While there is “grinch-like” weather in the forecast for Mississippi tonight KIX 92.1 weatherman Tom Churchill assured me that Santa will have smooth sailing when he makes his way to the Delta.

Officials at the North Pole say that the Reindeer are ready and Santa will not be delayed.

I was informed by the elves that rooftops must be clear for the sleigh to land, cookies should be placed near the tree (anything with chocolate chips) and children must be in bed by 9 p.m.

A Cleveland woman is in custody after robbing an elderly man Wednesday morning.

Police charged Devonna Hutton with robbery and aggravated assault after she allegedly shot 71-year old David Brown at his residence.

Brown says Hutton came to his home around 4:30 in the morning and asked to borrow some money. When Brown said he didn’t have any, she shot him in the back and took his wallet.

He was being treated at the Bolivar Medical Center for his injuries.

School administrators in Drew plan to hold a meeting in January to try and get parents more involved.

Officials say parents need to be held accountable during state test time just like schools are.

A meeting is scheduled for January 9 with a number of topics slated for discussion including a possible fee for summer school. For more information about the meeting contact the Drew School District central office at 662-745-6657.

University of Mississippi officials are considering whether to start charging fees next year for people or groups to reserve spots on campus for football tailgating parties.

Andy Mullins, executive assistant to the chancellor, says that under a current policy, the Grove is supposed to open at 6 p.m. Fridays so people can start setting up. But some have been arriving as early as 7 a.m. Fridays.

Mullins says that there have been arguments over spaces, and companies that set up tents have been aggressive.

No official reason has been given has to why the head of Leland’s water department was fired last week.

Lee Chillis had worked in the water department for 25 years, and was appointed as department head in 2006. He was Leland's highest paid municipal employee.

Mayor James Lowe said on Wednesday that he could not discuss why Chillis was fired because the matter was handled in executive session.

State law does not prohibit officials from discussing what happened during a closed session

Mississippi's unemployment rate stood at 9 percent in November, down from 9.5 percent in October and lower than the national rate of 9.4 percent.

The state Department of Employment Security released figures Wednesday.

Unemployment rates ranged from a high of 17.8 percent in Clay County to 5.9 percent in Rankin County.

23 Mississippi counties posted unemployment rates less than or equal to the state's rate of 9 percent.

U.S. farmers hit hard by drought, drenching rains or other disasters in 2009 shouldn't expect emergency aid from Congress this year.

A spokesman for Sen. Thad Cochran says the House didn't act on legislation before representatives left Washington for the holiday break which means a package won’t be approved is next year.

Cochran is among the Southern lawmakers pushing for at least $2.1 billion in emergency aid for farmers.

Nearly 100 children in Bolivar County will be receiving toys for Christmas this year.

The Lower Mississippi Delta Service Corp will be handing out toys this week for their fourth annual toy drive for 79 foster children and families throughout the county.

Families were identified with the help of the Mississippi Department of Human Services. Organizer Valeria Pennington says families are grateful because these gifts might be the only ones the children receive this year.

A former Cleveland Police captain has died. McKinley Blockett died at the Bolivar Medical Center Saturday after a lengthy illness. He was 63.

Blockett served as an officer for 27 years with the Cleveland Police Department. He was also heavily involved in community projects.

Funeral services have been set for noon Saturday at the United Baptist Church in Cleveland.

John F. Kennedy was recently recognized for their performance on state test scores.

Mississippi’s Programs of Research and Evaluation for Public Schools gave the award based on statewide analyses from the 2009 MC-T2 and SATP tests.

JFK was selected from over 1,000 Mississippi schools.

Principal Dr. Wanda Stringer accepted the honor on behalf of the school at a banquet held earlier this month.

More troopers will be patrolling Mississippi highways over the holidays. The Over the Limit, Under Arrest campaign will be going on across the state until January 3.

The Highway Patrol will be working with other agencies and focus on DUI and other alcohol-related offenses at scattered checkpoints.

Nearly 5,000 tickets were issued during the Labor Day holidays back in August, including over 350 here in Bolivar County.

Police in Greenwood are giving residents a chance to voice their opinion about their officers.

Chief Henry Purnell says his department receives complaints on a regular basis, and now citizens can put it writing.

An official complaint form is now available for people to speak out whenever they feel they have been treated unfairly by a police officer or any other city official.

Staff and guests at Harlow's Casino have bought hundreds of toys and gifts for children. 

A portion of the proceeds from concert ticket sales went toward the purchase of the toys, and some casino associates also contributed.

The toys were collected for the Mississippi Department of Human Services, division of Children and Family Services.

17-year old Cortier Brown will make his first court appearance today facing murder charges.

The body of 41-year-old Eric Harvey was found in the front yard of an empty home just a mile from where he lives Sunday.

An autopsy report showed that Harvey was shot in the chest. The shooting death marks the eighth homicide this year.

A Holcomb man has waived his right to a preliminary hearing on two counts of murder in the deaths of two Grenada County residents.

John Wayne McChriston is charged with two counts of capital murder. The case is expected to go before a grand jury in January.

Police say 69-year-old Jimmy Stauddy and 47-year-old Martha Stoker were stabbed to death at Stauddy's Holcomb home Nov. 15.

Another phishing email has surfaced asking for personal information according to the state Attorney General’s office.

The new scam which requests individuals to provide sensitive information appears to originate from a hotmail account and says that the users account will be closed if the information is not sent.

