WCBI NEWS AT TEN - SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

WCBI NEWS AT TEN - SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

Thanks for staying up with us tonight, i'm cash matlock.

Struggles with internet access in rural mississippi isn't a new topic.

But northern district public service commissioner brandon presley was recently made aware of a roadblock many are facing as they search for access.

Courtney ann jackson explains.

Public service commissioner brandon presley is learning more about how mississippians' address impacts their access.

"people are being told they need to pay tens of thousands of dollars if they want internet service to their house."

Once that's paid, what happens when other consumers connect to that line?"

Presley says at least one mississippian has contacted him to say they paid 7,000 to get that internet access.

Presley says it's not just one cable or telecom company with these business models.

"people are being asked to absorb all the risks upfront, pay all the money up front in hopes of every getting service.

And to use an old country phrase...that dog won't hunt."

This is one example sent to presley.

I spoke with the pontotoc county resident who says they currently use a hotspot in the home.

When they inquired about getting comcast---this is what they were quoted---a construction cost of 257,638 dollars to make her address serviceable.

That would involve 5 plus miles of underground cable and more than a mile of aerial cable.

When asked about the quote and if it was standard---comcas t told us.... that's not a typical quote they would give to bring service to a neighborhood.

But do say that in rural areas far away from their network the costs could be higher depending on the amount of construction needed.and added that they do not charge customers any beyond the actual cost of construction.

"this is one of the biggest roadblocks that's out there because people cannot afford to pay that upfront.

We've got to have a system by which mississippians are able to get broadband access, pay a monthly fee and we have to have a goal of getting it to every home in the state."

The family didn't pursue the service after receiving the quote.

Courtney ann jackson, 3 on your side.

First look stinger first look summary: a cold front will spark a few showers and storms on friday.

It will also usher in lower humidity levels for the start of the long holiday weekend.

Overnight lows will be much more comfortable saturday morning and sunday morning.

Thursday night: mainly clear to partly cloudy.

Lows in the lower 70s.

Light winds.

Friday: a mix of sun & clouds with a 30% chance of a few showers and storms. most of in national news... a new bulletin from the department of homeland security spells out how russia is promoting falsehoods about mail in voting... echoing president trump's unsubstantiated claim that it will lead to fraud.

The memo also says the disinformation campaign targeted the democratic primaries and tried to undermine then- candidate joe biden.

Back on the campaign trail for president trump tonight....to the key battleground state of pennsylvania.

With 20 electoral votes up for grabs, both campaigns are making the state a frequent stop.

It's the the president's third visit to pennsylvania since may.

Biden has made six trips since june.

But there's stunning news tonight that russia is once again trying to help mister trump win the election...with the department of homeland security assessing moscow is "amplifying criticisms of vote by mail."

In a new bulletin obtained by cbs news, d-h-s said russian proxy websites claim mail in voting would "create vast opportunities for voter fraud".

Much of the language mirrors president trump's own words: "something about fraud.

The new alert also says russia is erroneously claiming "ineligible voters could receive ballots due to out of date voter rolls"...leaving them "vulnerable to tampering" "dead people and dogs are getting ballots" now, the president has a ánewá suggestion for voters... that they should show up in person to vote, even if they mail in a ballot because it may not be counted.

"so send it in early and then go and vote.

And if it's not tabulated, you vote and the vote is going to count."

But in may, he said this: "if you told a republican to vote twice, they'd get sick at even the thought of it."

The north carolina attorney general tweeted that president trump is asking people to "break the law to help him sow chaos"...and the board of elections warned voting twice is a felony.

Press secretary kayleigh mcenany insisted the president does not condone unlawful voting.

This president is trying to enfranchise americans which is exactly what he's been saying.

He wants everyone american to have a vote.

New at ten stinger a vacant house near ackerman goes up in flames this afternoon.

This is video sent to us by a helpful viewer.

In it, you can see firefighters battling a blaze that's consuming this house on hwy 15 outside of ackerman.

