ESTABLISHED 1879 | COLUMBUS, MISSISSIPPI CDISPATCH.COM 50 ¢ NEWSSTAND | 40 ¢ HOME DELIVERY TUESDAY | JUNE 12, 2018 Supe allegedly gave county property to IHL board member Auditor’s Office investigates after Howard Institutions of trucks, supplies and equipment Higher Learn- for the work, and Starr granted reportedly traded metal panels for easement ing Board the county an easement for the since Gov. Phil work. BY ALEX HolloWay the investigation, which he said Bryant appoint- In return, Roberson said, [email protected] involves an agreement supervi- ed him in 2015. the county gave Starr some old sors made last fall to give metal The coun- metal panels and beams that The Mississippi State Au- panels from a bridge on Reed ty worked on were removed from the bridge ditor’s Office is investigating a condemned during construction — which Oktibbeha County officials for Road to Walt Starr. bridge on Reed Howard Starr Roberson he said the county determined potentially wrongly giving away Starr, who lives in Colum- Road last year, were worth about $2,800. almost $3,000 in county proper- bus, is a periodontal surgeon which is near property Starr in whose district the proper- However, Roberson said the ty to a private citizen. with practices in both Colum- owns. ty sits, came to an agreement Board of Supervisors Rob bus and Starkville. He has also Roberson said District 3 with Starr to use part of the county cannot legally give away Roberson attorney confirmed been a member of the State Supervisor Marvell Howard, property as a staging area for See AUDITOR, 3A ‘Hooked on books’ CMSD incentive bonuses approved Faculty, staff to receive bonuses in December 2019 if campuses improve state accountability ratings BY MARY POLLITZ [email protected] Teachers at Co- lumbus Municipal School District will see incentive bonus- es based on state ac- countability ratings starting December 2019. The CMSD Board Spears of Trustees on Monday unanimous- ly approved the Teacher Incentive Luisa Porter/Dispatch Staff Pay Plan to reward faculty and staff Annie Arick, 4, looks for a book to check out at the Starkville Public Library in this Dispatch file photo from April. Annie is the at CMSD for students’ performance daughter of Tony and Caitlyn Arick of Starkville. Starkville Public Library is one of at least four local libraries participating in on state testing. The policy will be- summer reading programs, which target illiteracy and encourage children to read while school is out of session. gin with the 2018-19 school year, with monetary bonuses awarded in December 2019. Teachers, assistant teachers and support staff will all re- Summer reading programs combat illiteracy locally ceive bonuses under the new policy if they work at a campus that shows lifelong positive results,” ‘Starting to read at an targeting children of all ages. improvement. said Christina Jurusik, This year, nine preschool-aged chil- CMSD is funding the program early age has lifelong children’s librarian for dren and their parents enrolled in the itself and will not replace any state the Starkville Public Li- Columbus-Lowndes Public Library’s incentives or local supplements pro- positive results’ brary. “(Children) recog- 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten pro- vided to district faculty. nize words easier a little gram. 1,000 Books Before Kindergar- Mississippi rates public school BY INDIA YARBOROUGH earlier, and they’re more ten is a nationally operated program by [email protected] districts, as well as individual cam- Jurusik confident when it comes the 1,000 Books Foundation — a Neva- puses, on a letter-grade scale — In a state where illiteracy rates top to getting into school and da-based nonprofit that encourages par- ranging from to A to F — based on the national average, local libraries starting to read on their own.” ents to read to their young children and a number of factors, mainly student have implemented summer programs The Columbus, Starkville, West promotes parent-child bonding through performance on end-of-year bench- to get Mississippi’s youngest reading. Point and Noxubee public libraries literature. mark exams. CMSD is currently rat- “Starting to read at an early age has each have summer reading programs, See SUMMER READING, 6A ed a D. Three district campuses — Columbus Middle School, Franklin Academy and Joe Cook Elementary — are rated as Fs. Columbus High School is the district’s highest-rated campus at a B. The TIPP plan will take place Armed panhandler arrested on Highway 12 in Starkville over four school years, with the board having the option to extend it. calls, she said, Victim ‘would’ve given him anything’ because she was scared In 2019, if a school increases referenced the from a F to a D, certified staff would BY ALEX HolloWay