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NEWSPAPER -
Established 1824
Volume 190
USPS 462-260
50¢ per copy
Woodville, Mississippi 39669
Thursday, January 1,2015
Number 35
"ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAU-
TIFUL m ... All creatures great and
small, All things wise and wonder-
ful, The Lord God made them all,"
are the words of the familiar hymn.
They perfectly describe this photo,
taken on Thursday, December 25,
which shows an awesome array of
colors as the sun set over Lake
Mary at the close of Christmas Day.
Those lucky enough to have spent
a late evening watching the sun
seemingly melt into Lake Mary can
attest that there is a glimpse of
heaven on earth when the sky is
on fire in hues ranging from deep
orange, to pink, lavender and blue.
We send thanks for sharing this
photo to Rhonda Quirk, the number
one promoter of Lake Mary, one of
Wilkinson County's most beautiful
nature areas, who pens the weekly
column, The Far Corner m Ft. Ad-
ams and Lake Mary for The Wood-
ville Republican. We also send to all
of our readers best wishes in 2015
for "all things bright and beauti-
ful." -- Photo Submitted
Escaped Wilkinson CWC
Prisoner Caught In Woodville
Authorities with the Mis-
sissippi Department of Cor-
rections announced last
week that Jeffery McWhort-
er, a 20-year old inmate in
the Wilkinson Community
Work Center on the Jack-
son La. Road near Wood-
ville, was reported missing
on Christmas day, accord-
ing to a departmental news
release.
The white male was re-
ported captured near Wood-
ville the following day.
McWhorter was last
seen wearing MDOC state-
issued green and white
striped pants and a white
MDOC shirt with "MDOC
Convict" printed on the
back.
He was discovered miss-
ing at approximately 4:25
p.m. on Thursday, Decem-
ber 25, from the Wilkinson
County Community Work
Center Thursday afternoon.
An investigation of how he
left the facility is under way.
A landowner who lives
on Hwy. 24 East, reports
that one of his game cam-
eras took several photos of
McWhorter on his property
at 1:28 p.m., on Thursday,
which is some three hours
prior to when officials at the
Wilkinson CWC realized
that the inmate was miss-
ing.
McWhorter was spotted
a short time later Thursday
by a resident of the Judy-
MDOC Photo of
Jeffrey McWhorter
Game Camera photo of
Jeffrey McWhorter
dahl Road.
McWhorter is serving a
2-year sentence for convic-
tion of burglary from Mar-
ion County.
An investigation is cur-
rently being conducted by
MDOC officials to deter-
mine how the inmate got
out of the minimum secu-
rity state prison.
Inmate McWhorter was
captured without incident
shortly after midnight on
Friday, December 26.
Woodville Police Chief
Jessie W. Stewart stated
that WPD Officers Calvin
Gaines and Carl Cage, Jr.,
apprehended McWh0rter
at about 12:30 a.m. on Fri-
day, December 26, when
the inmate's father turned
him over to the two of-
ricers at a store at the
intersection of U.S. Hwy.
61 and State Hwy. 24 in
Woodville.
The MDOC has trans-
ported McWhorter to
the Central Mississippi
Correctional Facility in
Rankin County where he
now faces an additional
5-year sentence if convict-
ed of escape.
Local Athletes Nalned To
Democrat All-Metl'o Team
A. number of Wilkinson
County athletes have been
selected for inclusion on
The Natchez Democrat's
All-Metro Football Team for
heir outstanding play dur-
ing the 2014 football season.
Included on the honor roll
of players were the follow-
ing:*
First Team Offense
Quarterback -- Casey
Haygood, Centreville Acad-
emy (Sr.; 6-3,215; Threw for
over 1,800 yards and had
31 total TDs; MAIS Dis-
trict 6-AA All-District MVP;
Mais South All-Star Team
Selection).
Offensive Lineman --
Brian Arnett, Centreville
Academy (Sr.; Offensive
Tackle; 6-2, 220; MAIS
District 6-AA All-District
Offensive Lineman; MAIS
South All-Star Team Selec-
tion).
First Team Defense
Defensive Back -- Tyler
Caston, Centreville Acad-
emy (Jr.; Defensive Back;
Team-high 7 INTs).
Kicker -- Brock Andrus,
Centreville Academy (Sr.;
5-11, 160; Made 87 of 88
extra points and 2 of 2
field goals; Put 80% of his
kickoffs in the end zone
for touchbacks; MAIS Dis-
trict 6-AA All District Place
Kicker).
