Angie Barmer
New Albany Gazette news articles
Bishop pleads guilty to child exploitation
New Albany native Benjamin Bishop pleaded guilty last Friday to the charge of child exploitation.
Bishop, 26, of 623 Glendale Road in New Albany, was arrested Aug. 16, 2012 for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a minor.
Ever since getting bonded out with a $25,000 bond last year, he has been represented by his lawyer, Anthony L. Farese of Farese, Farese, and Farese Attorneys from Ashland.
Under a plea agreement, Bishop received 10-year suspended sentence through Mississippi Department of Corrections, he received five years post release supervision, he has to pay a fine of $1,000 to the Mississippi Children’s Trust Fund, plus court costs, and is required to register as a sex offender.
District Attorney Ben Creekmore said, “We did what we thought was in the best interest of the victim and the court sentenced him to 10 years suspended and five years post release supervision. He also has to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and the public is put on notice of what he is capable of.”
As long as Bishop doesn’t commit any offense, doesn’t break the law, submits to random drug tests, doesn’t leave the state without permission from his parole officer, and reports on a monthly basis to his parole officer, his conviction will remain as it is currently.
At the time of his arrest, he was a part-time jailer at the department. Even though his arrest took place in Union County, he was transported to the Chickasaw County Jail and was booked into the jail at 7:13 p.m. on Aug. 16, 2012.
Bishop was a jailer at UCSD from May 1, 2012 until the day of his arrest.
According to the indictment handed down by the grand jury, “…within the jurisdiction of the Court did unlawfully, willfully and feloniously by computer, knowingly entice, induce, persuade, seduce, solicit, advise, and coerce, a 15-year-old child under the age of 18 to meet with said Benjamin Bishop for the purpose of engaging in sexually explicit conduct as defined Section 97-5-31 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, annotated, as amended, in violation of the provisions of Section 97-5-33.”
Under Mississippi Code of 1972, Section 97-5-31, the statute states the definitions of exploitation of children.
The word “child’ means any individual who is not yet 18 years old; “sexually explicit conduct” means actual or simulated; sexual intercourse…; bestiality; masturbation; sadistic or masochistic abuse; lascivious exhibition of the genitals…;fondling…; “producing” means producing, directing, manufacturing, issuing, publishing, or advertising; “visual depiction” includes without limitation developed of undeveloped film and video tape or other visual unaltered reproductions by computer; “computer” has the meaning given in Title 18, United States Code, Section 1030; “simulated” means depicting of the genitals or rectal areas that gives the appearance of sexual conduct or incipient sexual conduct.
Under Mississippi Code of 1972, Section 97-5-33, the statute states the prohibitions of exploitation of children.
Bishop previously worked at Victory Apostolic Church and Victory Christian Academy.
Five arrested in narcotics sweep
Five people were arrested on felony charges last Thursday in the western part of Union County in connection with drug-related crimes.
Joseph Jeffrey Turner, 42, of 1356 CR 18, was arrested with charge of selling large quantities of methamphetamines.
Edwards said, “[Turner] was selling large amounts of ice in the Poolville and Macedonia communities. He had been living on CR 18 and off of CR 56. He was already on probation and is being held for the Department of Corrections. There was an old indictment for a charge of possession of precursors and possession of meth, he had a felony shoplifting charge in Marshall County, and had a possession with intent to distribute charge.”
Mindy Greif, 28, of CR 56, was charged with possession of methamphetamines. Her bond is set at $25,000.
Cortez Pearson, 21, of 1042 CR 326 in the Ingomar community, was arrested with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. His bond is set at $25,000.
Edwards said that he had a little over a half a pound of marijuana on him at the time of the arrest.
Bobby Bowling Jr., 22, of 1008 Hazel Lane in the Ingomar community, was arrested with conspiracy to commit a crime. His bond is set at $25,000.
Chris Carr, 34, of CR 121, was arrested with conspiracy to commit a crime. His bond is set at $25,000 and is on hold for Mississippi Department of Corrections.
