Public Safety Center in Ocean Springs

OCEAN SPRINGS -- Emergency personnel will soon see the results of several years of work by city officials to bring a new Public Safety Center to this city.

A groundbreaking today officially began the start of construction for a 4,000-square-foot building.

The Ocean Springs Public Safety Center will house police station and jail, fire department, and courtroom activities.

About two years ago, 66 percent of Ocean Springs residents approved a 2 percent sales tax to pay for the center.

Mississippi's Fallen Honored For Memorial Day

MOSS POINT – During late May veteran Charles Roithmayer delivers to local media outlets a list of soldiers who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“I feel it is just appropriate for all of the service men and women who died in Afghanistan and Iraq to have their names published,” he said this morning.

It's something he started two years ago to commemorate Memorial Day, something he wanted to do for the military personnel of South Mississippi.

Roithmayer, who served in Germany and Austria during the post occupation of WWII, said his aim is to bring public attention to military personnel across the state who have given their lives since March 2003, when the U.S. launched Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Roithmayer served two years in the Army and was a staff member for the adjudant general's office.

The Moss Point man's tribute was among many made to American troops this Memorial Day Weekend in honor of military service personnel who have died or were wounded during numerous American wars, military conflicts and operations foreign and domestic.

Commemorations have included special ceremonies, concerts, and roll calls of soldiers' names. Flags, flowers, crosses and other memorabilia have been placed at gravesides, and dozens of military leaders and family members have given speeches to pay homage to the fallen. 

Celebrations started as early as Thursday, May 21, when ROTC students in Bay St. Louis dedicated the Veterans Memorial Garden they built at Bay High School.

Mississippi's Fallen

MILITARY PERSONNEL WHO HAVE DIED IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

