Some ceremonies were held along the Mississippi Gulf Coast to remember those killed in Hurricane Camille, one of the most destructive storms to ever hit the region. It was 39 years ago this past Sunday that the violent system struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Officials with the Harrison County Emergency Management Agency held a ceremony at Pine Ridge Gardens Cemetery in Gulfport for Faith, Hope and Charity - the names given to the three women who were never identified.

In Biloxi, a few dozen locals gathered at the Hurricane Camille Memorial on the beachfront grounds of Episcopal Church of the Redeemer to remember Camille and the 172 lives that the storm took. Camille hit Aug 17, 1969.

McComb Police Chief Billie Hughes is retiring.  His last day is September 30th.  Hughes has held the position for more than 14 years.  Before that, he was a state highway patrolman.  He becomes the 3rd longtime official from the city to resign.  Detective Lenard Cowart retired in June and Fire Chief Jean Frye announced she was resigning earlier this week.

President Bush will visit New Orleans and the Mississippi Coast on Wednesday to check out the recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

The White House said Friday that Bush is expected to deliver an afternoon speech in New Orleans, then travel to the Mississippi Coast for dinner with community leaders.

Katrina struck August 29, 2005, flooding 80 percent of New Orleans and wiping out Mississippi coastal communities. At least 1,800 people died The federal government has poured billions of dollars into the rebuilding effort.

Local officials plan commemorative ceremonies August 29.

The landlord found Davis' body Friday morning around 10 when he came over to make repairs.  The coroner says she believes Davis was beaten to death with a blunt object.  Police say they're still looking for the murder weapon.  He had been dead for at least 24 hours. 

Berry is being held without bond at the Hinds County Detention Center.

"Now since gas prices are high, it led me to think about the train again.  When we saw the price, it's like that's a no brainer," Chris Musselwhite said.

Musselwhite and his wife Lauren are just two of many people climbing aboard the new trend.  The Musselwhites estimate they will save more than $100 by riding the rails from Jackson to New Orleans and back.  A roundtrip ticket is $44. 

The lessons of Hurricane Katrina continue to surface in Lamar County. The county recently took ownership of 10 large, portable generators, which will be able to provide power at shelters or other key facilities throughout the county in the event of an emergency.

Except in two instances. James Smith, Lamar County Emergency Management director, says one of the larger generators will remain outside the Lamar County Courthouse, while another will be positioned at the county's wastewater treatment facility in Purvis.

The generators were purchased with grant moneys from the Federal Emergency Management Administration through the Mississippi Emergency Management Administration.

Authorities are investigating a traffic accident that killed a Gulfport motorcycle officer. Authorities say 39-year-old Officer Rob Curry, a 14-year police veteran, was on duty when he died in Thursday's crash.

The two-vehicle accident happened on U.S. 49. Curry was pronounced dead at Garden Park Hospital shortly after the crash. The Biloxi Police Department and the Mississippi Highway Patrol are investigating the incident.

Jackson's new school superintendent is already working to make changes just two days after getting the job.

Dr. Lonnie Edwards, Sr. attended his first board of trustees meeting Wednesday. The board approved the districts new budget.

Dr. Edwards also made his first public comments as the new superintendent. He outlined several goals for the district. Among them, getting teachers and the community more involved. He also wants to improve the quality of education.

"We want our youngsters to be so prepared that they are not only competing with kids in Meridian, Hattiesburg or Oxford, MS, but they are competing with children from around the word," said Edwards.

Dr. Edwards is currently working without a contract. He and the board are still in negotiations about salary and benefits.

This is the Mississippi native's first superintendent position although he once served as the assistant superintendent for a school district in Georgia.

JPS will have to pay Dr. Edwards and outgoing superintendent Dr. Earl Watkins until next June.

So technically we have a superintendent that doesn't have a signed contract right now?

"Yes, that's correct," said JPS Board of Trustees president Delmer Stamps.

In Wednesday's board meeting, Stamps introduced Dr. Edwards as the new JPS superintendent.

The only problem is, Dr. Edwards is already in charge of the district without a signed contract that states he is the superintendent. The board and Edwards said both sides have verbally committed, which is as good as a signed contract.

"If something happens, and we do not reach a mutual agreement in his contract, the board would then appoint an interim superintendent," said Stamps.

Outgoing Superintendent Dr. Earl Watkins will continue to make $155,000 until the end of June next year in his new position. Stamps said Dr. Edwards will make around the same amount. So how is the district able to pay two superintendent salaries?

