WCBI New at Six - 07/29/2020

WCBI New at Six - 07/29/2020

Approaching.

It's the final day for people who are receiving extended unemployment help.

These benefits have added an extra $600 to budgets stretched thin by layoffs and business closings.

Now that extra cash has run dry..

Wcbi's bobby martinez joins us live in the studio with a look at what people can expect.

Joey, that extra six hundred dollars has helped eliminate the financial stress for thousands of mississippians.

But the uncertainty of covid and the lack of agreement among lawmakers in washington means - the future is still up in the air.

"we need help, and we need this to continue."

What was once a financial relief to millions of jobless americans across the country..

Will now be a thing of the past come friday.... sot - valerie smith - received benefits - starkville.

"it has helped me and my family a whole lot during the unemployment.

Because without the extra $600 i wasn't knowing how to keep a roof over our head or how we was going to eat or pay all the bills."

Smith, who has been on unemployment since march went back to work just this week..

She is worried for those who relied on that extra cash to pay their bills.

Sot - valerie smith - received benefits- starkville.

"so now that the $600 is ending, not only myself, there's going to be a lot of families out there hurt.

How are they supposed to pay the rent?

How are they supposed to pay the utility bills or feed their kids?

Because if you go back to work during the coronavirus and you get sick, you have to go back on unemployment again and then what?"

Kaylee berry, deputy director for the office reemployment assistance here in mississippi..

Says there isn't another option for those looking to receive extra money at the moment..

But there are talks between congressional leaders on an extension..

Sot - kaylee berry, deputy director, mdes "it is my understanding that there is ongoing discussion about a potential extension or a possible form of the $600 payment that maybe passed moving forward."

So what if an employee is asked to come back to work during this pandemic..

Sot - kaylee berry, deputy director, mdes "there may be conditions where a person might be directly impacted by covid.

That would allow them to have ongoing eligibility even if they did not return to work but it will be based on their circumstances the circumstances of the job offer to them, suitable work, a lot of factors come into play."

Berry says you can also seek help in finding a job by berry says you can also seek help in finding a job by visiting the states unemployment website.

And i'll have that link posted for you on our website as well... beware of those who say they can get your money for you quicker.

The alabama department of labor warns folks to lookout for fraud and always protect your personal information.

This is the website you can go to in alabama if you think someone may be using your information to for file for unemployment.

It's a new portal on the alabama labor department's website.

You can report potential fraud here.

And remember, there is never a charge from the state labor department for their work to help people collect unemployment.

For many mothers, it's a lifeline.

The women's, infants and children food distribution center provides families with supplemental foods - everything from eggs and dairy, produce, baby foods and formula.

But the lowndes county wic center is closing - for good.

Wic is a subset of the mississippi state department of health and has helped provide families with goods for nearly five decades.

With the lowndes county branch closing, participants will be forced to drive to neighboring counties to continue with the program.

But for many families, that's just not possible.

"a lot of people come on their lunch breaks.

I do know a lot of people don't have transportation, so it's already hard for them to come out here with it being so far out."

"i know a lot of people that utilize this service every month that can't afford to suppliment milk and things like that, and it will be very, very hurtful to them to not be able to have it."

Wic participants must go through multiple steps before they are accepted into the program.

We have reached out to the state department of health for comment.

We have yet to hear back from them.

Individual mississippians are financially impacted by covid- 19 and city budgets are also feeling the pocket pinch// some people are staying home meaning they're shopping less// that means a drop in sales tax revenue// sales tax is the fuel for city budgets across the the state// with less revenue city's will have to find ways to get more money back in which could mean cuts to important services// executive director for the mississippi municipal league, shari veazey says this big issue across the state// "some of our cities, particularly the mid to smaller ones, have not seen a lot in the way of expenses, but they've seen dips in revenue.

Even in a small town just a little bit of revenue loss is serious issue because they don't really have a way to make that up.

Nobody wants to raise property taxes, and in some of our smaller communities, a mil doesn't generate a lot of property tax, so that isn't really a good solution anyway."

The mississippi munileague is asking congress to pass a fourth stimulus bill that would allow cities to use funds to replace revenue loss// the numbers aren't any better today.

More than 15 hundred mississippians test positive for covid- 19.

Here are the new numbers from the mississippi state department of health.

One thousand five hundred five new cases, along with 20 deaths are being reported today.

Locally, lowndes county saw the biggest jump with 52 new cases.

Other high numbers came from lafayette county with 29 and winston county with 22 new cases.

Lee county had 19.

More than 12 hundred people are in the hospital with suspected or confirmed covid-19.

