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Land shift puts city water main in jeopardy Area placed on watch; work set to resume today
By Emily Wagster Pettus The Associated Press
By Steve Sanoski ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com A land shift threatening the stability of one of the city’s main water lines was on overnight watch, with work scheduled to resume this morning. The shift occurred underneath Washington Street, near the MV Mississippi IV. “This is as serious as it gets, and we’re working feverishly to stabilize that slope and make sure we don’t lose that line,” North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield said Friday afternoon. He was acting as mayor pro-tem because Mayor Paul Winfield was out of town. As of Friday night, water service in the city continued to flow. However, if the 36-inch concrete water main located about three feet below the street were to burst, service to the entire city could be lost, Mayfield confirmed. “Citizens may choose to take precautionary measures, such as rationing and storing additional water supplies in the event of any unforeseen issues,” said City Emergency Management Director Anna Booth in a prepared statement. “At this time, the situation is under control.” The land shift was discovered Friday morning by contract workers who have been doing ground work on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Interpretive Center just north of the MV Mississippi IV, said Corps spokesman Kavanaugh Breazeale. “This is not a big issue yet, and we’re just trying to make sure it doesn’t turn into one,” Breazeale said. “We’re doing what it takes to make sure it doesn’t slide anymore.” Beginning about 9 a.m. Friday, dump truck after
KATIE CARTER•The Vicksburg PosT
A heavy-equipment operator, above works to stabilize the ground just under the hill from a city water main that runs underneath Washington Street. Also above, a dip in Washington can be seen. At left, sand covers cracks in the street.
dump truck hauled sand to the site, where bulldozers pushed the sand against the base of the slope beneath the slide. Above the slide, Washington Street suffered several cracks as wide as six inches and as long as five parking spaces. The large
cracks were sealed, said Mayfield. “Right now, we feel comfortable that it has stopped sliding,” said city Public Works Director Bubba Rainer. Rainer said work to temporarily stabilize the failing
slope would likely continue today, and at that point city officials would begin discussing with the Corps and its contractor a permanent solution. A Corps civil engineer on site Friday night, said crews had left about 9:25,
and would resume work this morning. Meanwhile, the site would be on 24-hour watch with measurements taken hourly. City officials would not speculate on the cause of the land shift, saying they were See Water, Page A9.
Owners of building near downtown collapse site demand work stop By Steve Sanoski ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com Despite the threat of legal action by a Washington Street building owner, city officials said Friday they do not intend to get involved in a dispute over a shared wall at the cleanup site of two Clay Street buildings that collapsed in 2006. Lisa and Randy Ashcraft — who in April 2008 purchased the building at 1221 Washington St. that was
ONLINE www.vicksburgpost.com VOLUME 128 NUMBER 86 4 SECTIONS
Medicaid aims to slash provider payments
formerly connected to the collapsed buildings — spent Thursday and Friday having city officials and the cleanup contractor served with letters from their lawyers demanding work stop on the shared wall being torn down, which is exposing the rear of their building. “We’re talking about a 30-foot by 20-foot hole in my building that is exposing my rafters, brand new roof and sheetrock,” said Lisa Ashcraft. “This is a request for
WEATHER
immediate action to halt any further damage to my property, and I’m also requesting that I be compensated for the water damage that I have already got.” Mayor Paul Winfield was served with papers — personally and on behalf of the City of Vicksburg — between the open and closed sessions of Thursday’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting. Along with Winfield, Ashcraft said she had letters delivered to
DEATHS
• Sadie Bradley • Gladys S. Grant • Dott Vaiden Harris • George Morrison Sr. Mississippi River Friday: • Evelyn Marie Simmons 36.4 feet • Lorene Morgan Wasson Rose: 0.8 foot Flood stage: 43 feet Today: Sunny; high of 75 Tonight: Partly cloudy; low 53
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Building and Inspections Director Victor Gray-Lewis and Bill Greenwood, owner of Antique Wood and Brick Company of Mississippi, which began dismantling the collapsed buildings brick by brick more than three years ago. As of Friday, Ashcraft said Greenwood’s crew had not ceased dismantling the wall and she had not heard a response from city officials. If the wall continues to be taken down in the coming
week, Ashcraft said she will begin exploring her legal options and has not ruled out filing lawsuits against Greenwood, the city and city officials personally. “When I purchased this building, I was repeatedly promised by Victor GrayLewis that that wall would be capped and left intact,” said Ashcraft. Ashcraft said she served Winfield personally because See Collapsed, Page A9.
JACKSON — Mississippi’s Medicaid program has notified doctors, dentists and other providers it intends to cut their payments for April, May and June because of a state budget shortfall. The cuts — if approved by the federal government — could be steep. Reimbursements for dental services could be reduced 20 percent for the three months, according to a chart provided by Medicaid. Payments for a wide range of providers, including nursing homes and pharmacists, could be cut 15 percent. Medicaid is a health coverage plan for the needy, aged, blind and disabled, and for low-income families with children. It is paid by state and federal money, and because Mississippi is a poor state, it receives a generous federal contribution. Medicaid said it has a $14.6 million shortfall for payments to providers for the state fiscal year that ends June 30. With the federal contribution, the total shortfall is just over $87 million. Top lawmakers said Friday there’s no reason to cut the payments because the state has millions of dollars in See Medicaid, Page A3.
Last part of Ware House up for sale By Danny Barrett Jr. dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com The final piece of foreclosed property included in the former Ware House hotel and entertainment complex will be listed for sale as residential space, the building’s owner says. Sharp Enterprises Inc. bid $160,000 on 1418 Washington St. at a foreclosure sale in February. The building housed Shooters bar and pool hall, operated as part of developer Robert Ware’s seven other properties including the 13-room hotel, sports bar and lounge at 1412-14, adjacent space at 1408, 1410 and 1416 and two parcels that front Crawford Street. The building was owned by Fourteen Eighteen LLC, spun off from MR Development LLC, which defaulted See Property, Page A9.
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