Enterprise-Journal from McComb, Mississippi • Page A002

FROMPAGE1 Franklin County authorities reported 25 accidents, many on Highway 84 in the Lucien area, where cars were reportedly sliding off the highway. actually saw wrecks happen while we worked with the Highway Patrol on other Franklin County SheriffJames Newman said. He said the stretch of Highway 84 at Lucien was closed for about two hours late Thursday afternoon after an 18-wheeler slid on the slick road and jackknifed, blocking both sides ofthe highway. Boyd said state troopers worked 14 accidents in the Brookhaven area on Thursday. And he said one MHP patrol car was damaged on I-55 when a jackknifed 18- wheeler slid into it while a trooper was working another accident.

Boyd said the car was parked offthe highway and the trooper, who was out of his vehicle, was not injured. In other areas: McComb police worked a number ofaccidents scattered across the city Thursday, many ofthem involving cars going offInterstate 55 because ofice on the highway. The exact number ofacci- dents was undetermined at presstime. Walthall County emergency manager Roland Van- denweghe said authorities worked four accidents on Highway 98 near the Marion County line. Amite County authorities reported several accidents in the Amite River bottom area ofHighway 24 east ofLiberty, where cars ran off the highway.

Law enforcement officers said one contributor to the accidents was the de-icer the Mississippi Department of Transportation sprayed on highway bridges and overpasses. They said the chemical, which is supposed to keep ice from forming, failed to work properly. Bobby Wells, maintenance engineer for MDOT, said the de-icer was sprayed on the bridges before the wet weather hit and the road surfaces were dry. When the rains hit, he said, the moisture apparently diluted the de-icer, causing problems and forcing crews to go back out and put sand and salt on the bridges. was the first time we used the de-icer in the Wells said.

used it in the snow last year, and it worked He said de-icer was reapplied Thursday night when the rain quit, and it worked well. He said road crews were out today checking bridges and overpasses. Wells said MDOT officials are watching the highways and will determine what action to take to resolve icing problems tonight, when temperatures are expected to drop to 27 degrees. A2 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2011 PAGE TWO ENTERPRISE-JOURNAL, McCOMB, MISSISSIPPI www.enterprise-journal.com Published daily, except Saturday, by J.O. Emmerich and Associates P.O.

Box 2009, 112 Oliver Emmerich Drive, McComb, MS 39649. Periodicals Postage Paid at the post office in McComb, USPS 355-580. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to P.O. Box 2009, McComb, MS 39649. Subscription rates: $12.50 per month delivered by carrier.

$13.50 per month by mail. To subscribe call 601-684-2713. Miss Your Paper? Subscribers who miss their paper, or receive a paper in bad condition, can call our service department at 601-684-2713 from 4-6 p.m. Monday through Friday; or a.m. Sunday.

A paper will be delivered to subscribers in the McComb city limits. Other subscribers should notify their carrier. HERE A LWAYSA ARGAIN in the Enterprise-Journal classifieds Mississippi River stages Pearl River stages Cairo4020.0+1.8 Memphis34 2.6 Greenville4816.6+1.0 Vicksburg439.2+0.4 Natchez4817.20.0 Red River4822.2+0.2 Baton Rouge359.1-0.2 New Orleans172.7+0.1 Jackson 28 16.5 Rockport 25 Monticello 22 14.5 0.6 Columbia 178.3 1.1 SATURDAY Partly cloudy Hi: High 40s Lo: High 20s FloodStage24 hr StageThu.change FloodStage24 hr StageThu.change FloodStage24 hr StageThu.change FloodStage24 hr StageThu.change Here are winning numbers: Pick 3: 7-0-0 Pick 4: 3-8-7-8 LOUISIANA LOTTERY SUNDAY Partly cloudy Hi: Near 60 Lo: Mid-30s MONDAY Partly cloudy Hi: Low 50s Lo: High 20s TUESDAY Partly cloudy Hi: High 50s Lo: Mid-40s WEDNESDAY Cloudy Hi: High 50s Lo: High 20s FROMPAGE1 The campaign fund of Sen. Sidney Albritton, R- Picayune, grew to $30,835 with $24,850 in contributions last year. Albritton contributed $9,500 to his campaign, with another $10,000 from Leslie Albritton II.

