Supes Prioritize West Lowndes for 3 Tornado Shelters
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ESTABLISHED 1879 | COLUMBUS, MISSISSIPPI CDISPATCH.COM 75 ¢ NEWSSTAND | 40 ¢ HOME DELIVERY TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 Supes prioritize west Lowndes for 3 tornado shelters District 4 Supervisor Project would bring county first public shelters west Jeff Smith listens to his colleague, District 5 of Tombigbee; Sanders argues for board to consider Supervisor Leroy Brooks, not pictured, during a more shelters in ‘more densely populated’ east Lowndes Lowndes County Board BY YUE STELLA YU the county and pay the cost over several of Supervisors meeting [email protected] Monday morning. Smith years, The Dispatch reported. The three has urged the board to shelters would be the first batch, said consider building storm Addressing the lack of storm shelters Emergency Services Director Cindy shelters west of the in west Lowndes County, the board of Lawrence. Tombigbee River since supervisors unanimously voted Monday The prioritized areas for community January. Supervisors morning to prioritize certain areas west shelters include the towns of Artesia and unanimously voted Mon- of the Tombigbee River as potential sites Crawford. They also include areas clos- day to consider Artesia, for three community storm shelters. er to Columbus, such as neighborhoods Crawford and other areas west of Columbus as pri- The decision came months after su- near the Elm Lake Golf Course, Prairie ority sites for three com- pervisors discussed in May the possibil- Waters and houses along Highway 45 munity storm shelters. ity of installing multiple shelters across See SUPES, 6A Yue Stella Yu/Dispatch Staff Third MSU Former chief Gale remembered for steady leadership at fire department Greek house Man who rose through sees COVID ranks over 30 years passes away at age 81 exposure BY SLIM SMITH More than 200 MSU [email protected] students tested positive obby Gale’s tenure as Co- lumbus fire chief reflected for virus in first two Bhis personality — quiet, unassuming, steady, devoted to weeks of classes his firefighters and their mission. Gale, who died Saturday at age BY TESS VRBIN 81, provided steady leadership [email protected] built on his through-the-rank Members of a third Greek ascension to the chief position. chapter at Mississippi State Uni- But he also led the department versity left their chapter house to to new heights, quite literally. self-quarantine due to exposure to “What I remember is that he the COVID-19 coronavirus, MSU was a good organizer and was re- Chief Communications Officer Sid ally committed to the projects he felt his department needed,” said Salter has confirmed. Fred Haslett, who served as may- Salter declined to provide the or of Columbus as Gale’s six-year name of the chapter, but students run as chief was nearing its end. confirmed it to be the Pi Kappa Al- “When I was mayor (1989-93), pha fraternity. Salter also declined his big project was getting a new to provide the number of students ladder truck for the city. They who lived in the Pi Kappa Alpha were building taller dormitories house at the start of the semester. at (Mississippi University for The Phi Gamma Delta fraterni- Women), and he was concerned ty, known as Fiji, and the Phi Mu that they didn’t have a truck that sorority saw COVID-19 outbreaks could reach as high as they need- within the first week of classes, ed. So he really fought for that See COVID, 3A and was really good at finding the funding. It was an example of how he was always looking out of his guys.” And, women, too. In 1986, Gale hired the city’s first female firefighter. He also continued 2 dead, 3 seriously Courtesy photo helping the city diversify its fire Bobby Gale, who passed away Saturday at age 81, worked for Columbus department through hiring Black Fire and Rescue for 30 years, including six years as chief, retiring in 1990. firefighters, among them current injured in east chief Martin Andrews. over when Hugh Mann retired. “The thing I remember as a “I remember him as being nice “Chief Gale spent 30 years in kid is how much he loved the fire Oktibbeha wreck and supportive, but he wasn’t the active fire service in Columbus department,” said Gale, general kind of chief to take no for an and, during that time, answered manager for Columbus Light and answer,” Andrews said. “When thousands of calls for help,” May- Water. “Sometimes he would let Coroner: No one in he told you to do something, he or Robert Smith said a statement. me spend the night in the bunk- vehicle wore seatbelts expected you to do it. He believed “Those who worked with him de- house. There were a lot of times in the chain of command, so scribe him as a loving, caring and when they would go out on a call at