BRIEFS
Leading this year’s slate of storytellers is Anna Wolfe, a Mississippi Today reporter and investigative journalist. In addition to Wolfe, other speakers include Duwayne Burnside, a Mississippi Blues singer, David Garraway, Mississippi State University Television Center director, Zach Lancaster, a crew member for HGTV’S “Home Town” and Benjamin Saulsberry, tour coordinator at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center.
Additionally, the communication department has invited undergraduate students from universities and colleges around the state to submit original nonfiction writing, podcasts and short documentary films as part of a Story State Storytelling Competition. Three of these submissions will receive Master Storyteller awards during the event.
Bright idea: Coast bridge will get energy-efficient lights
OCEAN SPRINGS — Lights that are brighter and more energy-efficient will be installed along a busy bridge on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation plans to replace existing light fixtures by the end of the year on the U.S. Highway 90 bridge that connects Biloxi and Ocean Springs. Several lights have been out of order for months on the bridge that goes over Biloxi Bay.
The bridge has pedestrian lanes that are separated from the traffic lanes, and it is a popular spot for walkers and runners.
WLOX-TV reports that the transportation department will install LED lights that use less power. The cities of Ocean Springs and Biloxi will then be in charge of maintenance.
Mississippi Lottery adds $75M to state revenue since July
JACKSON — Mississippi has collected more than $75 million since July 1 from the state lottery.
State law specifies that the first $80 million collected each budget year will go toward highway construction and maintenance, and the next $80 million will go to education.
The budget year runs from July 1 through June 30.
The Mississippi Lottery Corporation is the private company that runs the lottery. It announced Thursday that the state collected $23.6 million from lottery games in January.
The corporation president, Tom Shaheen, says there was “astonishing growth” in people playing Powerball and Mega Millions games because of large jackpots.
Former CFO of Mississippi city sentenced for embezzlement
COLUMBUS — The former chief financial officer of a Mississippi city has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to embezzlement — the maximum sentence for that crime.
The Commercial Dispatch reported that Milton Rawle, 49, entered the guilty plea Monday in Lowndes County Circuit Court.
Rawle worked for the city of Columbus from 2013 to 2019. Investigators said he moved $288,893 from city accounts to his personal accounts between December 2016 and December 2018.
The maximum sentence for embezzlement of more than $25,000 is 20 years in prison. Circuit Judge Lee Coleman said he “couldn’t imagine” imposing less than the maximum, given the amount of public money Rawle admitted to taking. Because embezzlement is a nonviolent offense, Rawle will be eligible for parole consideration after five years.
Coleman also directed Rawle to pay $108,388 in restitution. The rest of the money has been paid in surety bonds.
Rawle resigned in February 2019 after a 16-day suspension for failing to alert officials about the city’s deficit until November 2018. The city operated at a deficit exceeding $800,000 in both Fiscal Year 2017 and FY 2018, plunging its general fund balance to $2.3 million.
After Rawle’s resignation, certified public accountant Wanda Holley found discrepancies in the city’s FY 2018 audit report and turned the case over to the State Auditor’s Office for investigation.