Second Team Offense
Running Back -- Chase
Hughes, Centreville Acad-
emy (Sr.; 5-11,165; 101 car-
ties, 1,.020 yards; 23 recep-
tions for 390 yards;Scored
29 total TDs; Led the team
in return yards with 467
total yards; MAIS District
6-AA All-District Running
Back; MAIS South All-Star
Team Selection).
Running Back -- Rodney
Boyd, WCCA (Sr.; MAIS
District 4-A All-District
Team; MAIS South All-Star
Team Selection).
Wide Receiver -- Tavion
Jones, Wilkinson County
High School (Soph.; 49 re-
ceptions; 808 yards; 8 TDs).
Offensive Lineman --
Chase Stutzman, Centrev,
ille Academy; (Sr.; Offensive
Guard; 5-11, 215; MAIS
District 6-AA All-District
Offensive Lineman).
Offensive Lineman --
Allen Virgin, Centreville
Academy (Sr.; Center; 5-10,
290; MAIS District 6-AA
All-District Center).
Second Team Defense
Defensive Lineman --
Matt Darden, CentreviUe
Academy (Sr.; Defensive
Tackle; 6-3, 240; 72 total
tackles; MAIS District 6-AA
All-District Defensive Line-
man; MAIS South All-Star
Team Selection).
(Continued on Page 3)
In Retrospect -- Top Front
Page Stories From 2014
TOP FRONT PAGE
STORIES for the year
2014 as taken from that
year's files of The Wood-
ville Republican are re-
produced as follows in
chronological order in a
condensed form.
January 2 -- At the Mon-
day, December 23, meeting
of the Wilkinson County
Board of Supervisors, the
group was told that needed
renovations to the court-
house were expected to
excede $4 million. -- The
Jackson Point Road in west-
ern Wilkinson County has
turned into a mud bog.
January 9 -- The rising
Mississippi River is affect-
ing several county roads
in the western section of
Wilkinson County. --At the
Monday, January 6, meet-
ing of the Wilkinson Coun-
ty Board of Supervisors,
Chancery Clerk Thomas C.
Tolliver, Jr., reported that
some members of the board
of supervisors were 25-27
percent over budget. "You
must keep spending down,"
Tolliver warned.
January 16 -- The
Wilkinson County Board of
Education met for the first
time in the new year at
which time the group voted
to keep the same slate of
officers with Charlie Floyd
remaining as president. --
The Woodville Mayor and
Board of Aldermen received
good new,at their Tuesday,
January 7, meeting. Their
applicatioa for funding for
a backup generator for the
town water plant was ap-
proved.
ofJeUut 23 Ministries-- Membersof
Faith led s(parade in memo-
trials have been scheduled
for the February, 2014, term
of Circuit Court. -- New
Mississippi photo voter ID
cards are now being issued
in Wilkinson County.
January 30 -- Fire com-
pletely destroyed an 8-unit
apartment building at the
Nashville Apartment Com-
plex in Centreville on Tues-
day afternoon, January 21.
--About two inches of snow
blanketed the county, start-
ing on Friday, January 24.
-- The Wilkinson County
Board of Supervisors have
begun work on the un-fin-
ished re-districting of the
county using the population
count from the 2010 Cen-
sus. -- Wilkinson County
has the highest car/deer col-
lision rate in the state.
February 6 -- A blanket
of sleet froze in Wilkinson
County creating a danger-
ous layer of ice. Traffic was
stalled in several sections of
Hwy. 61 for several hours.
-- The matter of Wilkin-
son County's poor finances
dominated discussion at the
Monday, February 3, meet-
ing of the Board of Supervi-
sors.
February 13 -- The Wood-
ville Police Department had
a busy week investigating
several cases including the
arrest of two men in sepa-
rate cases on a charge of
possession of stolen proper-
ty, and the arrest of a Loui-
siana man on possession
of marijuana. -- Woodville
utility department employ-
ees spent most of the day
repairing a broken water
main on Depot Street at
Second South Street.
February 20 -- A 12-inch
water main at the intersec-
tion ofU.S. Hwy. 61 and the
Jackson La. Road broke
Friday, February 14, caus-
ing the Town of Woodville to
lose water pressure. -- The
Wilkinson County School
Board was recognized and
honored as part of School
Board Recognition Week at
their meeting held Wednes-
day, February 12. -- The
Woodville Board of Alder-
men voted unanimously to
sell a town-owned building
to the Johnson Family, who
have been tenants at this
location for over 50 years.
-- The Wilkinson County
Board of Education received
bids for the sale of timber
on 11 school sections.
February 27 -- Heavy
rains caused streams and
creeks to rise dramatically.
