Suspect sought in family slaying

OXFORD, Miss.

An unidentified suspect remains at large in the weekend slayings of a father and son and the wounding of a woman in Lafayette County.

Forty-four-year-old Frank Taylor Clark Jr. and his 20-year-old son, Charles Clark, both of Oxford, were found shot to death after 11 p.m Saturday near a County Road 403 home

Deputies identified the wounded woman as the elder Clark’s wife.

Police say the suspect fled in one of the victims’ vehicles, which authorities later recovered.

Investigators have no released a motive behind the shooting.

Trial reset in starvation case

FOREST, Miss. — The trial of a second Scott County woman facing capital murder charges in the starvation death of a 4-year-old boy has been rescheduled.

Scott County Circuit Judge Marcus Gordon had severed the cases of two people accused in the case and now has rescheduled 43-year-old Janice Mowdy’s trial for Oct. 19 after determining she is competent to stand trial.

Gordon’s office said the trial of 22-year-old Stephanie Bell also has been continued. The trial had been scheduled to begin next week with jury selection in Clark County.

Mowdy and Bell were indicted in April on capital murder charges in the death of Austin Watkins.

The women have pleaded not guilty and remain in the Scott County jail.

Never assume anything about insurance

Ahigh-powered two-day conference on preparing for and insuring against catastrophes begins today in Biloxi. If there is one thing South Mississippians know for sure about catastrophes and insurance, it is that you should never, ever assume anything. Many have paid dearly to learn a simple lesson: trust, but verify.

This week’s Catastrophe Preparedness and Insurance Forum, sponsored by the Mississippi Insurance Department, will focus on how to make property insurance both affordable and available in coastal areas.

Even as government and corporate officials search for that elusive solution, there are things individuals can do to enhance there preparedness.

It has been a quite hurricane season thus far, but we should be mindful that we are less than a third of the way through it.

There is still time:

o To examine your insurance policies to ensure that you have adequate coverage.

o To inventory your hurricane supplies and fill any gaps.

o To map out an evacuation strategy.

That time should be used wisely.

As for the forum, untold prayers could be answered if it is a success.

Transit planning highlights conference

BILOXI

Planners from across Mississippi are in Biloxi this week for a two-day conference.

The planners and architects are sharing Biloxi with the Mississippi Municipal League and the National Governors Association conference and are meeting today and Friday at the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension on Popp’s Ferry Road.

Sessions address issues that affect every area of the state, including historic preservation, zoning, land use, housing, transportation and recreation.

They also highlight the Coast, with a session today on Mississippi Cottages and one on transit planning Friday by Kevin Coggin, director of Coast Transit Authority.

A look at the Gulf Coast Heritage Trails Partnership Program and a presentation on the 2030 Harrison County Comprehensive Plan are also on the agenda.

Edward Shambra, executive planner for Biloxi, said more than 75 people registered for the conference that usually draws about 30.

The conference rotates to different areas of the state and he said this is the first year it has returned to the Coast since Hurricane Katrina. The last time it was held at the Dantzler House, which was destroyed in the storm.

Shambra said it’s important for planners to network and share ideas.

They must also get 32 credit hours every two years to maintain their American Institute of Certified Planners credentials, and he said this conference qualifies for more than nine credits.

A reception for the planners will be held at the newly restored Grant Bond House in Biloxi, which now is home to the Biloxi Main Street program.

Poster for Biloxi’s Seafood Festival unveiled

  COURTESY BILOXI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE The Biloxi Seafood Festival poster created by Suzy Templin, who has won the prize five times now.

The 28th Annual Biloxi Seafood Festival poster is being unveiled in a 5:30 p.m. ceremony today at Negrotto’s Gallery in Biloxi.

A reception will follow featuring poster contest winner and Biloxi artist Suzy Templin.

Templin’s watercolor painting of a scene depicting Biloxi’s coastal beauty was selected from 23 other submissions through the annual poster contest that began in May and ended June 12.

Biloxi Chamber of Commerce Director Rachael Seymour said the artist received a cash prize of $500 and exposure since the poster bears the artist’s name.

“Many people collect the posters, and it becomes the logo for the year,” Seymour said. “It’s a huge deal if you are selected.”

Templin — a military fine artist who works for K-Mar Industries Inc. at Keesler Air Force Base — said she was inspired to do something that she has not seen on a poster.

