One of the oldest and most well-preserved buildings in Monroe county has been defaced at the hands of a vandal.

The doors were kicked in and many of the windows of the antiquated Athens Jail were broken sometime overnight. From 1830 to 1849, the jail stood as the county seat, and has had over $100,000 pumped into it to keep it preserved.

For these reasons, local authorities are striving to find those responsible. The guilty party will be charged with burglary of a building and felony malicious mischief. If convicted, they could face up to twelve years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.

The city doesn’t know how long they can keep paying for renovations to the oft-vandalized building, and ask you to call Athens Police if you have any information leading to the apprehension of the criminals.

Popularity: 15% [?]

A local man will have 25 years in jail to think about the horrors of making homemade child porn, and a woman was jailed for having sex with a 14 year old boy.

Greg McCauley of Saltillo was busted last July for taking pictures of himself having sex with a girl younger than 14 – then sent the images around the Internet. He plead guilty to two of the eight counts against him. He will serve one 25 year sentence and another 20 year sentence concurrently.

In other sex offense news, 26 year old Mary Jannett is in jail on charges of statutory rape. She confessed to having sex with the (most likely) willing 14 year old boy after a tip-off from a worried parent. The Starkville woman has not had a bond set yet.

Popularity: 20% [?]

The Olin Corporation, known for making quality Winchester ammunition, is moving more than 1,000 jobs to Oxford from East Alton, Illinois.

The decision comes following the Illinois union workers rejecting a labor deal twice. The company’s president said they’re making the move because Mississippi gave the company better options to build a half-million square foot facility near the existing plant in Oxford. The change could also bring more competitiveness to the market, which is enjoying good production due to the ammo shortage in the US.

The changes won’t be instantaneous, however. Company reps say that the move could take “several years” to make. The move is also expected to bring lower labor costs to the company.

Popularity: 14% [?]

An altercation at an Itawamba home led to a man being shot in the leg Monday morning.

A man and his ex-girlfriend were fighting, a fight in which the man was threatening the woman’s life verbally. He began to advance towards the woman and her son, at which point the son pulled out a gun and fired once into the air to warn the impending man. The warning wasn’t enough, as the man continued to threateningly walk towards the two. The son then shot the man in the  leg, crippling him.

The man is recovering at a local hospital, and no charges have been formally filed in the incident.

Popularity: 24% [?]

A convicted murderer is possibly breathing a sigh of relief as the Mississippi Supreme Court has called for a new hearing to sentence Kristi Fulgham for capital murder.

A jury found her guilty of the aforementioned crime for shooting her husband, Joey Fulgham to death back in May of 2003. Her half-brother, 13 at the time, was also convicted of murder and sentenced to 53 years in prison.

The woman appealed her case because of the jury excluding parts of the testimony during sentencing. Her conviction remainss, but she will not be sentenced to death courtesy of a social worker’s lack of testimony.

The case is now due to be re-sentenced.

Popularity: 24% [?]

A freight train lugging 110 cars derailed while traveling through Hamilton, MS at around 9 am Monday morning.

In all, two of the lead locomotives and 13 cars left the tracks around Hollivay Road. The main concern with the derailment was the three cars that were transporting hydrogen peroxide, which warranted the call of hazardous material teams from Columbus. Upon investigating the wreckage, they found only two cars to be leaking the substance.

As a precaution, nearby residents were told to  vacate the area, and a portion of Old Highway 45 was closed. Residents have since been allowed to return home, the road has been reopened and a 500 yard buffer zone around the wreck has been canceled.

An investigation is pending as to how the train derailed, and work to put the cars back on the right path could take up to two hours per engine.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Well, nobody ever said you can please everyone – try telling patrons of a strip club that.

The mayor of Jackson, MS is furious over a billboard recently emerging in the city, as are many of the citizens of the state’s capital city.

The billboard advertises for Danny’s Downtown strip club at 995 S West St. The image is a bikini-clad woman grabbing a stripper pole, an image which is innocuous enough. The caption is what has people red in the face: “Strippers love to climb our pole.”

Nobody said strip clubs were places of philosophy, either.

Needless to say the mayor has asked the billboard company to remove the sign. The club’s owner hasn’t responded to requests for comments, either.

Popularity: 53% [?]

Another local town will be allowed  to sell beer and wine on Sunday, according to a vote by the city of Verona’s aldermen.

The vote narrowly passed by a 3-2 margin, regardless, the window of opportunity for Verona residents to buy alcohol is open even further. Prior to the vote, residents could buy beer and wine Monday through Saturday. The new amendment allows beer and wine to be sold on Sunday, but a hurdle in the  form of a possible mayor veto must be cleared.

Ten days is the allotted time the mayor has to decide whether or not to veto the amendment.

Popularity: 13% [?]

A man burning leaves in Lee County was the culprit for a wildfire that burned dozens of acres Sunday. Two firefighters had to be treated for smoke inhalation, otherwise there were no injuries to report.

The city had a burn ban in effect, but this man obviously wasn’t aware of that. Firemen from a good number of departments were called to work on the blaze off of Pontocola Road. Officials say that if the wind would have been blowing that day, the fire would have gotten out of control.

The man was cited and faces possible fines for his lapse in judgment. Remember, during a burn ban, you can’t burn anything. At all. Glad we’re clear on that one.

Popularity: 23% [?]

A Long Beach, MS man has some time in jail to think about respecting his elders – especially the ones who birthed him.

Brett Keel nailed his mother in the head with an iron while she was asleep on the couch Monday. Not much is known about the incident including the motive, however it is known that the woman was able to get away and seek refuge in her car. She called a friend who then called authorities.  After the assault, she went to a hospital where she was treated and released for minor injuries.

The 22 year old is charged with aggravated domestic assault and has his bond set at $75,000.

Popularity: 23% [?]