Schools closed; one weather-related fatality in wreck

Published 4:39 pm Thursday, February 3, 2011

Due to icy weather conditions, Brookhaven and Lincoln Countyschools and Brookhaven Academy are closing at 11 a.m. Thursday,officials said.

City and county school district and BA officials have announcedthat classes will not be held Friday.

Also, day and night classes at Copiah-Lincoln Community Collegein Wesson have been canceled. Also, officials later announced theFriday cancellation of classes on all three campuses in Wesson,Natchez and Simpson County.

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Wesson Attendance Center closed at 1 p.m. Thursday.

Mississippi Highway Patrol authorities said Laurie N. Sanders,28, of 112 West St., Hazlehurst, was killed early Thursdayafternoon when she apparently hit a patch of ice, lost control ofher vehicle and struck some trees in the Interstate 55 median. Theaccident happened just after noon at the 45-mile marker onInterstate 55 south.

Sanders was pronounced dead at the scene by Lincoln CountyCoroner Clay McMorris. The cause of the accident is still underinvestigation.

 With icy conditions starting to be seen around the area, Galeysuggested people should have a few groceries on hand and stay offthe roads.

 

    “If we get the amount of ice they are talking about, they need tostay home,” said Galey. “People don’t need to get out in it unlessit’s an emergency.”

    If people find themselves behind the wheel of a car, Galey saiddrivers should drive slow, stay off the breaks to avoid sliding andbe extra cautious around bridges and overpasses.

    “There’s really not a lot we can do,” said Galey.

    With the ice could also come the chance of power outages, which areusually caused by the accumulation of ice on power lines and treelimbs. As the tree limbs become heavier, they can lean on the linesand cause an outage.

    “To me it’s overall the worse conditions we have to deal with,”said Kenny Goza, Entergy customer accounts manager.

    Goza said crews will be monitoring the weather and have alreadybeen briefed on what to expect.

    “There is a lot of uncertainty in the weather right now, we don’tknow what to expect,” said Goza. “But we’re getting our guysready.”

    Lucy Shell, Magnolia Electric member services director, said theyalso would continue to operate as normal unless the weatherconditions worsen.

    “At this point we are ready, we’re on standby and waiting to seewhat happens,” said Shell. “That’s all we can do right now.”

    The National Weather forecast indicates that freezing rain andlight snow could be expected to continue into Monday with overnighttemperatures below freezing in central and northern Mississippi.However, warmer weather could return statewide Tuesday.