Below is a copy of the email:

Dear Account User,

We encountered a problem with our database and a lot of records were lost, we are restoring our database to enable us serve you better. Your Windows Live! Account details are required so as to store in our database to keep your account active. Failure to do this will lose his or her account permanently.
To update and enable us restore your account details in our data base to keep your account active, you are required to provide us the details below urgently.

Click the reply button to enter details below.
Name: ********..
Username: ********..
Password: ********.
Date of Birth: *******
Country or Territory: ****
Make sure the details above are correct to enable us restore your account details, this will help prevent your account from been suspended.
Note: YOUR DETAILS WILL NOT BE SHARED.
Users have often told us that the more they use Windows Live! Service, the more they discover its benefits. We'll keep working on making Windows Live! the best email service around, and we appreciate your joining us for the ride.

Sincerely,
Windows Live Alert Team
Microsoft Corporation

Federal authorities are looking for a Shaw woman, wanted for aggravated assault.

Police in Shaw say that 26-year old Patricia Jones got into an altercation with another female at a bar during the Thanksgiving holiday.

Jones allegedly struck the woman with a bottle, injuring the woman’s eye. Anyone with information is asked to call the Shaw or Cleveland police.

Authorities in Greenville were trying to figure out how a man died after he was found dead in the yard of a vacant house over the weekend. They later charged a teen with murder.

Police arrested 17-year old Cortier Brown Monday and charged him with murder.

The body of 41-year-old Eric Harvey was found in the front yard of an empty home just a mile from where he lives.

An autopsy confirmed that he was shot in the chest.

Officials with the Department of Human Services in Leflore County say nearly 1,000 more residents are receiving food stamps.

About 30 percent of the county’s population now receives benefits that totaled nearly $13 million this year, up 12 percent from 2008.

Administrators say the main reason has been the increased number of residents who have lost their jobs.

Gov. Haley Barbour has formed an advisory commission to review Mississippi's current public school district structure and make recommendations on consolidation.

Monday, Barbour said Bancorp South Chairman and CEO Aubrey Patterson of Tupelo will chair the panel which includes legislators, education specialists and business leaders.

Barbour says the state's education system is a "model of inefficiency" because there are 152 districts in 82 counties.

A rebound in Mississippi gaming revenues lasted only a month.

State casinos reported November revenues of $185.4 million, the lowest revenue figure since September 2005.

The November figures from the State Tax Commission showed an $8.1 million drop from October and $1 million down from September, the previous low at $186.4 million.

Since January, the casinos have taken in $2.27 billion, compared to $2.51 billion from January to November 2008.

A national program with regional ties is trying to get more parents in the Delta involved in their child’s education.

Parents for Public Schools is a national organization that works with local communities to strengthen public schools.

There are 17 chapters in 11 states and four in Mississippi including Jackson, Jefferson Davis County, Meridian and Starkville.

So far 53 parents have passed the six day intensive course. For more information about how you can get involved, call 1-800-880-1222.

Students at a Sunflower County school got an early Christmas.

The Mississippi Delta Youth Foundation hosted a party last week for students at Restoration Ministries Academy in Indianola. Children there also received uniforms and scholarships.

The foundation has been giving presents since 2001.

Children at several schools in the area are benefiting, including schools in Itta Bena, Inverness, Mound Bayou, Cleveland and Shaw.

Over a dozen students at Shelby Middle school had smiles on their faces, after collecting the most cans for a food drive.

In all, children collected nearly 1,100 cans which will be distributed to other communities including Duncan and Alligator.

School officials say the coat and food drives have given the students a competitive edge to do well and give back to their community.

A new book written by a local educator offers a new look into the Delta’s school systems.

“A Collection of Thoughts for the Improvement of Schools in the Mississippi Delta and Abroad” written by Clayton Barksdale, the alternative school director for the Drew School District, talks about his experiences as a teacher and professor in the Delta.

He says in the book, he tries to focus on ways to lure parents to the school, state testing and teacher standards.

Clarksdale’s Habitat for Humanity headquarters has gone green.

The building at the corner of South Choctaw and Walnut Street is the only Energy Star rated house in northern Mississippi.

Officials say the house had to pass certain criteria approved by the Environmental Protection Agency which included a thermal boundary test, an air leakage test, a duct leakage test and a whole house air infiltration test.

Educational leaders in Clarksdale have approved a new grading system which will fully take effect within five years.

In the past, the district has weighted the average of all test scores at a rate of 20%, and the average of all assignment grades at 80%.

For the remaining of the school year, the new system will be 50/50 and increase by 10 percent for the next three years in favor of test scores.

Sharkey County authorities are hoping an additional $10,000 reward will help produce new leads in the fatal September stabbing of Karitha Carroll and her 3-year-old daughter.

Three county residents, who wished to remain anonymous, hoped the reward would lead to an arrest.

31-year old Carroll, and her daughter Jamya were discovered Sept. 23 stabbed to death in their Cary home.

Sheriffs said 45-year old Robert Lee King was a person of interest. King is suspected in the 2005 killing of his former girlfriend and attempted killing of her 20-year-old daughter in Memphis.

State officials are looking for ways to attract more out-of-state students, and the funding boost that usually comes with them.

Though facing budget constraints, Mississippi's universities have the capacity for additional students.

Officials say there's a lot of competition for students. Some universities in Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee offer out-of-state tuition waivers for students from Mississippi.