Established 1879 | Columbus, Mississippi

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Thursday | August 27, 2020

Area hotels brace for potential BUSINESS MOVES

WITH MARY

influx of Hurricane Laura evacuees Columbus

Malco prepares
for September
reopening
PLUS: Apex Performance
opens in Starkville
BY MARY POLLITZ
biz@cdispatch.com

T
he

movie the-
ater news
continues
this week.
After
closing
temporar-
ily in late
March, the
Columbus Mary Pollitz
Malco is
preparing for a Sept. 3 reopening
date.
As I said last week, along with
numerous businesses nowadays,
the movie industry has suffered
billions of dollars due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The movie schedule for the Co-
lumbus Malco, which will include
all new lineups, will be released
Aug. 31.
For COVID-19 precautions,
Malco employees will all have their
temperatures taken, will all wear
masks and gloves and sanitize
high contact surfaces every 30
Photos by Antranik Tavitian/Dispatch Staff
Pictured clockwise from top: Comfort Suites, Hampton Inn and Courtyard Marriott hotels in Starkville. Hotels all over the
minutes.
Golden Triangle are preparing for an influx of Hurricane Laura evacuees. The storm hit the Gulf Coast near the Louisiana/Tex- Moviegoers will be required
as border this morning as a Category 4 hurricane, with storm surge expected to reach 40 miles inland. to wear face masks in the lobby
but will be allowed to take them
off once in the auditorium. When
EMA directors: Local community shelters may open with limited capacity you’re picking your seat, be sure to
maintain at least six feet from oth-
BY YUE STELLA YU day after Katrina made landfall, think- Hurricane Center. The strong storms er groups, skipping a row between
syu@cdispatch.com ing the evacuation was temporary. brought massive power outages to the other guests.
Instead, he traveled to Baton Rouge, states, forcing many to evacuate further Moving to downtown, Rae’s
Aaron Duncan stared at the TV in Louisiana, stayed for a few months and inland for shelter, according to multiple Jewelry on Fifth Street is officially
disbelief after flooding brought by Hur- moved to Atlanta, Georgia, afterward. news outlets. The hurricane has since shuttered. After more than 50
ricane Katrina washed “Most of us took two to four days weakened to a Category 2 as it contin- years in business and a few weeks
over New Orleans — worth of clothing. … We expected to be ues to move north. of slashed prices from its going
the city he had just gone for that long,” he said. “Nobody ex- Across the Golden Triangle, hotels out of business sale, the Columbus
evacuated from and pected to see what we saw.” are preparing to see an influx of evacu- jewelry store has taken down its
once called home — in Now, Duncan — area manager of six ees from Texas, Louisiana and southern clearance signs and flipped the
2005. INSIDE hotels in Columbus and Starkville — is Mississippi. Amid the COVID-19 pan- open sign to closed.
“I was watching the n Laura blasts expecting evacuees to come to him. demic, several hotel managers told The This vacancy downtown means
news,” Duncan said. “I destructive, Hurricane Laura made landfall in Dispatch they have taken precautionary there’s prime real estate for anoth-
was like, ‘This can’t be life-threatening southwest Louisiana overnight as a Cat- measures — such as social distancing, er business venture to occupy.
Gulf Coast path. Speaking of business closures,
New Orleans.’” Page 3A egory 4 with winds up to 150 miles per deep cleaning and minimal in-person
Having packed hour, bringing an “unsurvivable storm contact — to welcome their guests, an East Columbus car lot is clos-
clothes that would last surge” that could penetrate up to 40 some of whom may come from the most ing.
just a few days, Duncan left his home a miles inland, according to the National See HOTELS, 6A See BUSINESS, 6A

