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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2014
WWW.SUNHERALD.COM
Welcome to the family
Rape victim
feared being
strangled,
Twelve children adopted in mass ceremony in Jackson County
thrown
from bridge
Bryant OKs
another $28
million in
restoration
projects for
the Coast
By MARGARET BAKER
[email protected]
OCEAN SPRINGS — An Ocean
Springs rape victim said she
did not struggle with her attacker because he had his
hands around her throat and
she feared he’d either strangle her to death or throw her
off the side of the Biloxi Bay
Bridge, a police report filed
in the case said.
The woman had nowhere
to go to avoid the sexual assault that happened around
8:30 p.m. Friday within seconds of the suspect grabbing
her. Even if she did have
time to think of any escape
route, her only options were
to jump one bridge’s railing on one side and land in
the eastbound traffic on the
Biloxi Bay Bridge or jump
the other railing and land
in the water.
Either option could have
turned deadly.
Bridge TO 4A
By MARY PEREZ
[email protected]
Twitter: MaryPerezSH
AMANDA McCOY/SUN HERALD
Daguerre Henry holds her daughter, Jaysa, 3, during adoption proceedings at the Jackson County Chancery Court on
Monday in Pascagoula. Monday was Jackson County’s 2014 Mass Adoption ceremony. In total 12 children were adopted by
seven families.
By VICKI TERRINONI
Special to the Sun Herald
This is the correct sketch
of a suspect in the rape of
a woman Friday in Ocean
Springs.
Police released
wrong sketch
of rape suspect
By MARGARET BAKER
[email protected]
OCEAN SPRINGS — Ocean
Springs police gave local
media the wrong composite
sketch of a man who was supposed to be a suspect in the
Friday night rape of a woman
on the Ocean Springs side of
the Biloxi Bay Bridge, Ocean
Springs Deputy Chief Mark
Dunston and other authorities confirmed Monday.
The incorrect sketch remained in the public eye
for two days before police
reported they had sent the
wrong sketch. On Monday,
they sent the correct composite sketch of the man accused of sexually assaulting
the woman.
Ocean Springs police had
solicited the help of the Gulfport Police Department to
create the sketch of the suspect, described as a black
man, about 30 years old, tall
and thin and wearing blue
jeans, a gray jacket with orange accents and a blue ball
cap with the word “MIAMI”
Follow us
Sketch TO 4A
Follow
us
© 2014 SUN HERALD
Gov. Phil Bryant announced Monday that three
more restoration projects
totaling $28 million are
planned across the three
Coast counties.
The new projects include:
n $21 million for marsh
creation and restoration in
three priority bay systems
including St. Louis Bay, Back
Bay of Biloxi and the Pascagoula/Escatawpa
n $4 million for the expansion of a Reef Fish Assessment Program, a twoyear project to gather data
on abundance, distribution
and life-history characteristics of red snapper and other reef fish
n $2.6 million to improve
management of invasive species and the continued enhancement of habitat of
state lands in coastal Mississippi
Bryant said the projects
will reduce erosion along the
shorelines while providing
protection from storm surge,
strengthen the fishing industry and look at overfishing in
the Gulf of Mexico.
The three projects were
developed in consultation
with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and federal resource agencies. This brings
the amount to nearly $39
million from the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund
that was created 18 months
ago as part of the settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice, BP and
Transocean following the
Gulf oil spill. Under the
agreement, $356 million
will be paid into the fund
over the next five years for
conservation projects in
Mississippi.
Details: restore.ms and
nfwf.org
The Jackson County Department of Human Services adoption unit celebrated
National Adoption Month
on Monday by seeing 12
children adopted to seven families during a mass
adoption ceremony at the
Jackson County Chancery
Court in Pascagoula.
Judge Charles Bordis presided over the adoptions. “I
appreciate the opportunity
to do this today. Every day
when I come to court it is
usually a stressful situation,
but today I saw good things
happen and saw the system
work,” he said.
Sherba Hinton, Jackson
County adoption supervisor, said each month the department has single adoptions, but in November,
as part of National Adoption Month, they do a mass
adoption.
Family adopted some of
home is the only foster home
in which she’s lived.
