable.

Lows in the mid 60s.

Calm wind.

Tuesday: partly cloudy and warm.

Highs in the low 90s.

A few showers and storms are possible but we're keeping the rain chance at just 20% for now.

Winds sw/nw 3-8 mph.

Students at mississippi state are back in town and a picture of a large crowd in the cotton district is gaining a lot of attention// an executive order from the governor prohibits outdoor gatherings of more than 20 people// it's an issue that's happened outside city limits too.

Our stephanie poole talks with police and shares how they plan to step up patrols// pkg this is just one post of an image gone viral of starkville's cotton district....it's similar to this picture in tuscaloosa just the other day.

The large overflow is leaving restaurant owners, like tyler klass, with more questions that answers.

"at some point, someone has to come and help us enforce this because there's only so many of us.

During the summer it was easy, but now there's an extra 20-thousand people here and without the help of the city it's just going to get worse."

Butt sots "you come out here on a saturday and it's jam-packed, not a-lot of concern.

Definitely just needs to be regulated better because we have six employees here and we only have two that work here at night."

Starkville police chief mark ballard says this incident rose very quickly.

But, after a few minutes, officers dispersed the over-crowded bar.

" that was one business of several that chose to violate or not enforce the mask enforcement.

For that night, we had a detail that was actually out doing other compliance checks.

Once that picture was made aware to the police department we went back over took enforcement action on that business."

Ballard says since july, over 70 citations have been issued under the enforcement program.

" we can't enforce our way out of this.

It has to be an individual responsibility.

It's got to be inherently taken up by the business owners and the managers.if you want to service and the businesses are holding the line there that's where you're going to get the best compliance possible."

Oktibbeha county sheriff steve gladney says deputies had reports of gatherings outside city limits too.

" when we get a call and then we get there and there's 200 or 300 people there.

It's small with a small number of deputies but we were able to handle it over the weekend and we broke up a-lot of large parties all over the county."

Gladney and ballard are urging citizens to remember public heath regulations.

" wear the mask, be smart.

We certainly don't want this thing to start going back up to large numbers."

Centered starkville mayor lynn spruill says quote " we take this very starkville mayor lynn spruill says quote " we take this very seriously and are working through our code enforcement and police to educate and inform those who have now gotten back from the spring and summer sabbatical to our community.éé i expect it to be an ongoing process that will take continued efforts to address" end quote.

éé here's a look at today's covid-19 numbers// health officials report 276 new cases, along with 11 deaths.

One thousand one hundred 26 people remain hospitalized that are confirmed or suspected coronavirus patients.

There are 321 people in icu, of those 176 are on a ventilator.

In the golden triangle, one icu bed is available at baptist golden triangle and two are open at north mississippi medical center - west point.

Och regional medical center does not have any available.

North mississippi medical center in tupelo has 19 beds available.

Based on the state's presumed recovered numbers, there are 13 thousand 740 presumed active covid-19 cases currently in the state.

Schools are scrambling to comply with an executive order limiting attendance at k-12 extracurricular activities, including fall sports// high school football begins soon.

Students involved in a extracurricular activity or a sport will only be allowed two spectators per game.

And in noxubee county, rodriguez broadnax, interim superintendent of schools, says it will be a tough transition for schools to make.

But their focus is to make sure each event runs smooth and as safe as possible..

"the district would adhere to all cdc guidelines.

As we are doing now with the opening of schools where masks are required, temperatures are taken, hand sanitizers available.

Just to make sure that everybody is social distanced and if there are folks who have covid-19 symptoms they cannot enter the game."

Broadnax says the day before each game.

Student athletes must let their coaching staff know who they will have in attendance off top governor reeves announces the expansion of telehealth services for mississippi schools// as kids start to go back to school, the state's leading health experts want to make sure teachers and students have access to a doctor or physician// state health officer doctor thomas dobbs said today, 220 mississippi schools were reporting coronavirus cases// 245 teachers have diagnosed with the virus along with 199 students, across the state// on top of offering telehealth services, covid-19 testing will be available for all mississippi teachers.

For more information on today's briefing just visit our website at wcbi dot com// stinger 2-shot wx open summary: conditions will remain seasonably warm over the coming week but it won't be as bad as it otherwise could be for august.

A few spotty storms are possible tuesday with a weak frontal boundary.

Additional showers and storms are likely later in the week and weekend as moisture levels increase.

Monday night: clear, quiet, and comfortable.

Lows in the mid 60s.

Calm wind.

Tuesday: partly cloudy and warm.

Highs in the low 90s.