178 of them are on ventilators.

There are 197 long- term care facility outbreaks in the state.

The mississippi state department of health is giving more guidance to employers on when to let employees who test positive return to work.

State health officer dr. thomas dobbs says the employee does not need a negative covid-19 test in order to be back on the job.

"people's test will stay positive for a long time after they are no longer contagious.

Currently, the cdc does not recommend retesting anyone who has tested positive for 90 days, because we know it can stick around for such a long time.

So, if someone has coronavirus they need to be isolated, away from work, and at home for 14 days and may not return until that point.

In addition, they must be asymptomatic for 24 hours."

More information can be found on the state department of health's website.

Alabamians will have to continue to wear face coverings in public.

Governor kay ivey extended the state's mask mandate today for another month.

One key change is that masks will be required on all school and college campuses.

Students 2nd grade and older must wear them.

The order was set to expire friday, but will continue until august 31.

State hospital officials urged the governor to keep the mandate in place, citing the decreasing icu availability across the state.

First look stinger wednesday night: variably cloudy with a few lingering showers or storms possible.

Lows in the 70s.

Thursday- saturday: clusters of showers and storms from time to time.

Some storms may produce locally heavy rainfall and occasional gusty breezes.

Highs in the upper 80s to around 90 with lows in the 70s.

Wednesday night: variably cloudy centered itawamba community college releases its plans to re-open, with precautions and safety measures in place.

The plan is based on guidelines from healthcare professionals, feedback from students and employees along with icc leadership and recommendations from the college's reopening task force.

Areas such as residence halls, campus dining and academic buildings are all included.

Starting august 3rd, masks will be required in all icc buildings.

"we've really excited about many of the changes we have in place, we have some neat things in place in classrooms that will help us create physical distancing, allow us to use our technology, so if students aren't able to be with us we still have technology in the classroom that will help them be a part of that classroom, so we're very excited about what the fall brings, i look forward to everybody being back and ask that you continue to take precautions to protect your health, and your well being" residence hall move in days have been expended to allow for social distancing.

Those move in days are august 15th and august 16th.

Classes begin august 17th.

Stinger do not let them in.

Why one utility company says they won't be coming inside.

A cautionary tale ahead on wcbi news at 6.

Many college students are starting to move back to starkville before the fall semester// and starkville utilities is warning folks to keep an eye out -- some people are disguising themselves as utilities workers.

Our savannah gaido tells us signs of a scammer.

The city of starkville warning residents about an ongoing scam// in a recent twitter post, starkville utilities says someone's posing as starkville utilities worker to get inside an apartment or house.

General manager at starkville utilities terry kemp says the metering equipment is on the outside of those buildings.

"so if a person make a request for a new service or transfer service or whatever, we access it from outside and we do not go in."

That's one of the biggest red flags to catch if you think you're being scammed// kemp also says with today's technology, they can do some of the work right from their office// "on our electric side, we have capabilities where almost all of our electric meters are remotely controlled, so in most cases it doesn't even require for us to go on site."

A few helpful tips....if you think you're the target of a possible scam---ask for more identification from the person.

Ask questions that might pertain to the service the scammer says you need....or kemp says you can always give them a call// "it may be a bill pay, so although this is something that starkville utilities does not go into connect services, we do not call or demand payments or something online, too.

Thats handled in a different approach.

So anytime anyone has a bit of concern or question about something they received from us please give us a call.

Because what i think we want to do is explain and to make sure that they have all of the information that they have and they need to they can take the correct action."

If you have any issues like this... call starkville police.

Stinger 2-shot weather open summary: rain chances will remain elevated through saturday with deep tropical moisture, a weak front, and little disturbances in place.

Any location may get some locally heavy rainfall along with the chance for some gusty breezes.

Wednesday night: variably cloudy with a few lingering showers or storms possible.

Lows in the 70s.

Thursday- saturday: clusters of showers and storms from time to time.

Some storms may produce locally heavy rainfall and occasional gusty breezes.

Highs in the upper 80s to around 90 with lows in the 70s.

Sunday-wednesday: rain chances lower but a few pop-up cells are possible each and every day.

Highs stay in the upper 80s to around 90 with slightly cooler overnight lows in the upper 60s to around 70.

Tropics: a tropical disturbance near puerto rico may become a tropical storm later tonight or thursday morning as it moves towards florida.

Recent data suggest the system will curve away from our region before it would become a concern for the northern gulf coast.

Follow @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app summary: rain chances will remain elevated through saturday with deep tropical moisture, a weak front, and little disturbances in place.