"We just approved the 2008-2009 district maintenance budget, and there were funds in that budget that would accommodate the expenditures of the district for 08-09," said Stamps.

So the school board will shell out around $300,000 -- half of which will go to a superintendent, the other to a consultant. So could the district use some of this money for other needs?

"If we were not faced with the challenges we have before the district now, yes," said Stamps.

Stamps said after Dr. Watkins decided to resign, they needed someone to present the district with a report on what they needed to do to meet the SACS recommendations. Because of Dr. Watkins' experience, they wanted him to work on the report, and that's why he is getting paid the amount he is for the job.

     Police say the latest victim is 36 year-old Carlos Reed. And a spokesman confirms reports that Reed is the brother of a Jackson police officer.

     A relative found Reed's body in the living room of an apartment around 3 o'clock Wednesday morning at Cypress Point Apartments on Hospital Drive.

     Investigators say there were no signs of forced entry, but there were signs of a struggle inside the apartment.

     Reed had been shot multiple times.

     Police say Reed lived at the complex.   

     The crime left some people who live there concerned for their safety.

     "I mean it's scary because you know we got kids around here I got a son too," says Felicia Jones.

     Paula Williams moved to Cypress Point apartments just two month ago. And she's already considering breaking the six-month lease she signed.

     "But I don't know but I guess you could get it anywhere in Jackson," says Williams.

     Police detained and questioned one man, but have made no arrests.

Police arrested Devin Jones of Jackson after he and the other man ran from the restaurant to the nearby Comfort Inn motel right around 1:50 Wednesday afternoon. The manager of the motel says the men checked in after the robbery. Police cornered the suspects on the second floor and then called in the SWAT team. That's when they arrested Jones.

Police evacuated the motel and questioned the guests.

Lamar County has just purchased ten new generators, which will be used at emergency shelters, in case of a storm.

James Smith, Director of Emergency Management for Lamar County, says the county has learned a lot since the days of Hurricane Katrina. He says the generators will be able to help cool down emergency shelters and provide lighting for meetings.

The generators range in power from 25 to 45 kilowatts.

The county bought ten generators and were then reimbursed by FEMA and MEMA.

The county is looking to purchase more generators in the future.

McComb officials say Fire Chief Jean Frye has resigned, effective August 31. Frye, a former arson investigator with the Jackson Fire Department and a history-maker as McComb's first female fire chief, will be replaced by deputy chief B.J. Nettles on an interim basis.

Nettles also served as interim chief after the departure of former fire chief Vernell Felder in 2007.

Mayor Zach Patterson saying Frye told him she wanted to pursue other opportunities.

The chief had been criticized over her qualifications, which were in dispute as to whether they had been properly reviewed during a hiring process that led to fingers pointed at everyone from Frye to former city administrator Sam Mims.

The University of Southern Mississippi will begin an initiative this fall to encourage bike riding on campus.

The bicycle loan program's aim is offer a more eco-friendly mode of transporation and encourage exercise. Under the program, bicycles are provided for faculty, staff and students to use, then they leave the bikes behind for the next rider.

The bicycles will be painted the same, bright color for easy identification.

USM President Martha Saunders said a similiar program was implemented at her previous institution, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

      Lieutenant Commander Melissa Harper opened the hearing Tuesday, but closed the session after only about 45 minutes so everyone involved could look over hundreds of pages of evidence.

      The tanker Tintomara hit a barge loaded with bunker oil early July 23. Harper said three tanker crew members, all from other countries, will be questioned first, so they can go home. She will then recess the hearing for an undetermined time.

      The Coast Guard has said the tug was piloted by an apprentice steersman - essentially, someone with a maritime learner's permit. That man, John Paul Bavaret, is representing himself. All other parties have attorneys.

The Jackson Public School District is negotiating it's contract with its new superintendent who officially started Tuesday.

Monday night, the school board named its new district leader. It's Dr. Lonnie Edwards, Sr. from Georgia.

Edwards replaces Dr. Earl Watkins who resigned as the superintendent Monday night when Edwards was announced.

Watkins will now work with the district as a consultant. He will receive his current salary and benefits through the end of his contract. As part of his new role, Watkins will help Dr. Edwards transition into the superintendent position.

He will also submit a report to the board to help JPS implement the SACS recommendation that came out in the 2008 accreditation report. The recommendation from SACS, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools advises JPS how to improve its standards.

Edwards is now officially running the district without a contract. According to the board president, that's perfectly legal.