time of accident there was accountability at every skilled man. He was always ready and be back before I knew they level. I think that created a lot of to mentor those in his care. Chief had left. He loved the department DISPATCH STAFF REPORT respect in the department.” Gale’s work laid the foundation and he wanted to share it with Gale’s respect for his firefight- for the department that exists to- me. He’d even let me go out on Two people from Brooksville ers was born out of his own ascen- day. He built a strong department calls sometimes, but I had to stay died and three more were serious- sion through the ranks. Hired in with an emphasis on always learn- in the car.” ly injured in a single-vehicle crash ing and always improving.” Haslett said Gale had good re- 1959, he was promoted to driver early Sunday morning in northeast- in 1963, to captain in 1969, assis- For Todd Gale, Bobby’s only lationships with the city’s depart- ern Oktibbeha County, Coroner tant chief in 1976 and, finally, to son, having a firefighter for a dad ment heads. Michael Hunt confirmed Monday. the chief position in 1984, taking was every little kid’s dream. See GALE, 3A The accident occurred at Old West Point Road near House Lane See WRECK, 3A WEATHER FIVE QUESTIONS LOCAL FOLKS PUBLIC 1 How many single squares are there MEETINGS on a chessboard — 32, 64 or 80? Today: Columbus 2 Which sea mammal uses stones to City Council, 5 p.m., crack open shellfish? Municipal Complex, 3 Which U.S. city known for its rich facebook.com/Cityof- musical history also boasts the ColumbusMS/ world’s only full-scale replica of Sept. 8: Lowndes Olivia Scurti Greece’s famed Parthenon? 4 County Board of First grade, Heritage What are the stage names of the five Spice Girls? Supervisors meeting, 5 In 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte was 9 a.m., Lowndes High 92 Low 73 exiled to what island in the Mediterra- County Courthouse, nean: Sicily, Elba or Malta? facebook.com/ Intermittent clouds Full forecast on Answers, 6B LowndesCountyMis- page 3A. sissippi/ Sept. 8: City of Columbus budget INSIDE public hearing, 5 p.m., Classifieds6B Health 6A Columbus Municipal Comics 4B Obituaries 5A Hallie Holland is a sophomore at Complex, facebook. Crossword 3B Opinions 4A Mississippi State. She’s majoring in com/CityofColum- 141ST YEAR, NO. 148 Dear Abby 4B biology and is from Nashville. busMS/ DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471 2A TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com Trump to wade into racial tensions with visit to Kenosha ‘I am concerned your presence will only delay When Trump talks law and order, our work to overcome some Wisconsin voters listen division and move BY KATHLEEN HENNESSEY forward together’ The Associated Press Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers DE PERE, Wis. — Alexis Arnold says she’s sympathetic toward pro- testers who have peacefully fought racial injustice this summer. But as BY ZEKE MILLER, ALEXANDRA some demonstrations spiral into violence, her anxiety is building. JAFFE AND WILL WEISSERT The Associated Press “Why are we so broken right now?” the 44-year-old art gallery owner wondered. WASHINGTON The uncertainty is drawing her to whatever stability President Don- — Claiming the man- ald Trump can offer. He has spent weeks pushing questions of safety tle of the “law and or- and security to the forefront of the presidential campaign. And there der” candidate, Pres- are signs some Wisconsin voters are listening, after protests have ident Donald Trump sometimes become violent in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where a white po- is offering himself as lice officer shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, seven times, paralyzing him. the leader best posi- “The public just needs something to make them feel comfortable and tioned to keep Amer- safe again,” said Arnold, who is white, has voted for Democrats in the icans safe, a day after Trump past and is raising a biracial daughter. “I almost rather see Trump stay Democratic rival Joe Biden assailed and try to resolve it rather than bring somebody in new.” him over the deadly protests that That sentiment could prove decisive in Wisconsin, a state that put have sprung up on his watch. Trump in the White House in 2016 after he carried it by less than 1 Trump is diving head-first into percentage point. The president has already used dark and mislead- the latest eruption in the nation’s ing warnings of destruction in American streets following violence in reckoning over racial injustice with Portland, Oregon, and is now seizing on unrest in Kenosha, where he’ll a trip Tuesday — over the objec- travel on Tuesday. tions of local leaders — to Kenosha, Wisconsin, which has been riven by Evers wrote in a letter to Trump.