Edwards said these arrests were significant in slowing down drug trafficking in the county.
“With these arrests, especially Turner’s, we got a good bit of drugs off the streets.”
Edwards encourages anyone to call the Union County Sheriff’s Department at 662-534-1941 with any tips on crime-related activity.
State of emergency declared as fire continues to burn
Union County’s largest fire and series of explosions in local officials’ memory continued into a second day Thursday morning when a new explosion shook the New Albany area shortly after 5 a.m.
The series of events began about 5:45 a.m. Wednesday at North Mississippi Biodiesel, also known as JNS Biodiesel, at 823 Highway 15 North near the industrial park, when a fire apparently caused the tanks containing flammable liquids to begin to explode. An exact cause was still undetermined late Wednesday, but Sheriff Jimmy Edwards said investigation into that would begin Thursday, after the fire and smoke threat had been removed.
The blaze, which reportedly could be seen from as far away as Tupelo, put the county under an official state of emergency – this only for the second time ever. The first was following the 1992 ice storm.
According to Edwards, two employees were at the plant when the fire was discovered but managed to escape without injury. People reported hearing and feeling the two major explosions as far away as downtown New Albany and nearly to Myrtle.
The burning fuel caused a blaze that sent flames more than 500 feet high and accompanying thick black smoke actually darkened the sky and could be seen from Tupelo as well.
Nearly a dozen agencies responded to the fire but could only watch and wait for the fire to burn itself out. This was partly due to the intense heat, but also because some of the chemicals used in the biodiesel manufacturing process cannot be mixed with water without danger of further explosions. Emergency Management Director Curt Clayton said there was also concern water would spread the fire, and could result in chemical runoff into surrounding areas.
As the fire continued, officials closed the section of Highway 15 from the Sam T. Barkley Drive intersection to near Gale’s Crossing at County Road 82. Both Master-Bilt and Steel-Con plants had to be closed as well.
Clayton said they had expected the fire to burn out in a few hours based on the estimated amount of fuel stored but it did not, possibly because of the cell structure of the tanks and the way they were situated after the explosion. The fire died down some later in the morning but strengthened again when another tank exploded shortly after noon, creating a fireball and mushroom cloud. Smaller explosions were heard on into the evening, again possibly due to tanks or cells rupturing with a larger explosion early Thursday, possibly a tank containing chicken fat, Clayton said.
Air monitoring in the area showed no problems, Clayton said, other than the thick smoke, which was a health hazard. That helped prompt the state of emergency that was issued about 5:30 p.m. Clayton said they were concerned that dropping temperatures and decreasing winds would keep smoke close to the ground, rather than being blown up and away as it had earlier.
About 50 households on County Road 115 east of the fire were given a voluntary evacuation order and the Red Cross set up an emergency shelter for them at Victory Life Center. Sheriff Edwards said some followed the order while others chose to ride the night out at their homes.
The main fear Wednesday night was that the fire would not extinguish itself before Thursday morning. The weather forecast called for winds to shift to from the north and pick up speed early Thursday, moving the smoke almost directly toward New Albany. New Albany School District announced Wednesday night that schools would be closed Thursday as a precaution. A few other area closings were reported as well.
County garbage collection was also interrupted until the fire could be contained because the garbage trucks are stored at the county’s central maintenance facility across the road from the biodiesel plant.
Sheriff Edwards said he also expected to have to keep part of Highway 15 closed and possibly close an even longer section if the smoke continues. He also said Master-Bilt probably would not be able to open Thursday, at least until possibly later in the day. The change in wind could also force officials to relocate their command post south of the plant.
A side effect of the explosion was that about 400 residents in Cotton Plant and Blue Mountain were without power after a line burned in two. Emergency Management supplied generators to help and New Albany Light, Gas and Water had power restored by noon. It was not known whether the fire and explosion damaged the rail line directly behind the plant.