"I feel good about him. I think he'll make some changes, do our city good," said Barbara Burks.

Burks has a grand-daughter who's a senior at Murrah High school. She said she's been following the JPS superintendent search since it started in April, and now, she's got her checklist of what she wants from the new leader -- Dr. Lonnie Edwards.

"I'd say better curriculum. I want it to be better school situations for our children," said Burks.

But that has to start at the bottom with the teachers. Burks said the school board needs to take care of their instructors by increasing their pay and relieving their work load.

"More teachers and not such a heavy load for the teachers. Some of them are bogged down with paperwork and stuff," said Burks.

The outgoing superintendent -- Dr. Earl Watkins -- will continue to work with JPS making the same $155,000 and receiving the same benefits. But Burks said if he's not serving as a superintendent, he shouldn't be paid as one.

"I just think his salary should end and pay him for what he does as a consultant," said Burks.

     "Rickey was a graduate at 16 with a four point three he owned his own construction company and was gonna be married the following March, none of that happened," said Bower. 

     A drunk driver struck the car he was riding in five years ago killing his best friend Jason Driver. Renee Bower says the crash forever altered her son's goal of becoming a husband and father.

     "He's speech impaired he cannot walk."

     Bower spoke at a Tuesday morning press conference where public safety officials announced a crackdown on drunk drivers across the state.

     Sheriff's departments and police departments will be arresting anyone who has a blood alcohol content level above the state legal limit of 0.08.    

     As for the drunk driver who's caused her family so much pain, Bower says, "He was released after six hours even though he had prior convictions he was on probation."   

     She has forgiven the man.

     "...I had to because the anger would have killed me."

     While she knows her son will never will completely recover from his injuries, Bower says Rickey is making progress.

     "I'm very grateful to God for that."

Metro commuters faced heavy rain all day Tuesday.  The rain came down so fast in some areas entire intersections were under water.  Downtown Jackson drivers were forced to plow through high water on parts of High Street.

"Because of school, traffic, and when the weather's bad, you never know what's going to happen," said area commuter Martha Hertzog.

Trees and debris fell down over roads in some parts of Rankin County.  City of Pearl workers had to reroute traffic when a tree fell on Highway 80.  They also set up blockades in front of the entrances to a shopping center off Highway 80 in Pearl.  The Roses parking lot was under water after hours of rainfall.

Interstate 20 and I-55 travelers faced bumper-to-bumper traffic as emergency workers responded to accidents.  Many commuters said the road conditions were frustrating.

"I've had them pull in front of me all the way across two lanes.  You always have to watch out for the unexpected," said Jackson commuter Gale Moncure.

Payton joked with reporters, "[h]e's in town Thursday and we thought it would be fitting in the last day of camp to give this player a second chance.  He's stronger - He's a lot more confident as you can see.  He showed us enough this afternoon - we'll see where he's at this afternoon and Ive got to call Kubiack up and let him know we might have an extra player."

Chesney caught passes from Quarterback Drew Brees and even catching punts from Steve Weatherford.  Chesney admits he needs work.  "There was a lot of pressure because last year I only had one try - this year they gave me two tries - on the first one I totally blew it. On the second one not only were they off sides but they interfered with me so I tallked them into letting me have a 3rd one and so Reggie told me I better not drop the third one."

Chesney and Saints coach Sean Payton are good friends, with Chesney also practicing with the team in 2007.

A number of south Mississippi banks will soon be requiring customers to remove sunglasses, hats and hoods before entering the business.

The security measure starts Friday. Bank officials say the requirement, in response to a string of bank robberies, may help authorities identify bandits. They say the policy is routine for banks in some states.

Paul Maxwell, vice president and corporate communications manager of Hancock Bank, said bank robberies had dropped significantly in states where bankers associations have rules requiring those who enter banks from covering their heads and eyes.

Authorities say at least 16 banks and credit unions have been robbed since January in Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties.

 (AP) - Adams County Sheriff's deputies have arrested a 36-year-old man on two counts of sexual battery and one count child molestation. A mother and her 13-year-old daughter reported to the sheriff's office on July 1 that the young girl was being sexually abused by her mother's ex-husband. Sheriff Ronny Brown says the alleged abuse has been going on for four years. Brown said Uthaw Ellis Turner was arrested Monday. Turner's bond has been set at $55,000.

 (AP) - Mississippi state troopers, police officers and sheriff's deputies are teaming up for a new program aimed at reducing drunk driving. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety is calling the program "Over the Limit. Under Arrest." Officers will be stepping up enforcement through Labor Day at the beginning of September. Representatives from several law enforcement agencies were scheduled to gather in Jackson Tuesday for a news conference to launch the campaign.