Witnesses say the fire started around 6:30.

No one was in the house.

Viewers tell wcbi the home owner is currently in texas.

Right now, it's unclear what may have caused the fire.

The choctaw county sheriff's department is investigating the incident.

The mississippi department of health is reporting 751 new cases of coronavirus.

Today's report also shows 10 new deaths in the state- one of those in lee county.

The number of patients with confirmed or suspected covid-19 symptoms in hospitals across the state is 653.

188 people are in i.c.u.

Lafayette county has the most new cases in our area with 63.

Lee county has 31 news cases.

Oktibbeha has 29.

A total of 85,116 cases have been reported across the state and more than 25-hundred deaths.

Local law enforcement agencies are preparing for the upcoming labor day holiday weekend.

And they're increasing patrols to make sure everyone is following the rules put in place because of covid 19.

People traditionally spend the holiday at cookouts and other high- attendance events.

But beware- officers will be watching for parties that violate the governor's order regarding indoor and gatherings.

The sheriffs in oktibbeha and clay county say they hope people follow guidelines and celebrate safely.

The current guidelines from the state department of health limit outdoor gatherings to a maximum of 20 people.

Monitor intro the lowndes county port authority is speeds up production... mississippi department of transportation awarded nearly 800-thousand dollars for the port to purchase a new crane.

Our stephanie poole has more on the story.

Hauling in stone, gravel and other materials from barges just got a little quicker.

On thursday, the lowndes county port received a new crane.

" whether you're on the canal or whether you're on the highways or sitting at a port facility, time is money."

John caldwell is commissioner of transportation of the northern district.

He says cost of production will be lower.

"when you can bring in a piece of equipment like this that can speed that time up everyone is going to win on that."

Butt sots " we have only a certain amount of time to get these barges unloaded until they start charging us to merge where the boat is sitting and that's very expensive.

With this here it's made us get it out in a real timely fashion."

Port manager eddie rushing says the crane cost a little over a million dollars.

739-thousand dollar grant is being awarded by mdot.

The port is covering the remaining balance.

Port and waterways director robby burt believes it'll bring more economic opportunities to the area.

"water is the most efficient and safest way to actually move products and it lends itself to larger bought materials like they handle typically at this port.

It's going to continue to grow.

Traffic on the tennessee-tom river is going to grow."

And with a newer model, the time it took to finish a job is cut in half.

"we went from about seven hours of 15-hundred ton barges to about four hours.

We've cut off about 3 hours of time worth unloading so that makes us more efficient.

It makes us more attractive to way we can bid jobs a little cheaper and actually be more competitive with the other parts of the margin bringing materials in."

Port officials say the process of off loading materials will gradually progress as the equipment is used.

Stinger wx open summary: a cold front will spark a few showers and storms on friday.

It will also usher in lower humidity levels for the start of the long holiday weekend.

Overnight lows will be much more comfortable saturday morning and sunday morning.

Thursday night: mainly clear to partly cloudy.

Lows in the lower 70s.

Light winds.

Friday: a mix of sun & clouds with a 30% chance of a few showers and storms. most of the activity should be on the way out heading into the evening and that bodes well for high school football.

Highs are going to be in the low 90s with nnw winds 5-15 mph.

Friday night: variably cloudy and quiet.

Much cooler lows in the mid to upper 60s.

Saturday: mostly sunny to partly cloudy.

Warm highs in the upper 80s but lower humidity level will make it feel pretty good.

Saturday night: clear, quiet, and cool.

Lows in the mid to low 60s.

Sunday: partly cloudy and warm.

Highs in the upper 80s to low 90s.

Sunday night: staying quiet and comfortable.

Lows in the upper 60s.

Labor day: partly cloudy and warm.

Highs in the low 90s.

A few spotty storms are possible but the rain chance is just 20%.

Tuesday-thursday: various forecast models suggest that there could be some rain & storms coming our way followed by a bit of a cool down for the end of the week.

