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JONESTOWN, Miss. (AP) — A small-town mayor in the Mississippi Delta is accused of stealing money that residents paid for their water bills and water line repairs. The state attorney general’s office says in a news release Tuesday that Jonestown Mayor Kenneth Lester has been released from jail without having to post bond. Lester was arrested Sunday after a grand jury indicted him on five counts of felony embezzlement. Four counts are tied to accusations that he took water payments for his own use between July 2017 and August 2018. One count accuses him of taking a city-owned handgun and pawning it for cash. Conviction on each charge carries up to 20 years in prison. It was not immediately clear whether he has an attorney. Jonestown has a population of about 1,300.

On Friday, December 7, 2018, the student led Christmas in the Park project announced a new way for individuals to give right from the convenience of their mobile phone. Today, the Christmas in the Park project kicks off its $1 Weekend campaign asking everyone to simply give $1 through Cash App. Organizers say it's free, easy, quick, and safe to give. Their goal is to at least raise $1,000 this weekend. To give using 'Cash App', on the app use cash tag: $HattiesburgChristmas or if you don't have Cash App you can simply give online by going to:  https://cash.me/$HattiesburgChristmas  . The Christmas in the Park project also has partnered with Hattiesburg Management Group to assist in coordinating the project. Hattiesburg Management Group has coordinated several major projects including the "Summer Job Fair" hosted by Hattiesburg City Council in June 2018. Once they raise enough funds, college students who attend local colleges in Hattiesburg such as William Carey University and the University of Southern Mississippi, will coordinate with Hattiesburg Management Group to buy clothes, shoes, and toys for helpless kids in the Pine Belt at the Christmas in the Park event. The Christmas in the Park event is scheduled Thursday evening, December 20, 2018 at Town Square Park. To give on behalf of a business/organization or simply for more information, you may call 601.861.5800 or email: ChristmasinthePark2018@yahoo.com.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A federal appeals court is not reviving a lawsuit that tried to block a Mississippi city from flying the state flag that includes the Confederate battle emblem. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week affirmed a district judge’s decision that dismissed the lawsuit against Ocean Springs. The lawsuit called the flag “racially demeaning and hostile” and claimed the city violated the federal Fair Housing Act by flying the flag and sending the message that black people are unwelcome. U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. ruled in June that plaintiffs didn’t prove they suffered unequal treatment by the Ocean Springs government. A panel of three appeals court judges agreed Monday. “The only act they allege is the City’s resolution requiring the Mississippi state flag to be flown over public buildings,” the appeals court judges wrote. “That is not a ‘discriminatory housing practice’ as required by the FHA, and plaintiffs are therefore not ‘aggrieved persons’ under the statute.” Ocean Springs didn’t fly the Mississippi flag for several years under a previous mayor. After a new mayor took office in July 2017, city officials returned the flag to some municipal buildings. The lawsuit was filed in April by a nonprofit group called the Mississippi Rising Coalition and by three local residents. About 10 percent of Ocean Springs’ nearly 17,700 residents are black, according to the Census Bureau. That compares to about 38 percent of Mississippi’s nearly 3 million residents. Mississippi has used the same flag since 1894, with the Confederate battle emblem in the upper left corner. People who voted in a statewide election in 2001 chose to keep the flag. However, several Mississippi cities and counties and all of the state’s public universities have stopped flying it in recent years amid criticism that the Confederate emblem is a racist reminder of slavery and segregation. Supporters of the flag say it represents history. Confederate symbols have been the subject of widespread debate across the South, particularly since the 2015 killing of nine worshippers at a church in Charleston, South Carolina, and violence in August 2017 when a white nationalist rally took place in Charlottesville, Virginia. Written by Emily Pettus

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A first-term Republican state lawmaker in Mississippi says he will announce next week whether he’s running for governor in 2019. Rep. Robert Foster of Hernando posted a Facebook video Saturday saying he’s considering the race. He issued invitations Wednesday for some sort of announcement next Tuesday. The current Republican governor, Phil Bryant, cannot seek a third term. Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves is expected to run for governor and would start with significantly more money than others. Reeves had $5.4 million in his campaign fund at the end of 2017. Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood announced in October that he’s in the governor’s race and said he had about $750,000. Another Democratic gubernatorial candidate is Velesha P. Williams. The retired Jackson State University employee says she has not started fundraising.