North Mississippi Biodiesel has been in business since 2007 and is listed as employing five. It makes diesel fuel from cottonseed and other materials such as chicken fat.
Robbie Wilbur, spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, was quoted in a news report saying the site was equipped to store, in addition to as much as 40,000 gallons of biodiesel, 8,000 gallons of methanol, 37,000 gallons of glycerine, 46,000 gallons of feedstock oil, 8,000 gallons of sodium methylate and 2,000 gallons of #2 fuel oil.
Wilbur was also reported as saying MDEQ was one of the agencies monitoring the air quality and that the site was contained in terms of direct hazards to the community (other than from the smoke).
The Environmental Protection Agency reports no safety or other violations for the company in the past three years, although it was fined $1,500 in 2011 for an unspecified violation of the Clean Air Act over three quarters.
Agencies responding to the incident include Union County Emergency Management, Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, Mississippi Department of Transportation, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Union County Sheriff’s Department, New Albany Police, North Haven Fire Department, Myrtle Fire Department, New Albany Fire Department, and United States Environmental Services.
“We’re really fortunate that no one was hurt,” Union County Board of Supervisors President Danny Jordan said. Sheriff Edwards agreed, but expressed caution because the danger was not yet over. “No one has been hurt and we want it to stay that way,” he said.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Mississippi, Inc., turns on solar panels
On Monday morning, which was Earth Day, representatives from Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Mississippi, Inc. unveiled the new 50-kilowatt solar panel array, which is the fourth largest solar panel in the state.
This 198-panel array, installed by New Albany Light, Gas & Water, generates enough electricity to power approximately seven average American households.
In addition to the solar panel, TMMMS was awarded the 2013 Energy Star award for Sustainable Excellence in Energy Management.
Doug Formby, vice president of administration with TMMMS, said, “Let me be the first one to acknowledge that it’s totally clichéd that we’re celebrating two environmental milestones on Earth Day. However, these are two very significant milestones for us. First, we’ll officially unveil our latest project – the 50-kilowatt solar panel array. Second, recognition from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program for our continued leadership in protecting our environment.”
“Two years ago, Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda introduced Toyota’s Global Vision. The Global Vision reflects our spirit while defining the path towards sustainable growth into the future. ‘Respect for the Planet’ is one of these commitments. We investigate and promote systems and solutions that are of benefit to society and our local communities. As Toyota Mississippi became integrated in the Northeast Mississippi community, we said we would be a model plant for sustainability in the region. Mississippi is the designated model plant for North America,” said Formby.
TMMMS has become the most energy-efficient Toyota plant on the continent, due to various designs and best practice techniques from other Toyota facilities.
This plant has already utilized a variety of processes to enhance the environmental footprint, such as the use of geothermal wells to cool and heat areas of the plant, a waterless irrigation system that is used throughout the property, an advanced recycling program that focuses on separating compostable and non-compostable waste, and using a unique paint system that uses low pressure atomized water instead of steam, chilled water, and paint ovens to control humidity and temperature.
As a result of all of these environmental practices, along with having local Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops build wood duck boxes to help reintegrate and repopulate the wood duck population throughout the property, TMMS has become ISO 14001 certified.
ISO 14001 is the international standard for Environmental Management Systems (EMS), will helps companies and corporations identify, and systematically reduce, any harmful effects it may have on the environment.
In 2010, TMMMS decided that there should be a project done with solar panels.
Throughout the day, these solar panels capture energy from the sun and covert that energy into usable power without fuel. Inside each panel are photovoltaic chips made from silicon.
According to Formby, it has been estimated that the silicon in one ton of sand can produce as much electricity as five hundred thousand tons of coal in a power plant before it is depleted of it’s power-producing capability. Silicon is the second most abundant element present in the Earth’s crust, while oxygen is the most abundant.