This caused a culvert on the
Ford's Creek Road to wash
out. The road has now been
closed to all traffic. -- The
Buffalo River jumped its
banks and flooded numer-
ous areas on Wednesday
night, February 10. -- The
supervisors voted 4-0 at
their meeting on Monday,
February 24, to hire a new
auditor to perform the 2013
audit of county finances.
culvert March 6in Westside Heights-- A 72-foot long
Subdivision collapsed caus-
ing the closure of Cherry
Street. The Fourth District
road crew, with assistance
from the Town of Wood-
ville, replaced the culvert.
--A massive logjam at the
bridge on the Lake Mary
Road over Percy Creek is
threatening to cause seri-
ous damge to the structure.
--A large group of property
owners appeared at the
Monday, March 3, meeting
of the Wilkinson County
Board of Supervisors, to
complain about poor road
conditions, especially in the
Second District.
March 13 -- Local resi-
dents and business owners,
Jim Derbes and Jan Katz,
received tax relief from the
Woodville Board of Aldermen
for several properties they
own in the Town of Woodville.
-- Five-month-old Korbin
O'Quinn died at his home
on Saturday, March 8, of un-
known reasons. -- A mobile
home in Centreville, owned
by Georgia B. Johnson, and
occupied by her and her three
children, was completely de-
stroyed by fire on Tuesday,
March 4.
March 20 --A community
meeting was held on Sunday,
March 23, to receive public
comments about the poor
conditions of the Lake Mary
and Jackson Point Roads.
-- The overlay of a .9 mile
portion of the Jackson La.
Road in the First Supervi-
sor District was completed
last week. -- A very tall net
fence has been installed at
the Wilkinson County Cor-
rectional Fality to cut down
on the introduction of contra-
band into the private prison.
March 27 -- Fifth District
school board member Johnny
Smallwood has suggested
that teachers.be graded for
their performance based on
student test results. -- Wood-
ville Mayor Gary D'Aquilla
hosted a meeting of area
elected officials to discuss
the announcement that the
Mid-La gas supply line serv-
ing Centreville and WoodPile
was going to be shut down in
the near future.
April 3 -- A number
of county residents had
to be rescued from their
homes on March 27, after
some 6-8 inches of rain
caused the Buffalo River
to leave its banks causing
widespread flood damage.
County officials responded
to a number of calls as a
result of the high water
stages. • A groundbreak-
ing ceremony for the new
Field Hospital facility on
Hwy. 24 in Centreville was
held at the site on Thurs-
day, March 27.
April 10 -- A public hear
ing was held by the Wilkin-
son County Board of Supervi-
sors relative to the proposed
re-districting of the county to
follow new population figures
developed by the 2010 census
count. No public objection
was received at the hearing
which was followed by a 4-1
board vote to approve the
proposed redistricting of the
county. As a result of a recent
U.S. Supreme Court rifling
the county does not have to
submit the proposed plan to
the U.S. Justice department
for pre-clearance. -- A mud
slide on Hwy. 61 north of
Woo dville has caused a lane
closure.- The owners of
the old Mid-La Natural Gas
supply line have applied for
permission to close the line
which serves Centreville and
Woodville customers.
April 17 --An oil spill on
Hwy. 61 near the Wilkinson
County Park forced tempo-
rary closure of the roadway
on April 10. -- Public reports
from concerned citizens has
led to the arrest of Michael
Terell Johnson, 31, of Cen-
treville, on a charge of bur-
glary. -- A Woodville woman
was arrested by the Cent-
reville Police Department for
attempting to introduce con-
traband into a correctional
facility. The woman was iden-
tiffed as Kimberly Lollis, 28,
of Woodville.
April 24 -- A photo of a
Bald Eagle, taken on Hwy.
24 West near Ft. Adams,
showed the eagle stand-
ing on the ground in a cow
pasture. -- The Wilkinson
County Board of Supervi-
sors have announced plans
to hold a public meeting to
unveil a new road use ordi-
nance being considered for
use of county roadways.
(Continued on Page 2)
LOCAL BUSINESS BURNS TO GROUND -- The
Wilkinson County Health and Fitness 24/7 caught
fire at around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 28,
and burned to the ground. The newly opened busi-
ness is located at 512 Pinckneyville Road, Wood-
ville, near the main gate of Wilkinson County High
School The business was operated by Lesia Wash-
ington of Woodville. According to a written report
filed by the Wilkinson County Volunteer Fire De-
partment, the WCVFD was dispatched to the scene
at 3:47 a.m., and returned to the fire station at 6:03
a.m. The report states that the building was fully
engulfed in flames when the firefighters arrived
on scene. The fire started from an unknown igni-
tion source. The building was still smouldering
when this photo was taken at about 4:00 p.m. on
Monday, December 29. -- Woodville Republican
Photo by Andy J. Lewis
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