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — Members of a south Mississippi water association have to start over again if they want to remove the group’s board. Southern District Public Service Commissioner Sam Britton tells local news outlets that a previous petition to remove the board of the Arnold Line Water Association didn’t meet some requirements of state law. Some members have been unhappy with how the association operates. Arnold Line serves parts of suburban Hattiesburg in Lamar County. Some members are complaining about having to start over again, saying the Public Service Commission isn’t doing its job. However, the state Legislature has limited the commission’s ability to intervene in the affairs of water associations. Britton asked members to attend a Tuesday meeting to sign a new petition. Five percent of members, or 120, must sign.

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — The second year was a little easier for organizers of a gay pride parade in a Mississippi college town. It took a protracted standoff that included a lawsuit before Starkville’s elected officials permitted a gay pride parade earlier this year. Tuesday, alderman voted 4-3 to approve 2019′s application. The Commercial Dispatch reports three aldermen say they don’t think the city should spend on in-kind services for any parades, also voting Tuesday against a permit for a Martin Luther King Jr. march. Two opponents are African American. Aldermen originally rejected the Starkville Pride permit on a 4-3 vote last year, but Alderman David Little abstained from a second vote, allowing Mayor Lynn Spruill to break the tie in favor of the parade permit. This year, Little voted for the permit. Written by: The Commercial Dispatch

Young people are making a difference all across the Pine Belt. Do you know any outstanding young people who have shined in a special way this year? Young people are our future. They are the leaders of tomorrow. Sometimes, we can see that light in them today. They don't wait to have an impact, they take charge and make impacts today. Help us find them. If there is someone who you think we should consider who is 30 years or less who has made a significant impact in the Pine Belt, email us. Send all nominees to: info@thepinebeltnews.com. Please be sure to include what they have done to be included on our list, what's there current occupation, and as much info about the person as possible.

2018 has been a historical year caused by the actions of the mind. But who are those people and how have they shaped and or redefine 2018? As we try to define influence, think of someone who you can nominate as the most influential person of 2018. What is influence? Dictionary.com defines influence as the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something or the effect itself. Merriam- Webster defines influence as the power or capacity of causing effect in indirect or intangible ways. The Oxford dictionary describes influence as the power to shape policy or ensure favorable treatment from someone, especially through status, contacts, or wealth. Influence is the very essence of power. Influence is the foundation and root of power. That power can be used to cause change. That change can have a direct or indirect effect on someone or something. Help us find them. If there is someone who you think we should consider who has made a huge impact in your city, community, or area email us. Send all nominees to: info@thepinebeltnews.com. Please be sure to include what they have done to be included on our list, what's there current occupation, and as much info about the person as possible.

The world is full of movers and shakers. But who are they here in the Pine Belt? Who are the individuals that are taking the Pine Belt to the next level? Help us find them. If there is someone who you think we should consider who is 40 years or less who has made a significant impact in the Pine Belt, email us. Send all nominees to: info@thepinebeltnews.com. Please be sure to include what they have done to be included on our list, what's there current occupation, and as much info about the person as possible.

After organizers of 'The Christmas in the Park' event announced Thursday, November 29, 2018 they needed to raise $10,000 over the next few days, local businesses jumped into action to help. Friday, November 30, Raising Canes announced it would give 10% of the goal by giving $1,000. In a joint statement, Raising Cane's said, "Raising Cane's loves to support the local community !" Monday December 3, Regions Bank opened a special fund at all of its locations so that anyone can go in any Regions Bank and give any amount to the "Christmas in the Park Fund" to help reach the $10,000. The City of Hattiesburg says it's "definitely blessed" to have this kind of involvement in the city. Councilman Nick Brown said, "I believe students coming together to give back to the community of Hattiesburg is a very kind act and blessing to our community.” Some of the Executive Committee Members such as Brandon Dillion Ed.S, Reggie Taylor, and Jane Brockway, are very excited about both the support and event itself. Jane Brockway, a professor at William Carey University, says “It’s awesome to be in an area with businesses like Regions who are willing to support our children by opening a fund anyone can donate to!” “Lending a helping hand to the kids in our community is a personal mandate,” says Reggie Taylor, Dean of Students at Antonelli College. Brandon Dillion, Director of International Admissions at William Carey University says its an “honor” to add some “Christmas Magic” for local kids. “The community has blessed William Carey University and it is a blessing to have the opportunity to give back in some small way,” Prominent community leader Derrian Moye, known in the community as Mr. Hattiesburg, who was honored by the University of Southern Mississippi as the 'Hometown Hero', says by Friday, December 7, 2018, he believes more than $10,000 will be raised. "Everybody wants to help with this historic event in making sure every child in our area has a gift for Christmas. There are so many businesses, organizations, and individuals reaching out to help my fellow classmates and I." Once $10,000 is raised, college students from William Carey University, The University of Southern Mississippi, and Antonelli College will come together to buy clothing, shoes, and toys for 100's of kids in the Pine Belt. The Christmas in the Park event is set for Thursday, December 20, 2018 at Town Square Park, 100 Main St, in Downtown Hattiesburg, MS. For more information, you may email: ChristmasInThePark2018@yahoo.com or call 601.861.5800.

