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2 months 4 weeks ago
Photo by Joaquin Chavez, © 2026 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
The transfer portal is officially open and will continue through Jan. 16. This is the first year of the single, condensed 15-day period, with no separate spring window, aiming for more order in college football.
While that may seem far-fetched — because college football is as crazy as ever — Southern Miss is going to be very active in this portal window, giving fans an early glimpse of Blake Anderson’s first team.
By DIMA MIXON on
2 months 4 weeks ago
Mississippi quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (6) celebrates after the Sugar Bowl NCAA college football playoff quarterfinal game against Georgia in New Orleans, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026.
NEW ORLEANS — Trinidad Chambliss continues to write one of the most fascinating stories in college football history. If this wasn’t football, you’d call it a fairy tale. All that’s missing are magic beans and silver slippers.
Here Thursday night at the jam-packed Superdome, one of the world’s most famous sports venues, Chambliss willed the Ole Miss Rebels to a scintillating 39-34 Sugar Bowl victory over the proud Georgia Bulldogs. He did it with his strong right arm. He did it with his legs. He did it with courage and with uncommon flair.
By Rick Cleveland on
2 months 4 weeks ago
If I said, “Let’s take a “fast cruise,” you might think I meant four days out of Mobile, hardly time to make it to Cozumel and back. No, I would have been referencing the Navy’s practice of scheduling a ship for a mock underway period alongside the pier before a long deployment overseas.
By Benny Hornsby on
2 months 4 weeks ago
Jail dockets for Forrest and Lamar counties are provided to the Pine Belt News as a public records service. Arrest records are current for the week prior to publication.
Hattiesburg Police:
Jameer La’Trelle Arrington- stolen firearm (first offense)
Jeremy Boothe- domestic violence (simple assault)
Justin Forrest Burton- disturbing public peace (public place), drunkenness or profanity in public place, malicious mischief (value < $1,000)
Rodney Cooper- DUI (first offense)
Christopher Dabney, Jr.- armed robbery, criminal street gang activity
By Staff reports on
3 months ago
Southern Pines Animal Shelter is thrilled to announce that in 2025 they were awarded an $18,329.57 Mightycat Innovation Grant from the Orphan Kitten Club. This grant has been lifesaving for the shelter’s most vulnerable residents over the course of the 2025 kitten season, supporting the creation of the Bitty Beans Nursery, a newly outfitted, more efficient foster space dedicated to neonatal kittens (0-8 weeks old).
By Staff Report on
3 months ago
This one slipped away in a hurry. You may be thinking I am referring to the 2025 hunting season, though it is fleeting, I am talking about the past year in general. Everyone told me the older you get the faster the years pass, though we all know time is constant. They must know something though because we’re in a brand-new calendar year now. So, what went well for you in 2025 and what did not? We all have challenges, but what can we do to somewhat ensure that the new year will go as we hope it will?
By Jeff North on
3 months ago
The Southern Miss Alumni Association recently named Alden Bennett as its associate director for external affairs, a role that will strengthen external partnerships and collaborate on initiatives that elevate alumni engagement across the university’s global network of Golden Eagle alumni.
By Gracie Lewis on
3 months ago
Below is a press release from the Center for Economic Accountability:
A decade-long subsidy package for a Compass Datacenters project in Meridian, Mississippi has been selected as the nation’s “Worst Economic Development Deal of the Year” for 2025 by The Center for Economic Accountability.
By Press Release - The Center for Economic Accountability on
3 months ago
Danish-born writer Hans Christian Andersen is best known for his assortment of fairy tales. Andersen's ability to assign a level of enchantment to seemingly abnormal events in everyday life has been used to impart lessons ("The Ugly Duckling") and separate world-worn themes from the noise of living so that optimism prevails.
By Mik Davis on
3 months ago
Important state and national stories, market and business news, sports and entertainment, delivered in quick-hit fashion
By Magnolia Tribune Staff on
3 months ago
The former Hattiesburg attorney, Cory Ferraez, is back in custody after Special Judge Forrest Johnson revoked his bond for failure to appear at a status conference. Ferraez turned himself into the Forrest County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 17, 2025, according to the Forrest County jail docket. He was indicted by a grand jury in October of 2021 on five counts of embezzlement, conspiracy, fraud by mail/phone/newspaper/etc. and obtaining a signature of value with intent to defraud.