Data is still very uncertain so it's hard to tell what will pan out.

Follow @wcbiweather on facebook, twitter, instagram, and the wcbi news app summary: a cold front will spark a few showers and storms on friday.

It will also usher in lower humidity levels for the start of the long holiday weekend.

Overnight lows will be much more comfortable saturday morning and sunday morning.

Thursday night: mainly clear to partly cloudy.

Lows in the lower 70s.

Light winds.

Friday: a mix of sun & clouds with a 30% stinger tips on how to stay safe over the holiday weekend..

That's coming up next on health talk with baptist.

Stay with us.

Cash 3 tonight, part three of our conversation on water safety.

Here's health talk with baptist.

Take a look.

No script billboard attached stinger the first week of football season is in for quite the showdown...court ney has more on the endzone game of the week, next in sports spx high school football returns in full swing this friday night and so does wcbi endzone that means, ladies and gentlemen...it's time to reveal our first game of the week of 2020 you probably already guessed it...game of the week will be one the fiercest rivalries in the g-t- r....west point at starkville the greenies coming off a the team's fourth straight state title and heading into the nest to take on return quarterback luke altmeyer and company we'll be live from the nest on friday getting you ready for the season as well as to prepare you for the heated battle between the jackets and greenies former greenie and current mississippi state safety gave his two cents on the match-up take a listen murphy: "oh yeah, man.

That's been a rivalry for years to come.

It's like mississippi state versus ole miss you know.

It's the battle of who's the best team in mississippi.

I know they 6a but that don't matter what division, when the two team's match- up you know it's going to be a big game regardless of who's on the team or who's coaching the team."

Let's get to some high school action...defending 1a state champs nanih waiya taking on choctaw central 1st quarter.

Choctaw ball.

Eli joe play action fake td pass.

7-0 choctaw.

2nd quarter.

Nanih waiya ball.

Trey mcmullan 45 yard carry to the 25 yard line.

Few plays later.

Mcmullan td rush to cap the drive.

Extra point no good.

7-6 choctaw the warriors able to get the job done topping choctaw central 29-13 f-b-s football is officially underway as southern miss and south alabama are facing off at the rock in hattiesburg obviously, football stadiums will look a little different this year however, unlike the empty stadiums shown across the pro-leagues all summer...the golden eagles are playing in front of a limited crowd following an executive order from mississippi governor tate reeves, spectators are allowed as long as the bowl area at m.m.

Roberts stadium is kept to 25% capacity southern miss and south alabama with a late 8 pm kick-off this evening here's a look at the current score of the battle down in hattiesburg mississippi colleges and universities regardless of rivalary or history are coming together in support of diversity and equality with the "stronger together" initative the schools developed the initative to unite mississippi athletic programs among the schools involved include ole miss, mississippi state and m-u-w for the upcomie upcoming season, the athletic programs will incorporate a special logo on uniforms, equipment and other gear the schools will also come together to advocate and educate for social justice and racial equality in more college football news...n- e-m-c-c football finalizing plans to have a delayed season the tigers releasing a finalized schedule that kicks-off on october 1st the season features six match-ups exclusively within the m-a-ccc north division... n-e-m-c-c's updated schedule features october 1st the season features six match-ups exclusively within the m-a-ccc north division... n-e-m-c-c's updated schedule features three home games and three road games...the tigers will also match-up to holmes twice and close the season at i-c-c n-e-m-c-c head football coach greg davis says his team is ready to get the season going "have an opportunity to go out there and compete every week and showcase your team's talent and their ability trying to get that extra level scholarshipm it's also amazing.

So, it's the time of year.

It's going to be fun.

It's going to be exciting.

So, we're ready to get this thing kicked- off.

I believe the atheltic directors and the presidents have made an excellent choice and this is something i think they ultimately made the correct decision by moving the season back."

Still to come..

Chief meteorologist keith gibson returns with tonights last look.

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