HOUSTON (AP) — He was the man who sought a “kinder, and gentler nation,” and the one who sternly invited Americans to read his lips — he would not raise taxes. He was the popular leader of a mighty coalition that dislodged Iraq from Kuwait, and was turned out of the presidency after a single term. Blue-blooded and genteel, he was elected in one of the nastiest campaigns in recent history. George Herbert Walker Bush was many things, including only the second American to see his son follow him into the nation’s highest office. But more than anything else, he was a believer in government service. Few men or women have served America in more capacities than the man known as “Poppy.” “There is no higher honor than to serve free men and women, no greater privilege than to labor in government beneath the Great Seal of the United States and the American flag,” he told senior staffers in 1989, days after he took office. Bush, who died late Friday at age 94 — nearly eight months after his wife of 73 years died at their Houston home — was a congressman, an ambassador to the United Nations and envoy to China, chairman of the Republican National Committee, director of the CIA, two-term vice president and, finally, president. George H.W. Bush, whose presidency soared with the coalition victory over Iraq in Kuwait, but then plummeted in the throes of a weak economy that led voters to turn him out of office after one term, has died. He was 94 (Dec 1) Air Force One was being sent to Texas to transport Bush’s casket to Washington, where his body will lay in state at the Capitol Rotunda. The public can pay their respects from Monday evening through Wednesday morning. Bush will be buried Thursday on the grounds of his presidential library at Texas A&M University at the family plot next to his wife Barbara, who died in April, and their 3-year-old daughter Robin, who died in 1953. The Bush family is still arranging funeral services, but the White House said President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump plan to attend. Bush was no ideologue — he spoke disparagingly of “the vision thing,” and derided the supply-side creed of his future boss, Ronald Reagan, as “voodoo economics.” He is generally given better marks by historians for his foreign policy achievements than for his domestic record, but assessments of his presidency tend to be tepid. “Was George Bush only a nice man with good connections, who seldom had to wrest from life the honors it frequently bestowed on him?” journalist Tom Wicker asked in his Bush biography. Wicker’s answer: Perhaps. But he said Bush’s actions in Kuwait “reflect moments of courage and vision worthy of his office.” The Persian Gulf War — dubbed “Operation Desert Storm” — was his greatest mark on history. In a January 2011 interview marking the war’s 20th anniversary, he said the mission sent a message that “the United States was willing to use force way across the world, even in that part of the world where those countries over there thought we never would intervene.” “I think it was a signature historical event,” he added. “And I think it will always be.” President George H.W. Bush talks to reporters in the White House Rose Garden after meeting with top military advisors to discuss the Persian Gulf War. After Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Bush quickly began building an international military coalition that included other Arab states. After freeing Kuwait , he rejected suggestions that the U.S. carry the offensive to Baghdad, choosing to end the hostilities a mere 100 hours after the start of the ground offensive. “That wasn’t our objective,” he said. “The good thing about it is there was so much less loss of human life than had been predicted, and indeed than we might have feared.” But the decisive military defeat did not lead to the regime’s downfall, as many in the administration had hoped. “I miscalculated,” Bush acknowledged. The Iraqi leader was eventually ousted in 2003, in the war led by Bush’s son that was followed by a long, bloody insurgency. Unlike his son, who joined the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam era but served only in the U.S., the elder Bush was a bona fide war hero. He joined the Navy on his 18th birthday in 1942 over the objections of his father, Prescott, who wanted him to stay in school. At one point the youngest pilot in the Navy, he flew 58 missions off the carrier USS San Jacinto. His wartime exploits won him the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery. He was shot down on Sept. 2, 1944, while completing a bombing run against a Japanese radio tower. Eight others who were shot down in that mission were captured and executed, and several were eaten by their captors. But an American submarine rescued Bush. Even then, he was an inveterate collector of friends: Aboard the sub Finback, “I made friendships that have lasted a lifetime,” he would write. This was a man who hand wrote thousands of thank you notes — each one personalized, each one quickly dispatched. Even his political adversaries would acknowledge his exquisite manners. Admonished by his mother to put others first, he rarely used the personal pronoun “I,” a quirk exploited by comedian Dana Carvey in his “Saturday Night Live” impressions of the president. Written by Michael Graczyk