while holding a gun. tial appearance in Starkville suspect having receive $500, teacher assistants [email protected] SPD arrested 40-year-old Municipal Court, said the de- a gun. would receive $250 and support Roger Forrester on suspicion partment received numerous O f f i c e r s staff would receive $50. Incentive A Starkville man is in jail of robbery on Monday. calls at around 2 p.m. Mon- arrived at Zax- amounts increase gradually for after reportedly asking peo- Detective Carly Jo Win- day about a white male ask- by’s where each letter grade, up to $2,000 for ple on Highway 12 for money ship, during Forrester’s ini- ing people for money. Some See ARREST, 6A Forrester See CMSD, 6A WEATHER FIVE QUESTIONS CALENDAR LOCAL FOLKS PUBLIC 1 What is the name of Google’s corpo- Food and drink vendors MEETINGS Thursday will be on site. June 18: rate headquarters? ■ Sounds of Summer: 2 What artist’s famous images Lowndes County Big Hoss and The Little include stairs that defy gravity, birds Supervisors, 9 Joes entertain from 7-9 Friday that morph into fish and two hands a.m., County p.m. at the Columbus ■ Viva Las Elvis: The drawing each other? Courthouse Riverwalk for Sounds Columbus Arts Council 3 In what geological period do we live June 18: CVB, 4 in — Jurassic, Permian or Quaternary? of Summer. Bring lawn presents a Viva Las Hank Winters p.m., CVB office 4 What car manufacturer’s logo fea- chairs or blankets for this Elvis Party at 7 p.m. Second grade, Caledonia June 19: City tures four interlocking rings? free concert. No coolers with music by The Dips, Council, 5:30 5 Mozambique is on which coast of or pets. Food and drink plus Elvis and Priscilla p.m., Municipal High Low Africa — north, east, south or west? vendors will offer conces- look-alike contests and 87 69 Complex Chance of t-storms Answers, 6B sions. Presented by the hamburger plates ($10) Full forecast on Columbus Lowndes Cham- at the Rosenzweig Arts page 2A. ber of Commerce and Center main gallery, Main Street Columbus. 501 Main St. Members ■ Downtown at Sun- $15 advance/$17 at down: Starkville’s free door; nonmembers $20 INSIDE summer concert is 7-9 advance/$22 at door. Get Gabrielle Berry loves Classifieds6B Dear Abby 5B p.m. on Main Street down- tickets at columbus-arts. sports and is an athletic Comics 5B Obituaries 5A town. Bring lawn chairs org or call 662-328-2787 trainer at EMCC where she 139TH YEAR, NO. 79 Crossword 4B Opinions 4A and blankets. No coolers. (closed Mondays). attends school. DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471 2A TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 2018 THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SAY WHAT? DID YOU HEAR? “Most people who watch the news or read a newspaper, they’re wanting to find out the truth.” Smithsonian exhibit highlights Anna Retana, a mother of five from Enumclaw, Washington, on a recent poll asking what Americans want mega star Oprah Winfrey Tuesday from news media. Story, 5A. ‘This exhibition is really an opportunity to explore the cultural For world, Trump-Kim summit impact of The Oprah Winfrey Show’ THE ASSOCIatED PRESS on the culture, and I con- raises cautious hope for peace tinue to feel that from peo- WASHINGTON — One ple every day,” she said. ‘The United States of the most recognizable The television personal- openings in television ity has donated $21 million and North Korea have After summit, Trump announces history blares on a video to the museum. But muse- screen: “I’m Oprah Win- um director Lonnie Bunch been in a state of frey, and welcome to The said the donation did not halt to US-SKorea ‘war games’ Oprah Winfrey Show!” influence the creation of antagonism for more The crowd goes wild. At the showcase. THE ASSOCIatED PRESS the center of it all, a danc- “This is not a show for than half a century’ ing young Oprah. Oprah or by Oprah,” he Chinese Foreign SINGAPORE — President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim This moment, televised said. “This is a show about Minister Wang Yi Jong Un concluded an extraordinary nuclear summit Tuesday with the more than 30 years ago, other issues using the lens U.S. president pledging unspecified “security guarantees” to the North is now part of a yearlong THE ASSOCIatED PRESS and Kim recommitting to the “complete denuclearization of the Korean of Oprah.” exhibition that opened Peninsula.” Among the first objects Friday at the Smithsonian TOKYO — South Koreans Meeting with staged ceremony on a Singapore island, Trump and that visitors see is a yel- National Museum of Afri- cheered, Iran warned that Presi- Kim came together for a summit that seemed unthinkable months ago, lowed pennant from the can American History and dent Donald Trump should not be clasping hands in front of a row of alternating U.S.