Any location may get some locally heavy rainfall along with the chance for some gusty breezes.

Wednesday night: variably cloudy with a few lingering showers or storms possible.

Lows in the 70s.

Thursday- saturday: clusters of showers and storms from time to time.

Some storms may produce locally heavy rainfall and occasional gusty breezes.

Highs in the upper 80s to around 90 with lows in the 70s.

Sunday-wednesday: rain chances lower but a few pop-up cells are possible each and every day.

Highs stay in the upper 80s to around 90 with slightly cooler overnight lows in the upper 60s to around 70.

Tropics: a tropical disturbance near puerto rico may become a tropical storm later tonight or thursday morning as it moves towards florida.

Recent data suggest the system will curve away from our region before it would become a concern for the northern gulf cocoast.

Follow @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app summary: rain chances will remain elevated through saturday with deep tropical moisture, a weak front, and little disturbances in place.

Any location may get some locally heavy rainfall along with the chance for some gusty breezes.

Wednesday night: variably cloudy with a few lingering showers or storms possible.

Lows in the 70s.

Thursday- saturday: clusters of showers and storms from time to time.

Some storms may produce locally heavy rainfall and occasional gusty breezes.

Highs in the upper 80s to around 90 with lows in the 70s.

Sunday-wednesday: rain chances lower but a few pop-up cells are possible each and every day.

Highs stay in the upper 80s to around 90 with slightly cooler overnight lows in the upper 60s to around 70.

Tropics: a tropical disturbance near puerto rico may become a tropical storm later tonight or thursday morning as it moves towards florida.

Recent data suggest the system will curve away from our region before it would become a concern for the northern gulf coast.

Follow @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app stinger the high school football tour heads to west point to check-in with the oak hill academy raiders see the preview, next in sports spx open we continue the high school football tour with a look at oak hill academy.

First year head coach bill rosenthal looks to bring a new culture to the raiders for the new season.

Oak hill is stop number 38 on the tour.

New season.

New head coach for oak hill academy entering 2020.

Bill rosenthal is now in charge of the raiders.

Rosenthal is familiar with the team since he's been with the program the last 3 years.

Now, as head coach, he's prioritizing a sense of urgency to get the team back on track.

"we got red lines everywhere.

When you cross the red line, you don't walk.

You're on the job.

You're on the move.

We have a small team of 20 kids so we go to be in shape and keep moving.

Instead of running 80 sprints to get in shape, we do it by running to each group.

Jogging full speed."

"we've had a phenomenal summer.

Everybody's been here.

Everybody's been giving it their all.

It's just a whole different approach.

We got a new better culture.

I think we're having fun with it honestly."

"we're more fired up to be here.

Just ready to get after it and win some games."

To come away with some wins, it starts at practice.

The players say that the entire team has been giving its all.

Evidence of how close how knit this bunch is.

"when you're in town, you got to be here.

He trusts us.

I feel like we trust him very much.

We have a good relationship right now."

"just to not give up really.

Come out everyday at practice and not mess around and get things done."

Expect to see the raiders flying around the field as rosenthal is putting in a system designed around his players.

"they've worked hard and accepted their goals so far.

We're excited to get started."

"the coaches are coming around to what we have and not what we don't have.

We don't have much size, but we're fast.

We're quick.

We're athletic.

We're going to work on that.

Instead of trying to be the bigger man, we're gonna be the faster man that works harder."

"we're going to mix it up and do a lot of different things we haven't done in the past.

Just get defenses to do what we want them to do.

He's going to put us in situations where we make the plays."

One player that looks to make a leap this season and thrive in the new system is returning starting quarterback cameron dill.

"he's really athletic.

He knows the game.

I feel like the more he plays the better he's getting every year.

The smarter he gets.

The more he understands it.

I'm just grateful for him."

"he knows a little bit more and how here's a look at the upcoming stops for any stops that you may have for any stops that you may have missed along the way you can always check out our website, wcbi.com just across the state line... an inspirational 10 year-old fayette, alabama boy gets his dream job of becoming a deputy sheriff for a day.

"now you got your badge, and guess what you get to do until we get to highway 102?

You get to ride with the sheriff, lights and sirens."

Patrick foster got the big surprise this morning before going to children's of alabama hospital in birmingham for surgery.

Sheriff byron yerby and three deputies gave the big sendoff.

Patrick was diagnosed with hydrocephalus and gorlin's syndrome and has multiple complications.

Patrick loves to sing, preach, and pray.

His mother, natosah hopes people realize the significance of accepting those who are special in their own way and law enforcement.

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