ABERDEEN â Outgoing Mayor Maurice Howard, 36, pleaded guilty to embezzlement by a public official Monday in Monroe County Circuit Court.
Judge John White sentenced his removal from office and 10 years in Mississippi Department of Corrections custody with the time being suspended. He will not serve any jail time. Howard was also ordered to repay court costs of $431.50, a bond fee of $200 and the victimâs bond fee of $10, in addition to restitution in the amount of $8,226 to Old Republic Surety Company of Milwaukee.
There is no minimum sentence on the charge, but the maximum is 20 years with a $5,000 fine.
The criminal charges were brought forth by the Mississippi State Auditorâs office. They stem from trips he was reimbursed for in 2017 with taxpayer funds that he never took.
ABERDEEN â Following witness testimony and legal arguments last week in Monroe County Circuit Court, Special Judge Jeff Weill Sr. of Jackson explained the timeline for a ruling in the Ward 1 election contest filed on behalf of Robert Devaull. Nicholas Holliday was certified as winner of the race last summer and holds the Ward 1 alderman seat.
Devaullâs attorneys, Lydia Quarles and Jim Mozingo, and Hollidayâs attorney, Walter Zinn Jr., are to have their proposed findings within 21 days following the final witness testimony planned in the case. After studying both findings, Weill will send his final opinion for the Aberdeen Election Commission to review, and its members will have 10 days to send in writing if they agree or disagree with his opinion before a ruling is issued.
A 57-year-old Tavernier man was arrested Thursday morning for performing work on a womanâs home without permits or proper licensing â work that was scheduled to take days but remained unfinished months later.
John William Sinnamon was charged with engaging in contracting business without certification, according to Monroe County Sheriffâs spokesman Adam Linhardt.
The case began in October when a Key Largo woman reported Sinnamon was verbally abusing her. The victim stated she hired Sinnamon in April to perform mold mediation work on her home on Jean La Fitte Drive, Linhardt said.
The scope of the work was to take four days, but four months later the work was still not done. She further stated Sinnamon performed work out of the scope of his contract by gutting her bathroom down to the studs. Sinnamon told the victim he did not need permits to perform the work, Linhardt said.
Pete Randle and Jimmy Dale Parham have worked behind the scenes on election days and nights for a collective 48 years to ensure Monroe County elections have run smoothly. The two men are retiring from roles as county election commissioners and they were recently honored at the Monroe County Courthouse.
Parham was appointed to the District 1 position to fill the seat of Robert Parham after he fell ill 20 years ago. After completing that unexpired term, he was elected to the position for the next four terms.
âThis last election put a lot of pressure on everybody because of coronavirus. I had several, and other commissioners did too, right up to the week before the election who would call and say they just couldnât work and asked if someone could take their place. It was a challenging election from several different standpoints,â said Parham, who began serving in March 2000.
December 17: News from around the Driftless Area
‘News from Around the Driftless Area’ is a compilation showcasing the excellent work and interesting tidbits from the community journalists sprinkled throughout our area.
VIROQUA –McIntosh Memorial Library of Viroqua will be hosting the third annual adult winter reading program in 2021. Adults are encouraged to stop by the library lobby beginning Monday, Jan. 4 to pick up a participation bookmark. Through Friday, Feb. 26 participants are asked to read or listen to three books and to record that information onto the bookmark. The completed bookmark should be returned to the library in exchange for a winter related prize. Everyone returning a completed bookmark will be eligible to win the grand prize. The grand prize drawing will be held Monday, March 1. The program is supported by the Friends of the McIntosh Memorial Library. For more information about this program, contact the library at 608-637-7151, like the