The three shrimp boats illustrated in the poster — the Miss Suzann, Three Musketeers and Big Temby — represent Templin, her three sons and her late husband who was killed by a drunk driver a year and a half ago.

“Maybe everyone will learn not to drink and drive,” Templin said.

As a fundraiser for the Biloxi Chamber, 150 signed prints will be sold for $50 and unsigned prints will be sold for $25. Both can be purchased at Negrotto’s Gallery or the chamber’s office. Templin has also won the contest in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2003.

Police called to squash unrest at juvenile jail

One youth wanted to go to adult jail

BILOXI

The Harrison County Juvenile Detention Center called Biloxi police Monday night for “a show of force” to avoid the use of force, an official said.

Tony Best stopped short of describing the situation as a riot. He said some of the youth balked at orders and threatened officers, but bringing in police restored order quickly without a physical confrontation.

Best is vice president of Mississippi Security Police Inc., which runs the county’s youth jail. A lawsuit filed against the county in April complained of abuse at the center, among other allegations.

Best said the incident Monday night began in a dayroom for boys.

One of the juveniles demanded to be taken to the Harrison County Adult Detention Center so he could bond out and others sided with him.

Some of the detainees took broken pieces of plastic from a Scrabble game and threatened a corrections officer. They held the pieces “like a shank,” said Best, referring to homemade weapons sometimes found in corrections facilities.

Best said Director Butch Cummings went to the center but was unable to get the detainees to go in their cells. A couple of them threatened “to split open officers’ eyes and stab them,” Best said.

Cummings didn’t want to use non-lethal force, such as pepper spray, or physical force, Best added, saying the incident was over in less than an hour.

“We’ve been working very closely with the Southern Poverty Law Center to make improvements to include interaction with staff and residents,” Best said.

The recent suit was filed by Mississippi Protection and Advocacy, a non-profit program of the SPLC. A preliminary agreement reached in June aims to improve conditions, add resources, alleviate overcrowding and comply with federal standards. They agreed to work on detention alternatives.

SPLC attorney Sheila Bedi said she is encouraged by the willingness of center officials and staff to make positive changes.

“We’re going to see some very good things happening,” Bedi said.

Man accused of forging stolen checks

GULFPORT

Khalis Montel Jones of Gulfport is accused of forging two checks stolen from a business the day they were cashed.

Police arrested Jones, 32, on Wednesday, charging him with two counts of uttering forgery. Police Sgt. Chris Ryle said Hancock Bank filed a criminal complaint on April 23 over two forged checks that totalled $2,500.

Judge Melvin Ray set bond at $30,000. Jones was booked at the Harrison County jail.

Gulfport man charged with crack distribution

  GULFPORT

A traffic stop has led to the arrest of Ladale Airosteve Holloway on charges including possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute, police said.

The traffic stop Saturday night was in the 1900 block of 31st Street. A police spokesman said Holloway, 30, ran a stop sign and attempted to flee but was caught after he ran over a curb.

Police said he allegedly threw a plastic bag out his window that contained crack cocaine. Police also charged him with traffic violations including DUI.

Justice Court Judge Diane Ladner set bond on the felony drug charge at $25,000. The jail docket shows Holloway, 30, of Virginia Avenue, has been released on bond.

Promenade to open Oct. 11

D’IBERVILLE

The countdown is on to the grand opening of The Promenade shopping center on Oct. 11.

The Grand Opening will kick off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon, with the community invited to attend.

“In less than 90 days, we will unveil to the market its first major new retail destination since Hurricane Katrina with the Grand Opening of The Promenade,” said Geoff Smith, vice president of development for CBL & Associates Properties.

“The center offers a collection of outstanding national anchors, retailers and restaurants as well as some of the most popular regional and local names. We are excited to join the D’Iberville community and are looking forward to opening day with great enthusiasm.”

Ocean Springs building new high school

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss.

Schools superintendent Robert Hirsch says the district is dealing with wetlands issues as it prepares to build a new high school.

The site is on 40 acres the district owns along the Mississippi Highway 57 extension. Twenty of those acres are wetlands.

Hirsch says the plan must include preservation of the another 60 acres of wetlands on the same property.

Hirsch says the campus is designed to reduce the impact on wetlands. He says two practice fields and a softball field would be built on the wetlands to ease drainage.

He says about 70 large hardwood trees would be saved to beautify the campus.

If the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issues a permit, Hirsch says construction could start sometime in November.