New Mississippi cases still high, but virus hospitalizations declining

The number of patients hospitalized
with coronavirus in Mississippi
peaked this month at 978 on Aug. 7
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
JACKSON — Missis-
sippi is reporting a high-
er number of new cases
of coronavirus per capita
each day than any other
U.S. state, according to
Johns Hopkins Universi-
ty data analyzed by The
Associated Press. The
data was evaluated over a
14-day period.
However, data from
the state Department of
Health show the num-
bers of patients hospi-
talized in the state is
steadily decreasing. The
number of patients hospi-
talized with coronavirus
in Mississippi peaked
this month at 978 on Aug.
7. On Aug. 25, some 730
patients were hospital-
ized, or more than 200
fewer.
“We do continue to
see trends in decreasing
hospitalizations. ... Cer-
tainly, all good trends,
but we want to keep them
that way,” Mississippi’s
State Health Officer
Dr. Thomas Dobbs said
Tuesday. “I’m worried
about our future obvious-
ly, and want to make sure
we keep up the gains.”
The Health Depart-
ment said Wednesday
that Mississippi, with
a population of about 3
million, has had at least
80,110 reported cases
and at least 2,373 deaths
from COVID-19 as of
Tuesday evening. That’s
an increase of 904 con-
firmed cases and 58
deaths from numbers
reported the day before,
with 44 occurring be-
tween July 21 and August
18, and later identified
from death certificate re-
ports.
The true number of vi-
rus infections is thought
to be far higher because
many people have not
been tested and studies
suggest people can be
infected without feeling
sick. The virus causes
mild or moderate symp-
toms for most but can
be more severe or fatal
for some, especially old-
er adults and those with
underlying health condi-
tions.

WEATHER FIVE QUESTIONS CALENDAR LOCAL FOLKS PUBLIC

1 During which war was Valley Forge a Today and Friday MEETINGS
winter military encampment? Aug. 31: Lowndes
■ COVID-19 testing: K-12
2 What appears to be melting in County Board of Su-
teachers and other school
surrealist painter Salvador Dali’s “The pervisors meeting, 9
Persistence of Memory”? staff in the Golden Triangle
can be tested for COVID-19 a.m., Lowndes County
3 What does the acronym “GPS”
stand for? free of charge and without Courthouse, facebook.
Miriam Edwards 4 Which Latin dance style is also the meeting any criteria today com/LowndesCounty-
name for a group of rattlesnakes? and Friday as a part of the Mississippi/
Fourth grade, Heritage
5 The colossal rotunda of which Mississippi State Health Sept. 1: Columbus

90 Low 76
Roman temple is the largest unrein- Department’s drive-through City Council, 5 p.m.,
High forced concrete dome in the world? program. Today from noon Municipal Complex,
Partly sunny, chance t-storms Answers, 6B until 7 p.m. school personnel facebook.com/Cityof-
Full forecast on can obtain free tests at the
ColumbusMS/
page 3A. Oktibbeha County Health De-
Sept. 8: Lowndes
partment, located at 1203
County Board of Su-
INSIDE Louisville St. in Starkville.
In Columbus, testing is pervisors meeting, 9
Business 5B Dear Abby 4B available during the same a.m., Lowndes County
Classifieds 6B Obituaries 5A hours Friday at the Lowndes Samantha Caldwell is a Courthouse, facebook.
Comics 4B Opinions 4A County Health Department at sophomore elementary education com/LowndesCounty-
141st Year, No. 144 Crossword 6B 801 N. Lehmberg Road. major from Madison. Mississippi/