Other area legislators raised less than $10,000 last year. Rep. Bill Pigott, R-Tylertown added $8,250 to his campaign fund, which grew to $33,591. Contributions included $1,000 from Pigott Oil in addition to $1,000 contributions from Western Resources and Market Max, both ofTylertown. Rep.

David Myers, D-McComb, spent $7,695 ofthe $7,800 he raised in 2010, leaving his campaign fund with $105. Political action committees comprised the majority ofthe contributions, with seven PACs contributing $3,150. The war chest for Sen. Bob Dearing, D-Natchez, is empty as the $5,800 received in 2010 was spent by end. Oil companies Chevron and Denbury Resources, and The Mississippi Dental PAC each contributed $1,000.

ExxonMobil gave him $500. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Brookhaven, received $6,205 in contributions in 2010. After spending $3,919, her campaign fund contains $6,665. Washington, D.C.-based Koch led the pack with a $1,000 contribution.

She is a consultant and cattle farmer and serving her third term in office. She is chairman ofthe Agricul- ture Committee. Hyde-Smith announced last month that she will run for state secretary ofagri- culture and commerce. Rep. Angela Cockerham, D-Magnolia, picked up $2,150 in contributions last year.

The influx brings her campaign fund to $3,250. She donated $400 to her campaign, and also picked up a $150 donation from W.I.N.G.S. WEATHER: Wet roads could refreeze tonight Win up to $300 daily in the Money Grab Machine! See Casino for details! TRADITIONAL JEWELERS EDGEWOOD MALL, MCCOMB 601-684-6797 .45 ct. Bridal Set SALE: 799 99 FROMPAGE1 Like Coghlan, Walsh advised motorists to continue using on bridges and overpasses, particularly with a projected low of27 degrees tonight. Ice covered nearly every bridge and caused a few wrecks in Walthall County Thursday evening, said county emergency manager Roland Vandenweghe.

Conditions were expected to improve throughout the day, he said. think out Vandenweghe said. and snow are out ofthe forecast. We think over ofright now, the freezing line passed Vanden- weghe said. should use some caution.

Ice is melting right now, but there could be some isolated spots on Area power outages were lower than expected, too. Entergy customer service manager Jim Hedges said the Osyka circuit showed a briefpower outage, which he said was likely caused by a limb brushing a power line. not quite out of the woods yet, but so far so Hedges said. were prepared for a lot worse than this. gotten just a little bit more ice, we probably gotten up to the point that it caused some Despite his optimism, Hedges said Entergy will be ready ifproblems pop up tonight or during another projected winter storm next week.

looks like it could just be one ofthose Hedges said. minutes ofrain at just the right time is the difference between a non-event and an ice storm. The margin is paper Magnolia Electric Power Association field any outage calls overnight, but a series ofoutage reports began about 6:15 this morning. Magnolia Electric member services director Lucy Shell said as many as 553 members lost power, but that number fell to about 59 by 8:45 this morning. were prepared for this she said.

goodness it as bad as it Most ofthe outages affected the northern part of the system north ofHigh- way 44 after an ice-covered limb on a line knocked out power to a circuit in the Friendship Community near River Road North. In Franklin County, 70 MEPA customers lost power, as did another 30 in Lincoln County. McComb, North Pike and South Pike school districts, as well as Parklane Academy and St. Alphonsus Catholic School remained closed today, as did Southwest Mississippi Community College. FUNDRAISING: Several lawmakers have under $10K Icicles hang from a grill of a truck at Howell Motors as a truck passes by on Highway 51.

MATT WILLIAMSON ENTERPRISE-JOURNAL WRECKS: MDOT has problems with de-icer THE WEATHER actually saw wrecks happen while we worked with the Highway Patrol on other James Newman Franklin County sheriff Log onto.