Mississippi
Ruth Graham helps dedicate new women’s chapel at Mississippi prison
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JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A new women’s chapel is offering a sense of freedom and hope for female inmates at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility.
They beam with pride as they share what they’re creating for their prison community.
“It’s a testimony to the whole prison, the whole state that God is here and God is at work,” said Ruth Graham, daughter of famed evangelist Billy Graham.
She’s become more of a friend to some of these women who participated in a webinar based on her book on forgiveness in the summer of 2021.
“Well I tell my story because with my father being gone so often, I had abandonment issues,” noted Graham. “And I didn’t know that until I was an adult, and very difficult and caused repercussions in my life. And so I had to forgive my father. Now, I know people go ‘What do you have to forgive Billy Graham for?’ But he was absent. And when I needed a daddy close by, he was usually farther away. And so I missed that.”
She says sharing her story, she finds the inmates became more vulnerable and opened up to her. Since those classes, 12 of these women have received their seminary degrees.
“This is transformation,” she explained. “This is not reformation. And that’s what we’re all about.”
The chapel represents the first of nine chapels planned at different MDOC facilities around the state. But none are being funded with taxpayer dollars.
They’re all funded with private donations. Commissioner Burl Cain says it’s all part of a broader plan for the system.
“The whole point here, there’s really gang abatement because you create these churches, and then you create the preacher that we’re preaching with the seminary, then they plant churches, just like you would be in any community or city or another foreign land,” explained Cain. “And so therefore, as you build these churches, and they become groups, then the gains have to go away.”
“Giving these individuals that are incarcerated here an opportunity that none of this is mandatory,” added Governor Tate Reeves. “This is something that they get to choose to do, and it gives them hope.”
The women who’ve graduated from seminary will be the ones holding services in the chapel with other inmates in attendance.
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Mississippi
Mississippi River causes widespread flooding in Wabasha
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WABASHA, Minn. (KTTC) – Many Minnesota communities living close to the Mississippi River faced flood warnings as water levels rose over the weekend. The city of Wabasha is one of the most significantly impacted areas with many streets and parks under water.
“We had a flood here last year, and it was our fourth highest crest in history,” City of Wabasha Emergency Management Director Riley Castello said. “This one is about two feet shy of that.”
According to Castello, water levels at the river peaked on Monday; on Tuesday afternoon, it sat at 15-feet.
“We’ve had to close down five of our major parks and a couple of streets in town.” Castello said.
Due to the severe weather and flooding, both the city and Wabasha County declared a local state of emergency, being one of the 22 counties approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a federal disaster declaration.
“It’s frustrating that we can’t just get in moderation. We just came out of a drought. Last year was incredibly dry and the river level was low comparatively. This year, we just can’t stop getting the rain. And now we have water standing in fields.”
According to the National Eagle Center, the severe weather did not significantly impact the amount of visitors it received. “Overall, I don’t think the number of visitors have been impacted by the weather,” Director of Marketing and Communications Ed Hahn said. “ Maybe a little bit when it rains, you get fewer people going out.”
Castello shared there are currently many uncertainties with how the flood waters will be cleared and the restoration process will undergo. He said property damage estimates cannot be determined until water levels go down.
“We gasped when we saw the flooding,” said Maria Gorde, who was in Wabasha on Tuesday for a visit. “We had seen it online, but seeing it in person was like, ‘Wow.’”
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Copyright 2024 KTTC. All rights reserved.
Mississippi
Mississippi probation officer arrested on seven counts of embezzlement
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JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A probation officer was arrested on seven counts of embezzlement.
Lacosta Lee is accused of receiving court-ordered fines and fees from those on probation and using them for her personal use.
She is a contracted probation officer for Court Programs, Inc.
Lee was served with a $7,558.50 demand letter at the time of her arrest.
She faces up to $5,000 in fines and 20 years per count if convicted.
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Mississippi
Mississippi River not cooperating, but Riverfest will still Riverfest in La Crosse
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The river parts of Riverfest near downtown La Crosse won’t be happening this year. Well, there’s just one part, really.
The River City Water Ski Team had to cancel its part of the show, because the Mississippi River is too high and will actually crest at 15 feet Wednesday, the opening day of Riverfest.
Past events on the river haven’t happened in a few years, including flyboarding — where water jets on your feet simulate floating — and pole vaulting off a barge in the Mississippi.
“We actually have trouble finding a barge that we can rent, basically that business has taken off exponentially,” Riverfest board member Brad Pitel said. “So, when the barges are being used, we don’t have that opportunity.”
Cancelling events hasn’t happened often, and sometimes they’re not even river related. In 2018, the July 4 fireworks had to happen on July 5.
“There was a massive storm that blew through with like 60-70 mph winds right through La Crosse,” Pitel said.
Riverfest opens at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Riverside Park and runs through Saturday night, with multiple big musical acts.
Josh Ross, Drake Milligan and Blue Collar 40 kick things off. The finale Saturday night is Country Line Drive. Check the full schedule of events here.
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