DISPATCH CUSTOMER SERVICE 328-2424 | NEWSROOM 328-2471

 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020 3A

Laura blasts destructive, life-threatening Gulf Coast path

National Hurricane Center: Laura slammed
the coast with winds of 150 mph at 1 a.m.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LAKE ARTHUR, La. — Hur-
ricane Laura pounded the Gulf
Coast for hours with ferocious
wind, torrential rains and ris-
ing seawater as it roared ashore
over southwestern Louisiana
near the Texas border early
Thursday, threatening the lives
of people who didn’t evacuate.
Authorities had ordered
coastal residents to get out, but
not everyone did in an area dev-
astated by Rita in 2005.
Laura’s howling winds bat-
tered a tall building in Lake
Charles, blowing out windows
as glass and debris flew to the
ground. Police spotted a float-
ing casino that got loose and
crunched against a bridge. But
hours after landfall, the wind
and rain were still blowing too
hard to check for survivors.
“There are some people still
in town and people are calling ...
but there ain’t no way to get to
them,” Tony Guillory, president
of the Calcasieu Parish Police
Jury, said early Thursday morn-
ing over the phone as he hun-
kered down in a Lake Charles
government building that was
shaking from the storm.
Guillory said he hopes strand-
ed people can be rescued later
Thursday but fears that blocked
roads, downed power lines and
flooding could get in the way.
“We know anyone that stayed
that close to the coast, we’ve got
to pray for them, because look-
ing at the storm surge, there
would be little chance of surviv-
al,” Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nun-
gesser told ABC’s Good Morn-
ing America.
With nearly 470,000 homes
and businesses without power
in the two states, near-constant
lightning provided the only light
for some.
The National Hurricane
Center said Laura slammed the
coast with winds of 150 mph at 1
a.m. CDT as a Category 4 hur-
ricane near Cameron, a 400-per-
son community about 30 miles
east of the Texas border.
“Unsurvivable storm surge
with large and destructive
waves will cause catastrophic
damage,” forecasters warned.
They said the storm surge could
reach 15-20 feet in Port Arthur,
Texas, and a stretch of Louisiana
including Lake Charles, a city of
80,000 people on Lake Calca-
sieu.
“This surge could penetrate
up to 40 miles inland from the
immediate coastline, and flood
waters will not fully recede for
several days,” the hurricane cen-
ter said.
Forecasters said Laura re-
mained a Category 2 hurricane
about 6 hours after making
landfall, with sustained winds of
100 mph. Its center was moving
north, about 20 miles north of
Fort Polk, Louisiana. Damaging
winds reached outward as far as
175 miles.
Dick Gremillion, the emer-
gency director in Calcasieu Par-
ish, said hours after landfall that
they hadn’t been able to get out
and look for damage.
“The wind is still over 50
mph. It’s going to have to drop
significantly before they can
even run any emergency calls.
We also need daylight,” Gremi-
llion said in an interview with
KPLC-TV.
More than 580,000 coastal
residents were ordered to join
the largest evacuation since the
coronavirus pandemic began
and many did, filling hotels and
sleeping in cars since officials
didn’t want to open mass shel-
ters and worsen the spread of
COVID-19.
But in Cameron Parish,
where Laura came ashore,
Nungesser said 50 to 150 peo-
ple refused pleas to leave and
planned to weather the storm in
everything from elevated homes
to recreational vehicles. The re-
sult could be deadly, since some
houses weren’t raised high
enough to withstand the mas-
sive storm surge.
“It’s a very sad situation,” said
Ashley Buller, assistant director
of emergency preparedness.
“We did everything we could to
encourage them to leave.”
Becky Clements, 56, didn’t
take chances; she evacuated
from Lake Charles after hear-
ing that it could take a direct hit.
With memories of the destruc-
tion almost 15 years ago by Hur-
ricane Rita, she and her family
found an Airbnb hundreds of
miles inland.
“The devastation afterward
in our town and that whole cor-
ner of the state was just awful,”
Clements recalled Wednesday.