     The attack happened nearly a year ago. 

     Monday afternoon Circuit Court Judge William Chapman sentenced Shavers to 82 years in prison, which means he will likely never walk free again. 

     But the victim's granddaughter says Shavers should have gotten an even harsher sentence.

     "It's a shame and a disgrace that the Supreme Court doesn't allow the death penalty for rapists."

     The relative, who didn't want to be identified, says Shavers doesn't deserve to live after the brutal sexual assault.

     "He did what he was going to do. He took his own sweet time and then he left. I think that he should have gotten the death penalty no doubt in my mind"

     She says her grandmother, who is now 74, will never be the same.

     "She's a victim in her own home right now. And it's been almost a year later and she will always be a victim."

            A judge sentenced Kirby Shavers to 82 years for those charges as well as kidnapping, burglary and grand larceny. Coming up on News Channel 12 at 5, you will hear the victim’s granddaughter react to the sentence.

            Court records show that Shavers climbed through the window of the woman’s Rankin County home last year. Shavers then tied up the woman's grandson, assaulted her and stole her car.

            Shavers pleaded guilty to the charges last week.

Council Member Kenneth Stokes (Ward 3) says pawn shops that sell guns are at least partly responsible for gun violence.  There have been more than 30 murders in Jackson since the start of the year and countless more shootings.

“I asked the young folks, where are they getting their guns and they say the pawn shops. I asked the older people where are they getting their guns and they say the pawn shops," Stokes said.

One of the city's oldest pawn shops is Big Daddy's in the Battlefield Park neighborhood.  The store's owners say they sell about 700 guns each year.

"It would hurt my business tremendously not to be able to sell firearms," said Kevin Macdonald, owner of Big Daddy's.

Macdonald says people have to undergo background checks to purchase guns at his store.  He does not see a link between gun sales and gun crime. 

Stokes is holding a crime summit at Jackson City Hall at 6:30 Wednesday night to discuss other crime-fighting strategies.

The director of the Mississippi Innocence Project has been chosen to lead a legislative task force that will study better methods for collecting and preserving DNA evidence. The task force named Tucker Carrington its chairman on Monday during its first meeting.

Carrington's group is a chapter of the New York-based Innocence Project that works on behalf of inmates believed to be wrongly convicted. The New York organization's intervention in a pair of Mississippi cases helped exonerate two Noxubee County men earlier this year.

The 23-member task force is expected to present a report by Dec. 1. The members will recommend statewide standards for identification, collection and preservation of DNA, as well as training for law enforcement officers and others who handle that kind of evidence.

This year's senior class is the first to be required to take an economics course.

The Mississippi Council on Economic Education has been working with the Mississippi Department of Education training teachers statewide of all grade levels to be master economics teachers. Sue Stevens is special programs coordinator in the Lamar County School District, where the district has more master economics teachers than most other districts in Mississippi.

Although students will take an economics class their senior year, Stevens said the district is building a K-11 curriculum that has economics built in to other subject lessons. Heather Burch, assistant principal at Northwest Rankin High School, said students take a half-credit government class their senior year anyway, so a semester of economics fits right in.

(AP) - Mississippi emergency officials say work is ahead of schedule on a $221 million statewide emergency radio system. Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps, who chairs the 16-member Wireless Communications Commission, says it will be a few months before the system is operational in all areas of the Gulf Coast. The system allows officials to communicate from the Alabama to Louisiana state lines. Communication among emergency personnel and agencies came to a virtual standstill after Hurricane Katrina devastated much of southern Mississippi in 2005.

(AP) -

A property tax increase appears ahead for Forrest County residents as county supervisors examine budget issues related to plans for a new jail.

Supervisors plan a public hearing on the proposed 2008-09 budget next month. Property taxes could increase by 2.97 mills, meaning the total tax bill on a property assessed at $100,000 would increase by $28.80 next year.

Board President Charles Mills says he expects to hear complaints from taxpayers and he can understand that.

Sheriff Billy McGee says a rough cost estimate by the architect designing the new law enforcement complex is $25 million to $30 million.

Nearly 4,000 members of the country's only National Guard Stryker brigade will descend on a south Mississippi military base next month to begin training with their highly mobile vehicles for the unit's first deployment to Iraq.

