Area Breaking News

  Tim Fritts will be on familiar ground when he welcomes guests to the Mississippi Christian University’s booth at the 35th-annual Mississippi on the Mall on June 6 at Henry Bacon Ball Field in Washington, D.C. Fritts, director of development for athletics at Mississippi Christian University, spent his high school years near the nation’s capital.…

By Randy Bell The City of Clinton has launched a voter education campaign as a June 9 special election approaches on whether to renew a two per cent restaurant tax. The tax, which funds parks and recreation improvements in Clinton, was approved in 2022, but state law requires a new vote every four years. The…

  As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, BAPS Charities launched its 2026 Spirit of Service Walk-Run, underscoring a commitment to strengthening American civic engagement. The event, marked by a stirring national anthem and united by 50,000 participants across the United States and Canada, marks an early milestone for America250 and inspires a collective…

By Randy Bell Brantley Jones will be a junior at Clinton High School next year, hoping to become more involved in the community; and she believes being part of the newly-formed Mayor’s Youth Council will afford her that opportunity.   “I love it when kids are serving the community,” Jones says.  “It’s usually adults who…

The Hinds Community College Vice Presidents of Instruction for Academic and Career/Technical programs recently presented Outstanding Student Awards to those demonstrating excellence in a particular subject area or program of study. Students recognized included (l to r), Front row: Clarence Jackson of Jackson, Keyaria Watkins of Clinton, Conner Robinson of Pisgah, Rolen Fanning of Ridgeland…

  Today (June 1, 2026), the state’s oldest institution of higher learning, Mississippi College, officially changes its name to Mississippi Christian University.     MC President Blake Thompson said the University’s new name is a strategic, forward-looking decision that better reflects the school’s Christian mission, academic scope and long-term vision. Fittingly, the change comes amid…

Special to The Clinton Courier   Sawyer Turnage, a senior at Clinton Christian Academy, recently earned the top prize in Mississippi College’s Select Scholars Competition, one of the university’s most competitive scholarship programs.   Turnage competed against over one hundred high-achieving students from across the United States in a rigorous selection process that included interviews,…

Special to The Clinton Courier Clinton High School student Jazlyn Leszczynska was recently selected to attend the Washington Journalism and Media Conference (WJMC) as a National Youth Correspondent, representing both Clinton High School and the state of Mississippi.   The Washington Journalism and Media Conference is a highly competitive national program hosted on the campus…

Special to The Clinton Courier Evan Lenow, associate professor and chair of Christian Studies and director of the Institute for Christian Leadership at Mississippi College, has been named the Mississippi Humanities Council’s 2026 MC Teacher of the Year.   As MC’s recipient, Lenow, of Clinton, delivered a lecture titled “Retrieving Virtue, Moral Character Development as…

Janae Sinclair and Daniel Dolson recently participated in the annual All-State Strings Orchestra hosted at Belhaven University. Both students have participated in orchestra in the Clinton Public School District since fifth grade.

Cullen Lay, a senior at Clinton High School, was recently named a Stennis Scholar by Mississippi State University.   The John C. Stennis scholarship is a four-year award for incoming freshmen majoring in political science.   The program is typically awarded to only one or two incoming freshmen each year, with an emphasis on leadership…

Crystal Utley Secoy, a Clinton resident and Director and Assistant Attorney General for the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, recently completed the Mississippi LEAD (Leadership Excellence and Development) program.   Thirty participants representing twenty-three state agencies finished the program in December 2025 and were recently recognized by the Mississippi Legislature from the chamber floors. Secoy is…

By Randy Bell Dogwalkers in Clinton who aren’t prepared to clean up after their pets could soon be facing a fine if the Board of Aldermen passes a new ordinance, which was discussed at one of their recent work sessions.   Director of Community Development Roy Edwards explains the proposed ordinance: “If you’re walking your…

Special to The Clinton Courier The Mississippi School Boards Association (MSBA) recently announced its executive officers and directors for the 2025–26 term. New members were elected last November by the MSBA Delegate Assembly, a group representing school board members from across Mississippi. Sondra Odom from the Pearl Public School District School Board was elected Board…

When teachers at the Clinton Public School District’s Clinton Success Center (CSC) needed snack shelves restocked to sustain them during end-of-year student testing, members of the nonprofit Junior Auxiliary of Clinton answered the call.   Chapter members donated dozens of containers of snacks and collected water, sports drinks and soft drinks for delivery to CSC…

Special to The Clinton Courier Clinton High School senior Murphy Schoggen was recently selected to participate in the competitive Raytheon summer internship program in Forest, Mississippi.   More than eighty students applied for the internship, but only twenty-two were selected.   “Murphy and the other interns are going to experience all components of the engineering…

Firefighter Nathan Wisdom of the Clinton Fire Department recently graduated Class 219 from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1010 Firefighter I-II course held at the Mississippi State Fire Academy in Jackson.   The intense seven-week course combines online, classroom and hands-on instruction in the areas of fire behavior, fire suppression, rescue, incident command, hazardous…

Special to The Clinton Courier Mississippi Blood Services (MBS) recently recognized longtime donor Kent Mummert of Clinton, who reached an extraordinary milestone on April 29, 2026 – his 802nd platelet donation, equating to more than one hundred gallons of blood products donated over the course of his lifetime.   Mummert began donating as a freshman…

By Randy Bell It’s been a struggle for the Clinton Fire Department (CFD) to meet its goal of having a paramedic on duty for each shift at all four fire stations.  That would mean having at least twelve medics, and CFD currently has only four following the recent retirement of two veteran firefighters, both of…

Hinds Community College’s Raymond Campus recently inducted new members of the Gamma Lambda Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. PTK inductees from Hinds and Copiah counties include (l to r), Front row: Amos Clinton of Clinton, Rihanna Haines of Crystal Springs, Lakiyah Sutton of Clinton, Autumn Johnson of Clinton, Caniya Milton of Crystal Springs, Aidan Lamar Bishop…