Mississippi gov skipped mask at North

Carolina event, despite mandate
‘There’s public health risks to doing
large political gatherings, but in this
country ... we protect the right
to free speech’
BY LEAH WILLINGHAM
The Associated Press/ Report
for America
JACKSON — Missis-
sippi Gov. Tate Reeves
compared his attending a
crowded campaign event
over the weekend for a
North Carolina Republi-
can gubernatorial candi-
date — while not wearing
a mask — to people who
attended police brutality
protests outside the Gov-
ernor’s Mansion in Missis-
sippi in June.
“There’s public health
risks to doing large po-
litical gatherings, but in
Gov. Tate Reeves
this country — and we do
still live in America — we
protect the right to free
speech and we protect the
right to political discourse
and political events,”
Reeves said at a Tuesday
news conference.
Both North Carolina
and Mississippi have man-
dates for people to wear
face coverings in public
places to slow the spread
of the coronavirus. No
more than 10 people in-
doors and 25 outdoors are
allowed to gather in North
Carolina, under executive
orders from Democratic
Gov. Roy Cooper. In Mis-
sissippi, Reeves signed
executive orders banning
people from attending
gatherings with more
than 10 people indoors or
20 people outdoors.
On Sunday, Reeves was
one of more than 200 peo-
ple who attended a tightly
packed rally for Lt. Gov.
Dan Forest at the Rowan
County Fairgrounds in
Salisbury, North Caroli-
na, where few people wore
masks, the Salisbury Post
reported. Forest is run-
ning for governor against
incumbent Cooper.
Reeves said Tuesday
that he wore a mask 90
percent of the time while
in North Carolina and that
he only took his mask off
to speak at the rally in sup-
port of Forest. Both Mis-
sissippi and North Caroli-
na’s mask mandates allow
people to remove masks
temporarily while making
a speech or broadcast.
However, photos from
the event show Reeves sit-
ting at tables surrounded
by other people, posing for
photos next to attendees
and shaking hands with
Forest and others — all
while not wearing a mask.
When asked why he
did not wear a mask at
the event, Reeves brought
up protests around police
brutality and racial injus-
tice that happened in Jack-
son in June.
“There were literally
thousands and thousands
and thousands of people
outside the Governor’s
Mansion protesting, and
I defend their right to
do so,” he said. “But just
because you agree with
those that are protesting,
doesn’t mean that there
are not public health risks
to doing so.”

AROUND THE STATE

Mississippi lawmakers
sustain veto on felony
records bill
JACKSON — The Mis-
sissippi Legislature will
not challenge the gover-
nor’s veto of a bill that
would have let people get
more felony convictions
removed from their re-
cords.
The Legislature met
Monday, and the House
Judiciary B Committee
recommended that the
lawmakers not try to over-
ride Republican Gov. Tate
Reeves’ July 8 veto.
Current state law al-
lows a person to get one
felony conviction ex-
punged. House Bill 658
would have expanded that
to three.
Reeves wrote that the
bill was “well-intentioned”
but “would threaten pub-
lic safety.”
Mississippi Senate
confirms new state
revenue commissioner
JACKSON — The Mis-
sissippi Senate on Monday
confirmed an attorney as
the new commissioner of
the Mississippi Depart-
ment of Revenue.
Chris Graham has
worked in recent years
for the Legislative Budget
Office, helping senators
write spending plans for
state agencies. He previ-
ously worked for the state
Ethics Commission and
in private law practice.
Republican Gov. Tate
Reeves announced July
13 that he was nominat-
ing Graham to lead the
Department of Revenue,
and Graham has been
working in the job while
awaiting confirmation.
He succeeds Herb
Frierson, who retired as
commissioner July 1 after
four years in that job. Fri-
erson had a 42-year state
government career that
included time he served
as a legislator.
In addition to oversee-
ing the Department of
Revenue, the commission-
er serves in a group of ex-
perts that help legislators
predict how much money
the state might have avail- Telecommunications
able each year. That num- representative Christa Al-
ber is used as the basis for exander said Broadband
writing state budgets. is no longer a luxury, but
a necessity.
“You need it for tele-
Public Service health, teleworking,
Commission creates distance learning. Even
broadband committee going to school now, you
JACKSON — The Mis- don’t have a choice, you
sissippi Public Service have to do everything
Commission has created online and carry on,” she
a new committee that will said. “I’m happy to be
help identify internet con- a part of the group that
nectivity challenges in helps bring that to a reali-
the state amid the corona- ty for Mississippi.”
virus pandemic.
The pandemic has
highlighted the need for
more internet connectiv-
ity in the state, Southern
District Public Service
Commissioner Dane
Maxwell said.
“Mississippi’s a rural
state,” Maxwell said. “We
had been preaching this
before COVID-19. We’ve
been working on it be-
fore COVID-19, but it just
brought it to everybody’s
attention. People nowa-
days can’t operate with-
out the Internet and that
is our main focus.”