“I’m good with it. I like it.
I know she is going to take
care of me,” she said.
The Norvel family, of
Moss Point, took in three
siblings — Acire, 9, Octavious, 7, and Taeveon, 4 — into
their family, which includes
their biological daughter
Ja’nya, also 7. “We did not
set out to get siblings, but I
am glad we did,” said ShunAMANDA McCOY/SUN HERALD
da Norvel. The three were
Crystal Lee, center, smiles while waiting for adoption
the only foster children the
proceedings to begin at the Jackson County Chancery
Norvels have had.
Court on Monday in Pascagoula. Lee and her husband,
For the Blakeneys of GauHerbert, adopted three children on Monday including
tier, Matthew, 8, joined their
Marquesha, 16, left, and Natasha, 12, right.
family which includes a son,
|
Peter, also 8, a little over a
year ago. Matthew was the
second of four foster children in the home, but the
only one they adopted.
“The hardest part is waitthe children, like Nykeria years ago.
ing for the parental rights to
Barnes, 15, of Pascagoula.
“When it came to the be terminated,” said ElizaNykeria’s great-aunt, Clan- point to place her, I said beth Blakeney.
toria Reese, adopted her ‘yes,’” Reese said.
after taking her in three
Nikeria is happy her aunt’s
Adoption TO 4A
WEB EXTRA For more photos
and a video of the adoptions
go to sunherald.com
Gov. Bryant seeks $79M tax cut for lower earners
By JEFF AMY
sissippi,” he
said in a news
conference.
JACKSON — Republican
Legislative
Gov. Phil Bryant said Monleaders will
day that he wants to cut inrelease their
come taxes for some Missisown propossippians earning less than Bryant
al in Decem$53,000 a year as part of his
ber, and both
2016 budget proposal.
will be considered when lawHe estimates the tax re- makers convene in January.
duction will return $78.7 mil- An April budget deadline
lion to about 300,000 house- comes months before most
holds, for an average tax cut lawmakers and Bryant are
of around $250 a year.
expected to seek re-election
The tax cut is the center- in November 2015.
piece of his spending plan
The tax cut would piggyfacebook.com/sunherald
for
the 2016 budget year, back on the existing federal
which begins July 1.
Earned Income Tax Credit.
“We believe now it is time Married people with three
@sunherald
to give tax relief to the work- or more children making
ing men and women of Mis- up to $52,427 a year might
Associated Press
CLARIFICATION
facebook.com/sunherald
@sunherald
n Ocean
Springs police provided the
Sun Herald an incorrect composite
sketch of the suspect from
Friday night’s rape case they are
investigating. The correct composite
appears elsewhere on this page.
get relief under the proposal. A single childless person
would benefit if making less
than $14,590 a year.
Bryant’s plan differs from
the federal credit in significant respects. First, it’s
nonrefundable. That means
that someone could only get
back as much as they pay in
state taxes. Under the federal credit, filers get the whole
amount, meaning the credit acts as an income supplement for people who work
but earn little. About 90,000
Mississippians who work
but make so little that they
don’t owe federal income
taxes currently get money
Budget proposals
Gov. Phil Bryant made his budget recommendations
Monday, with his plans centering on a $78.7 million tax
cut. Bryant is also seeking:
n $2.8 million more to increase state financial aid for
public college and university students.
n Almost $900,000 more to give a 3 percent
pay increase for state troopers and driver license
employees at the Department of Public Safety.
n $1.2 million more for a program that would try to
reduce teen pregnancy among community college and
university students.
n $2 million more for Jackson State University to start
a school of public health.
n $1.5 million more for the state Health Department to
try to reduce deaths among mothers and infants.
n $3 million more for the Department of Mental
Health.
n $1.6 million less to Mississippi Public
Broadcasting’s television and radio operations.
— Gov. Phil Bryant’s office
Budget TO 4A
INDEX
Annie, Abby...........8A
Business..............9A
Classified.............8B
Crosswords........10B
Horoscopes..........8A
Obituaries...........6A
Opinion.............11A
Sports................1B
TV.......................8A
Your Life.............5B
WEATHER, 10a
High 47
Low 31
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