Smaller groups of the Pennsylvania Guard's 56th Stryker Brigade, 28th Infantry Division, have been at Camp Shelby in recent weeks for annual training. They'll return in waves beginning in mid-September to begin working as a brigade-sized force for missions in Iraq.

More than 60,000 Guard soldiers from across the country have trained at Camp Shelby, a sprawling 136,000-acre base near Hattiesburg, since it was federally mobilized in 2004. But officials say this will be the first Stryker brigade to train at the base so some adjustments to the training may be needed.

Brett Favre has touched down in New York, and is already rubbing elbows with the city's top official. Favre, the New York Jets' newest quarterback, was introduced to the city by Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a packed City Hall press conference Friday.

A wide-eyed Favre walked into the Blue Room and was greeted by dozens of flashing camera lights. He got a number of gifts from Bloomberg, including a couple of cheesecakes.

The Jets acquired Favre from the Green Bay Packers for a conditional draft pick late Wednesday night. He was with the team for its preseason-opening victory at Cleveland, flew into town early Friday morning and quickly popped in for a visit to City Hall.

 (AP) - Nearly 4,000 members of the country's only National Guard Stryker brigade will descend on a south Mississippi military base next month to begin training with their highly mobile vehicles for the unit's first deployment to Iraq. Smaller groups of the Pennsylvania Guard's 56th Stryker Brigade, 28th Infantry Division, have been at Camp Shelby in recent weeks for annual training. They'll return in waves beginning in mid-September to begin working as a brigade-sized force for missions in Iraq. More than 60,000 Guard soldiers from across the country have trained at Camp Shelby, a sprawling 136,000-acre base near Hattiesburg, since it was federally mobilized in 2004. But officials say this will be the first Stryker brigade to train at the base so some adjustments to the training may be needed.

      In an update released Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration now projects an 85 percent probability of an above-normal season - up from 65 percent in May.

      The update says there is a better than average chance of 14 to 18 named storms, seven to 10 hurricanes and three to six hurricanes of at least Category 3 strength.

      That is for the whole season that ends November 30 and includes the five storms that have formed so far.

      In May, the outlook called for 12 to 16 named storms, six to nine hurricanes and two to five major ones. An average season has 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes.

U.S. District Court Judge Keith Starrett has ruled that the city of Hattiesburg did not violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by including dormitory students in the drawing of the city's wards.

A group of Hattiesburg residents sued the city in 2006 seeking to redraw the ward boundaries without the dormitory students included in the mix.

Starrett, in the 19-page ruling released Thursday, said the last ten years have witnessed remarkable progress by black voters to select representatives of their choice.

He said Hattiesburg had achieved a remarkably equitable racial balance in each segment of the city's government.

The New York Jets plan to introduce quarterback Brett Favre when they hold a news conference in Cleveland prior to tonight's preseason game against the Browns.

The Jets acquired the three-time NFL most valuable player from Green Bay last night, completing an ugly split between Favre and the Packers. Green Bay had been talking with the Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers since deciding earlier this week that they could no longer coexist with Favre.

According to NFL.com, the Packers will receive a fourth-round draft pick in 2009, or a third-rounder if Favre plays in 50 percent of the plays this season. The pick becomes a second-rounder if he plays in 70 percent and the Jets make the playoffs. Should the Jets make it to the Super Bowl and Favre takes 80 percent of the snaps, the Packers would get a first-round pick.

The bond between Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers appears to be broken beyond repair. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said this evening that after approximately six hours of what he called "brutally honest" conversations with Favre over the past two days, the three-time MVP just isn't in the right mind-set to be part of the team.

Even with the chance to win his starting job back potentially on the table, McCarthy said Favre couldn't seem to get past emotional wounds that were opened as tensions mounted in recent weeks.

McCarthy says the football team's moving forward. A trade could be coming next, with Tampa Bay re-emerging as a potential destination after seemingly being eliminated from consideration in recent weeks.

Coach Larry Fedora says junior running back Tory Harrison, who recently pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana, has been reinstated to the Southern Miss football team. Harrison was arrested on March 11 and charged with possession of marijuana over 1 ounce with intent to distribute.

Perry County-Forrest County District Attorney Jon Mark Weathers said Tuesday that Harrison pleaded guilty to possession and the judge has withheld adjudication in the case. Harrison is under probation with the Mississippi Department of Corrections, but terms were not available Tuesday night.

Harrison must report back to the court in six months when his case will be put under review.

Harrison played in 13 games last season for the Golden Eagles, starting in two. He had 393 total rushing yards (4.1 yards per carry) and five touchdowns.