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What a year! If you are like me, where did the year go?
I thought I would share with ya’ll some of the things Magee and Simpson County saw in 2018.
I am going to let Zach handle the national and state stuff plus the Sports.
Probably one of the hottest topics in Simpson County last year was the legalizing of liquor in our county. The question never came to ballot! According to our Circuit Clerk Steve Womack, the number of needed signatures (1,500) was not reached. Much fussing and questioning was flying all over the county about signatures that were thrown out. The bottom line is…not enough signatures!
To me one of the stories that had such a great impact on our city and county was the losing of our prisoners who provided a lot of labor for the municipalities in our county. Everyone had to adjust their budgets…and the pick-up of garbage when this happened. The city of Magee worked between 10-12 prisoners at a cost of about $100,000 per year. We survived!!!
Robberies were some of the top stories on MageeNews for 2018.
In January, the Wards Restaurant was robbed 2 times. Our new Dollar General on Highway 28 was also robbed. 
The story that received the most attention last year was the breaking in and attempted robbery at the McAlpin house. Gloria Lucas and her sister were seriously injured during the robbery. Both ladies are better, but this act was something no one will ever forget. Our continued prayers for Gloria and Debra. 
An intensive manhunt took place following the stealing of a Mississippi Highway Patrol car in Mendenhall. The capture ended in Decatur (Newton County).
A big drug bust took place in Simpson County in August with 13 arrested in D’Lo, Mendenhall, and Magee.
Although we had several break-ins, our police and sheriff “cracked” most of these cases.
In fact, one of our top stories in law enforcement was the heroic efforts of the Magee Police Department in saving a local man. The police took the victim to the hospital in a police car performing chest compressions the entire way…saving this guy’s life!
Prayer is a large part of MageeNews. Actually, MageeNews came about as a way to pray for others.
The loss of Dustin Grubbs a fireman who was on his way to a fire and had a wreck leaving a wife and 4 children. 
The many families whose hearts and lives will never be the same as they grieve and miss their family members.
We prayed for Tate Cliburn who continues to receive treatment and continues to improve.
We prayed for Parker Pierce—Prayers for Parker—I remember so well when his baseball team the Cardinals all shaved their heads to show their love and support of Parker when he lost his hair. Parker still faces and uphill battle, but he is improving.
Walt Prince faced melanoma. After treatment, he is cancer free but will continue to be monitored throughout the year. 
Our Sheriff Donald O’Cain suffered a stroke but is home and continues to improve.
Little Ace Evans has been on our hearts and minds for several months now. Following surgery, Ace is improving. 
There are so many people. I have mentioned only a few.
Magee had a great year of growth with many new and remolded businesses. Also Insurance, Russell & Ruseel Enterprises, Simpson Nutrition, World Finance, Tim Nails, The Vault, Main Street Reality and Main Street Barber Shop all joined downtown Magee on Main Street! Four new business have built on highway 49: Fast Pace Urgent Care, Ferguson Credit Union, Rain Forest Car Wash, and Big D’s. Six new businesses have completed remodels: Angela’s, Urgent Care, Sunbelt Credit Union, South Central Community Action, and 5 County Child Development. We even have a heliport!
A couple of new ventures happened at MageeNews.com this year. The addition of TheTalkShow with Zach Holbrook as the host. Zach has brought so much to MageeNews. He keeps us updated with politics and the happening in our world. We had a new site re-design this year and will continue to adjust the site to be user friendly.
We had our first ever Virtual Open House at Hardware for Her in ACE Hardware. The Open House was quite a success and we hope to do more in the future. 
We added the Simpson County Shopping Guide that offers advertising to local small businesses at an affordable price giving these businesses the perks of social media.
We are excited about our first Virtual Christmas Tour of Homes which will begin Tuesday night, December 18th. We will tour 4 homes in Simpson County: The home of Lee and Kim Maddox sponsored by PriorityOne Bank; The home of Stacy and Cemper Scott sponsored by Peoples Ban; The home of Scott and Sherrie Hubbard sponsored by Trustmark Bank; and The home of Raymond and Diane Johnson sponsored by Sarah Jones Real Estate of Brandon. The videos will be posted the week of the 18-21. The videos will be available on MageeNews.com website and MageeNews.com Facebook page.
What do I see in the future for MageeNews.com? More virtual tours, more updated stories, more interviews, and more about our county and state.
Often, I get scared when I try to look into the future. Sure, we’ve all got to plan. But, I feel we are in the hands of the Lord and will follow His path no matter where we are led.
Merry Christmas to each of you. Your loyalty to our site is greatly appreciated. You are loved!
Sue the prez