Bad boy! Dog costs Mississippi officials more than $7,000

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LIBERTY — A curious
dog got hold of a fiber op-
tic cable that ran between
county buildings in Mis-
sissippi, chewing it to
pieces and costing county
officials thousands of dol-
day. The wire was mostly amounts to more than
elevated but dipped to $7,000, from the owner,
the ground by the front according to Wroten.
door of the Justice Court His office first spent SOLUNAR TABLE
The solunar period indicates
building, where the dog $4,000 to establish two an- peak-feeding times for fish and game.
Thurs. Fri.
chewed it. tennae that send signals Major
Minor
7:56p
4:15p
8:55p
5:14p
The culprit was not to the cables, but it failed. Major 8:26a 9:24a
2:33a
caught in the act, but of- County supervisors then
Minor 1:38a
Courtesy of Mississippi Department
of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
ficials saw “his running voted Tuesday to spend an

lars in an attempt to get it
fixed.
The cable connected
a courthouse and a near-
by Justice Court build-
ing in Amite County,
Tim Wroten, the county’s
sheriff, told the Enter-
prise-Journal Wednes-
mate” through the secu-
rity camera, Wroten said.
The sheriff has a sus-
pect in mind but lacks
evidence to hold up his
charge. If officials knew
who the troublemaker
was, the county could
seek damages, which
additional $3,600 to get a
new cable.
Amite County Justice
Court Judge Roger Ar-
nold said it’s his first time
hearing a case like this.
“I did hear the sus-
pect was still at large,” he
quipped.
The Dispatch
The Commercial Dispatch (USPS 142-320)
Published daily except Saturday. Answers to common questions:
Entered at the post office at Columbus, Mississippi.
Periodicals postage paid at Columbus, MS Phone: 662-328-2424
POSTMASTER, Send address changes to:
The Commercial Dispatch, P.O. Box 511, Columbus, MS 39703 Website: cdispatch.com/help
Published by Commercial Dispatch Publishing Company Inc.,
516 Main St., Columbus, MS 39703
Report a news tip: news@cdispatch.com
6A THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2020 The Dispatch • www.cdispatch.com

Damage from big hurricanes

rising for many reasons
In the last three years, the United States has had
seven hurricane disasters that each caused at
least $1 billion in damage, totaling $335 billion
BY SETH BORENSTEIN
AP Science Writer
A destructive storm is rising
from warm waters. Again.
America and the world are get-
ting more frequent and bigger mul-
tibillion dollar tropical catastrophes
like Hurricane Laura, which is men-
acing the U.S. Gulf Coast, because
of a combination of increased coast-
al development, natural climate cy-
cles, reductions in air pollution and
man-made climate change, experts
say.
The list of recent whoppers
keeps growing: Harvey, Irma, Ma-
ria, Florence, Michael, Dorian. And
hurricane experts have no doubt
that Laura will be right there with
them.
It’s a mess at least partially of
our own making, said Susan Cutter,
director of the Hazards and Vulner-
ability Institute at the University of
South Carolina.
“We are seeing an increase of in-
tensity of these phenomena because
we as a society are fundamentally
changing the Earth and at the same
time we are moving to locations that
are more hazardous,” Cutter said
Wednesday.
In the last three years, the United
States has had seven hurricane di-
sasters that each caused at least $1
billion in damage, totaling $335 bil-
lion. In all of the 1980s, there were
six, and their damage totaled $38.2
billion, according to the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration. All those figures are adjust-
ed for the cost of living.
The Atlantic is increasingly
spawning more major hurricanes,
according to an Associated Press
analysis of NOAA hurricane data
since 1950. That designation refers
to storms with at least 111-mile-per-
hour winds that are the ones that do
the most damage. The Atlantic now
averages three major hurricanes
a year, based on a 30-year running
average. In the 1980s and 1990s, it
was two.
The Atlantic’s Accumulated Cy-
clone Energy — a measurement
that takes into account the number
of storms, their strength and how
long they last — is now 120 on a 30-
year running average. Thirty years
ago, it was in the 70s or 80s on av-
erage.
Some people argue the increase
is due to unchecked coastal devel-
opment, while others will point to
man-made climate change from the
burning of coal, oil and gas. In fact,
both are responsible, said former
Federal Emergency Management
Agency chief Craig Fugate.
“There’s a lot of factors going
on,” he said.
When it comes to hurricane risk,
a major factor is “the amount of stuff
in the way of natural peril and the
vulnerability of the stuff in the way,”
said Mark Bove, a meteorologist
who works for the insurance firm
Munich Re U.S.
One factor that increases the pos-
sibility that there will be “stuff in the
way” of a major storm is that federal
disaster policy and flood insurance
subsidize and encourage people to
rebuild in risky areas, Fugate said.
After storms, communities “al-
ways say they are going to rise from
the ashes,” and, too often, they build
the same way in the same place for
the same vulnerability and the same
outcome, Fugate said.
In addition, some places, like
Houston, don’t limit development
in areas that could serve as flood
control zones if left empty and al-
low development that’s not disaster
resilient, said Kathleen Tierney, for-
mer director of the Natural Hazards
Center at Colorado University.
Now add in the meteorology.
Scientists agree that waters are
warming, and that serves as hurri-
cane fuel, said NOAA climate scien-
tist Jim Kossin. A study by Kossin
found that, once a storm formed,
the chances of its attaining major
storm status globally increased by 8
percent a decade since 1979. In the
Atlantic, chances went up by 49 per-
cent a decade.