By Amanda D. Lee on
3 months ago
Beloved by generations of University of Southern Mississippi students for his wicked wit and wisdom, Dr. Joseph Balfour Parker was equally revered by news media seeking his expert political commentary and by politicians for his wise counsel on policy matters and campaign strategy.
By Staff Report on
3 months ago
Jail dockets for Forrest and Lamar counties are provided to the Pine Belt News as a public records service. Arrest records are current for the week prior to publication. Due to an early press date, the Lamar county arrest records were not available.
Hattiesburg Police:
Louis Earl Berry, Jr.- domestic violence (aggravated by strangulation)
Myla Yvette Boone- simple assault
Galen Terrell-Lashaun Cochran- possession of marijuana (enhanced with possession of firearm), possession of a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm at crime/arrest
Fendi Alexis Coffil- contempt of court (arbitration/failure to appear)
Jeremiah Martez Council- possession of marijuana in a motor vehicle
By Staff reports on
3 months 1 week ago
Greenwood Police officers are on the scene of a shooting in the 300 block of East Market Street.
, Greenwood Police officers are on the scene of a shooting in the 300 block of East Market Street.
, Greenwood Police officers are on the scene of a shooting in the 300 block of East Market Street.
, Greenwood Police officers are on the scene of a shooting in the 300 block of East Market Street.
, Greenwood Police are outside of Greenwood Leflore Hospital after four people were shot during an incident in the 300 block of East Market Street on Christmas Eve.
Four people were shot in Greenwood on Christmas Eve, two of them fatally.
Leflore County Coroner Debra Sanders said she received a call at 8:20 p.m. Wednesday in regard to a shooting incident on the 300 block of East Market Street.
The two people who died from the shooting were Dennis Outlaw, 33, and Hilliard Roby, 28, both of Greenwood. Both men died from multiple gunshot wounds, Sanders said.
By GERARD EDIC on
3 months 1 week ago
Photo by Jesse Johnson, © 2025 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
In a way, the New Orleans Bowl transpired just like the 2025 season did for Southern Miss — it started dominant and ended in collapse.
Southern Miss controlled the opening half, holding a 13-6 lead at halftime with the score closer than the actual game flow indicated. But everything shifted late in the second quarter when Western Kentucky starting quarterback Tisdale was injured.
By DIMA MIXON on
3 months 1 week ago
Greenwood police secure the scene at Crestview Apartments after three officers were injured in a shooting there.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating a Monday night shooting in Greenwood in which three police officers were injured, according to a statement released Tuesday from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
MBI is assessing the incident and gathering evidence and will then share that information with the state Attorney General’s Office, according to the statement.
By GERARD EDIC - The Greenwood Commonwealth on
3 months 1 week ago
It was another widely successful football season in the Pine Belt.
Eight of the nine area teams reached the postseason, continuing a trend of consistent success across the region, while Hattiesburg’s run to the state championship game for the second consecutive season stood out as the defining storyline of the fall.
With the season now complete, it is time to recognize the top performers from across the Pine Belt.
By DIMA MIXON on
3 months 1 week ago
Everyone who follows football in the area likely assumed this season would be a transition year for Hattiesburg after legendary head coach Tony Vance announced his retirement last year.
Vance finished his career with a 157-64 coaching record, and Hattiesburg was also losing star quarterback Deuce Vance.
In February, Hattiesburg High School announced it would hire Kendall Lacey as the school’s next head coach, bringing him over from Valdosta High School in Georgia.
Most around the area believed it would certainly be a rebuilding year — everyone except Lacey.
By DIMA MIXON on
3 months 1 week ago
Photo by Amanda D. Lee, © 2025 Emmerich Newspapers, Inc.
Shaw Ingram, owner of Wax Fantastic Records, mans the helm of the new record store.
After opening their doors on November 1, Wax Fantastic Records has been rock-and-rolling right along. Shaw Ingram, the owner of Wax Fantastic, set out to open more than just a record shop- he wanted a space where the community can come together and bond over a mutual appreciation of music. When asked about the inspiration behind opening a record store, Ingram recalled memories from his childhood in Greenville and his parents’ stereo with a turntable.
By Amanda D. Lee on
3 months 1 week ago
When debates about the birthplace of rock and roll surface, Hattiesburg is rarely part of the conversation. The omission is familiar, and it’s telling. We tend to remember where music was packaged and sold, not always where it was created.
By Cathy Eaker on