A few showers and storms are possible but we're keeping the rain chance at just 20% for now.

Winds sw/nw 3-8 mph.

Tuesday night: mainly clear and quiet.

Lows in the mid 60s.

Wednesday: partly cloudy with a 20% chance of a shower or storm.

Highs in the upper 80s to around 90.

Thursday-sunday: variably cloudy, warm, and humid.

Highs in the upper 80s to lower 90s.

Scattered pop-up showers and storms are possible each day.

Lows in the upper 60s.

Tropics: there are two items of interest that need to be watched closely.

One is approaching the caribbean sea and another one is out in the open atlantic.

Both features are drifting back to the west and could develop over the next few days.

Summary: conditions will remain seasonably warm over the coming week but it won't be as bad as it otherwise could be for august.

A few spotty storms are possible tuesday with a weak frontal boundary.

Additional showers and storms are likely later in the week and weekend as moisture levels increase.

Monday night: clear, quiet, and comfortable.

Lows in the mid 60s.

Calm wind.

Tuesday: partly cloudy and warm.

Highs in the low 90s.

A few showers and storms are possible but we're keeping the rain chance at just 20% for now.

Winds sw/nw 3-8 mph.

Tuesday night: mainly clear and quiet.

Lows in the mid 60s.

Wednesday: partly cloudy with a 20% chance of a shower or storm.

Highs in the upper 80s to around you kiddos aren't the only ones who need a variety of vaccines// the cdc recommends that adults get certain shots in their lifetime// here's doctor rosenblatt with tonights health talk with baptist// no script available stinger the final week of the high school football tour kicks off with the west point green wave...see the preview, spx open the college football season sits on the horizon about six weeks away finally, we have a glimpse of what season openers for both mississippi state and ole miss look like mike leach will get his mississippi state head coach in death valley as the bulldogs open the season on the road against the defending national champions, lsu meanwhile, ole miss will stay in oxford as lane kiffin begins his career with the rebels playing host florida and head coach dan mullen inside vaught-hemingway stadium there are two schools tied for the most state championships in mississippi.

South panola and you guessed it....west point.

The green wave enter 2020 fresh off a 4-peat with 11 state titles and have their sights set on another one.

West point is stop #57 on the high school football tour.

Nat pop 3 sec miss will stay in oxford as lane kiffin begins his career with the rebels playing host florida and head coach dan mullen inside vaught-hemingway stadium there are two schools tied for the most state championships in mississippi.

South panola and you guessed it....west point.

The green wave enter 2020 fresh off a 4-peat with 11 state titles and have their sights set on another one.

West point is stop #57 on the high school football tour.

Nat pop 3 sec the four peat is complete.

The drive for five begins.

The west point green wave secured a 4th straight state championship last season after defeating picayune 38-26.

Now the green wave look to join elite company as they try for a 5th consecutive title.

The only school to ever accomplish that, south panola.

"our players and our coaches know what's on our shoulders.

We play for our community, our pride, and our school.

That's not gonna change."

"go harder.

When everybody look up, we know we got to put on."

"we got to get them.

We got to keep them state championships rolling in."

The green wave have to replace key pieces from last season's backfield that featured brandon harris, dantaryius cannon and jimothy mays.

But west point has embraced and mastered the art of re-tooling year in and year out.

A challenge that head coach chris chambliss uses to keep the team motivated.

"it's a driving force for us to try to prove ourselves each year.

I tell our seniors every year our expectations remain the same, but people change.

What are you gonna do to lead our program in the right direction?

We're gonna go as our seniors go.

If our seniors lead us in the right direction, then we're gonna be ok."

"we got a couple guys coming back.

A couple who are going to learn, but we'll get there."

Despite the difficult off- season, chambliss praises his senior group for their work in leading this team.

A group that wasted no time in preparing for next season's grind.

"our leadership so far has been great even though it's been tough on them to lead us in the locker room, lead us on the field, lead us in the weight room.

Field, lead us in the weight room.

They've done a great job of doing that."

"always grind.

We grind soon as we get done with the season.

We right back in the weight room going for another one."

Winning a state championship, let alone a 5th straight, takes an incredible amount of dedication and pride.

But if you ask anyone in the green wave's locker room, they'll tell you just how much winning means to them.

"i think our guys are real passionate about carrying on the tradition.

Carrying the torch so to speak into the season.

They care about it.

They've really been working hard not only physically but mentally on the game as well this summer."

"west point going to play football regardless."

The chase for history starts september 4th with a road matchup against rival starkville.

With the green wave chris bolton wcbi sports.

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