Hotels
Continued from Page 1A
dangerous COVID-19
hotspots among southern
states.
At Courtyard by Marri-
ott in Starkville, for exam-
ple, the 104-room facility
has a mask requirement
for all guests and employ-
ees, Duncan said. The ho-
tel disinfects high-touch
areas and rooms between
stays, practices six-feet
social distancing in its
lobby areas and provides
hand sanitizers for guest
use, he said.
If his hotels are booked
up, Duncan said he will
communicate with other
hotels in the area to find
the evacuees a place to
stay within a reasonable
price range.
“You have someone
who has little in posses-
sion,” Duncan said of
evacuees.
Jordan Gillentine,
general manager for
LaQuinta Inn and Suites
in Starkville, said sev-
eral guests from Lake
Charles, Louisiana, have
already booked rooms at
the 90-room hotel. The
hotel takes similar steps
to slow the virus spread,
he said.
“With football season
being shifted later in the
year, it opens up the op-
portunity for us to accept
large groups like that,”
he said. “We are ready to
welcome them with open
arms if they so choose.”
Sharon Jones, general
manager at Best West-
ern Executive Suites in
Columbus, told The Dis-
patch the 73-room hotel
allows for cars to pull up
directly in front of individ-
ual rooms and self-check
in. Due to the pandemic,
the lobby area is closed,
she said. Instead of a
morning buffet, the hotel
now serves pre-packaged
breakfast.
Mixed bag of emotions
The occupancy rate
at Best Western now sits
at 40 percent, mainly be-
cause of the pandemic,
Jones said. An influx of
evacuees, she said, could
give the hotel’s business a
boost.
But, Jones said, she
has mixed feelings about
that.
“You don’t want to see
it happen that way be-
cause people are leaving
their homes not knowing
what to expect,” she said.
For hotels that strug-
gle to stay afloat as the
pandemic slams the
hospitality industry, Gil-
lentine said the influx —
although due to unfortu-
nate reasons — may help.
“Obviously, you hate
to see anyone from any-
where have to evacuate
from their home, so the
reason for the travel is
unfortunate,” he said.
“But … it does help us
after what we’ve been
through over the last sev-
eral months with a drastic
decrease in travel and ho-
tel stays. It will somewhat
help us bridge the gap.”
Having evacuated
during a hurricane him-
self, Duncan said he un-
derstands what evacuees
are going through. But for
hotel employees, a higher
occupancy rate may mean
more hours worked to
make a living, he said.
“It is unfortunate going
through that. … You have
guests that are here that
don’t want to be here,” he
said. “(But) employees
can work more hours …
to support their families.”
Community shelters
may open with limited
capacity
Greg Michel, executive
director for the Mississip-
pi Emergency Manage-
ment Agency, said during
a Wednesday press con-
ference the state does not
expect a large number of
evacuees, although it is
preparing to open shel-
ters in case there is a
growing need.
During a pandemic, he
said, the state may have
to open more shelters to
accommodate the same
number of evacuees it
would have accommodat-
ed in normal times.
Lowndes County
Emergency Services Di-
rector Cindy Lawrence
told The Dispatch the
county is in talks with the
Red Cross to staff rough-
ly 12 community centers,
which can be used to shel-
ter evacuees if MEMA
tells the county to open
them. The shelters usual-
ly house 75 people each,
she said, but they will op-
erate at 25 percent of their
normal capacity amid the
pandemic.
To minimize the risk of
infection, Lawrence said
she recommends evacu-
ees to stay in hotels if they
have the resources. Com-
munity shelters, she said,
are used as a “last resort.”
Torrey Williams, di-
rector of West Point Clay
County Emergency Man-
agement Agency, told
The Dispatch the county
will also partner with the
Red Cross to provide shel-
ters if needed. The county
currently has four desig-
nated shelters, with three
in the city and one outside
city limits. Similarly, the
shelters will also operate
at a 25-percent capacity,
he said, and will require
mask-wearing and pro-
vide hand sanitizers.
Williams said it is con-
cerning that many of the
evacuees could come
from COVID-19 hotspots.
“The information
about someone may not
be available and the per-
son may not be truthful
about them having the
virus,” he said. “That
certainly complicates ev-
erything, because if they
don’t tell you they have it,
you won’t know.”
To minimize the risk of
infection, Williams said
he also recommends hotel
stays. For those who have
to stay in shelters, he said
there will be temperature
checks and question-
naires at the entrance. He
is also contemplating the
idea of separating evacu-
ees according to their risk
level.
“Maybe (set up) a high-
risk, a medium-risk and a
low-risk category, then
put them at different shel-
ters so we can keep that
risk down low,” he said.