“Our system uses a single axis track. This means that it tracks the sun’s path across the sky from East to West. Then, it puts itself to bed, by laying flat for the evening. Mississippi Solar LLC, based in Carthage, installed the solar panels. Let’s keep our fingers crossed for lots of sunny days here in Mississippi,” said Formby.
New Albany Mayor Tim Kent said, “This project and others like it would not be feasible without TVA and incentives offered by TVA. Through our Light, Gas and Water department and Generations Partner program, this project today was possible and we are happy to take part in that effort. We also realize that this would not be possible if Toyota hadn’t taken a leadership role in bringing this to our area, so thank you to Toyota.”
“The city of New Albany takes great pride in seeking out ways to be an environmentally friendlier city and this project is a perfect opportunity for us to show that we are making that effort. With TVA’s help and Toyota, we are able to achieve at least one goal today. As it was said before, this solar panel project is the fourth largest in the state and it is an honor to have it in our system. We are also honored to have Toyota Manufacturing as the largest single customer with our Light, Gas and Water system,” said Kent. “In addition, Toyota has had such a positive economic impact in our community by creating some 2,000 jobs in the plant alone. But not only that, they are just a great community partner for our county, city, and our state. So we look forward to continuing our partnership with Toyota as we help to improve the quality of life for our residents as well as for the environment for everyone in the region.”
Another reason that TMMMS was celebrating Earth Day was because of the plant being the 2013 recipient of the Energy Star Partner of the year – Sustained Energy Excellence.
All 14 Toyota Manufacturing facilities were honored with this award for the company’s continued leadership in protecting the environment through energy efficiency.
Formby said, “It’s Toyota’s ninth consecutive Energy Star Partner of the Year-Sustained Excellence Award. In fact, it’s the most awards among any automaker that assembles vehicles in the U. S. Over an 11-year period, energy use at our 14 North American vehicle, engine and parts plants has been reduced by 21 percent per vehicle produced. That’s enough energy to power 28-thousand average thousand households. That’s enough energy to power Tupelo and surrounding towns year-round. That’s a cumulative cost savings over time totaling $330 million.”
Hook-up error costs New Albany resident $8K in sewer fees
For the past 45 years, Ruth Nolley has been paying her sewage bill to the City of New Albany Light Gas and Water Department.
" I have been paying $15 every month since the '60s," said Nolley.
On Monday, August 11, 2008, the New Albany Light Gas and Water Department came out to the Nolley residence to check on the unusually high monthly bill of $70, when the bill is normally $15. That's when the leak was discovered.
They then realized that she was not hooked up to the city sewer line; she was still hooked up to a septic tank. She was then told that she had to get her pipes replaced.
"I was just floored. I had no idea that I wasn't hooked up to the city sewer. I was astonished when the water department told me that I had a leak and I had to get my pipes replaced," said Nolley.
Nolley has been paying a monthly bill of approximately $15 since the early '60s. Her calculated total sum of sewage payments since she moved into her house in 1963 is approximately $8,100.
Ward 4 Alderman Bill Tucker said, "The sewer line is a city service, similar to garbage pickup. It is not an option to get on the city sewer line. It is something you have to pay regardless. Within a reasonable amount of time, normally five years, a city customer will have to begin paying for city sewer service."
Nolley moved into the Staten subdivision with her then husband Malcolm Wilson on July 4, 1963. She now lives there with husband Tommy Nolley.
"At that time, all the homes in Staten Subdivision had septic tanks. It was not until some years later that they were able to hook on to the city sewer," said Nolley.
Nolley said that she has no idea what has happened, that her husband took care of all outside work pertaining to her home.
As a result of the leak and still being hooked to a septic tank, Nolley had to pay $10,000 to get her pipes replaced and be hooked onto the city sewer line.
Tucker said, "Once we realized her situation, we refunded her tap hookup fee of $150.00. We didn't know that she wasn't hooked up to the city line. Everyone is supposed to be hooked up to the city sewer."
Nolley said she was totally astonished and horrified at the money she has lost after all of these years.