Business
Continued from Page 1A
Triangle Auto Sales,
301 Alabama St., is
selling its last car after
50 years of business.
The lot, building and few
remaining cars are all up
for sale.
The Dispatch could
not reach the owner by
press time today.
Keeping with the car
trend, Starkville has a
new performance shop
open now.
Apex Performance,
9829 Hwy. 25 S., is ready
to service and upgrade
your vehicle to a higher
performance.
Apex owner Benjamin
Shurden, who is also the
owner of Parrish Towing,
has turned his passion
into a full-on business
venture.
“We specialize in high
performance,” Shurden
said. “We can tune just
about anything that’s
newer than a (2005 vehi-
cle). … I take your stock
calibration and I put my
own calibration on there
and I make vehicles
more efficient and more
powerful.”
On average, he said
he can tune your vehi-
cle and give your car a
12-percent increase in
power and increase up to
two miles per gallon.
“I tune every aspect
of it,” Shurden said. “I’ve
been a gear-head and a
car guy and built race
cars most of my life, so
automotive is kind of in
me. … I built a rapport
for custom tunes on the
side, so instead of it be-
ing side work, I just went
public with it.”
Apex is open Monday
through Friday 8 a.m.-5
p.m.
If you’re like me and
you’re not quite mechan-
ically inclined, Shurden
is inviting the public
to check out what high
performance tuning can
actually do to a vehicle.
On Oct. 3, he’s invit-
ing the public to a big
cookout and a chance to
see cars that have 600 to
700 horsepower. Be sure
to stay up to date with
Apex’s Facebook page
for more updates and
public events.
“We’re going to (have)
all the vehicles that
we’ve done tune work
on and the public,” he
said. “We’ll see what the
turnout is. I’ll grill 100
hamburgers if I have to.
We’re going to give the
kids in the local area a
chance to see some cool
cars.”

If you don’t read The Dispatch, how are you gonna know?