• Sgt. Larry R. Arnold Sr., 46, Carriere, June 11, 2005.
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• Pfc. Stephen P. Baldwin, 19, Saltillo, May 9, 2005.
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• Spec. Bryan Edward Barron, 26, Biloxi, May 23, 2005.
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• Spec. Benjamin Brosh, 22, Gautier, April, 18, 2008
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• Staff Sgt. Kenneth R. Bradley, 39, Utica, May 29, 2003
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• Staff Sgt. Scott Bright, 36, Jackson, July 5, 2005
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• Spec. Larry K. Brown, 22, Jackson, April 5, 2003
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• Cpl. Henry L. Brown, 22, Natchez, April 8, 2003
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• Spec. Lerando J. Brown, 27, Gulfport, March 15, 2008
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• Spec. Joshua I. Bunch, 23, Hattiesburg, August 6, 2004
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• Staff Sgt. Jerry C. Burge, 39, Carriere, April 4, 2007
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• 1st Lt. Donald C. Carwile, 29, Oxford, August 15, 2008
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• Lance Cpl. Casey Lynne Casanova, McComb, May 3, 2008
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• Spec. James A. Chance III, 25, Kokomo, November 6, 2003.
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• 2nd Lt. Therrel S. Childers, 30, Harrison, March 21, 2003
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• Sgt. 1st Class Sean M. Cooley, 35, Ocean Springs, February 3, 2005.
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• Cpl. Justin Cooper, 22, Eupora, May 18, 2008.
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• Staff Sgt. Travis S. Cooper, 24, Macon, July 16, 2005.
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• Spec. Raphael S. Davis, 24, Tutwiler, December 2, 2003.
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• Staff Sgt. Jeffrey F. Dayton, 27, Caledonia, April 29, 2004
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• Lance Cpl. Roger W. Deeds, 24, Biloxi, November 16, 2005
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• Spec. Jeremia J. Digiovanni, 21, Tylertown, November 15, 2003
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• Capt. Kermit O. Evans, 31, Hollandale, December 3, 2006
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• Staff Sgt. Clint D. Ferrin, 31, Picayune, March 13, 2004
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• Staff Sgt. Brian L. Freeman, 27, Caledonia, November 7, 2005
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• Major Michael L. Green, 36, Gautier, January 7, 2008
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• Sgt. Taurean T. Harris, 22, Liberty, August 2, 2007
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• Pfc. Damian L. Heidelberg, 21, Batesville, November, 2003
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• Spec. Melvin L. Henley Jr., 26, Jackson, November 21, 2007
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• Sgt. Courtland A. Kennard, 22, Starkville, November 9, 2006
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• Sgt. Joshua S. Ladd, 20, Port Gibson, May 1, 2004
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• Sgt. Jonathan W. Lambert, 28, Newsite, June 1, 2003
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• Cpl. Dustin J. Lee, 20, Quitman, March 21, 2007
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• Spec. Terrance D. Lee Sr., 25, Moss Point, June 11, 2005
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• Sgt. Donnie Leo F. Levens, 25, Long Beach, February 17, 2006
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• Spec. Audrey Daron Lunsford, 29, Sardis, May 23, 2005
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• Pfc. Christopher D. Mabry, 19, Chunky, April 7, 2004
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• Pvt. Barry W. Mayo, 21, Ecru, March 5, 2007
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• Cpl. Robert T. McDavid, 29, Starkville, March 10, 2008
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• Master Sgt. Brian P. McAnulty, 39, Vicksburg, December 11, 2006
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• Spec. Robert A. McNail, 30, Meridian, February 11, 2005
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• Sgt. 1st Class Clarence D. McSwain, 31, Meridian, June 8, 2006
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• Cpl. Clifton B. Mounce, 22, Pontotoc, July 14, 2005
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• Staff Sgt. James D. Mowris, 37, Aurora, January 29, 2004
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• 1st Lt. Robert C. Oneto-Sikorski, 33, Bay St. Louis, October 31, 2005
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• Sgt. Timothy R. Osbey, 34, Magnolia, February 16, 2005
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• Staff Sgt. Saburant Parker, 43, Foxworth, May 23, 2005
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• Engineman 1st Class Vincent Parker, 38, Preston, Novoember 18, 2001
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• Sgt. Willard T. Partridge, 35, Natchez, August 20, 2005
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• Cpl. Michael Be. Presley, 21, Batesville, December 14, 2005
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• Spec. Robert S. Pugh, 25, Meridian, March 2, 2005
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• Spec. Joseph A. Rahaim, 22, Laurel, February 16, 2005
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• Staff Sgt. Christopher L. Robinson, 36, Brandon, March 26, 2006
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• Staff Sgt. John T. Self, 29, Pontotoc, May 14, 2007
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• Sgt. 1st Class William C. Spillers, 39, Terry, February 17, 2007
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• Sgt. 1st Class George Stanciel, 40, Greenwood, August 19, 2008
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• 2nd Lt. Matthew R. Stovall, 25, Horn Lake, August 22, 2004
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• Lance Cpl. Marc L. Tucker, 24, Pontotac, June 8, 2005
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• Sgt. Daniel Ryan Varnado, 23, Saucier, May 23, 2005
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• Sgt. Jason W. Vaughn, 29, Iuka, May 10, 2007
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• Staff Sgt. Joe N. Wilson, 30, Crystal Springs, November 2, 2003

Emergency Personnel, Teachers Make a Difference

The American Legion Post 160 in Pascagoula recognized teachers, law enforcement officers and firefighters, including one who died in a motorcycle accident in January, at the post's annual "People Who Make a Difference" event Friday night.

Read the Press-Register to find out who was honored. 

ROTC Students Build Veterans Memorial Garden

BAY ST. LOUIS -- ROTC students at Bay High held dedication ceremonies May 22 for a Veterans Memorial Garden they built on the school grounds to honor fallen soldiers.

Lt. Robert C. Onteto-Sikorski is the first soldier's name added to the memorial, etched into a brick. He died Oct. 31, 2005, during a combat mission for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Ontenus-Sekorski, 33, was a native of Bay St. Louis. The company officer was leader of the Army's 155^th Infantry Battalion.

Read and view more about the Veterans Memorial Garden at WLOX-TV 13.

Coast Guard Rescues Officers, Companions

Ocean Springs Officer Missing After Week in Mississippi Sound 

OCEAN SPRINGS -- Law enforcement, family members and residents across South Mississippi went through a tremendous scare this past week when three police officers and their companions went missing May 17.

That scare continues today for the family of Officer Stephen Bond and the Ocean Springs Police Department. Nearly a week after the co-workers and friends failed to return from a Sunday afternoon boat trip to Horn Island, the whereabouts of Bond still are unknown. 

While Bond's wife, Susan, and mother, Susan Vallette, are holding onto hope that the 32-year-old man may be found on one of the islands stretching across the Mississippi Sound, the U.S. Coast Guard has called off its rescue mission, according to local news reports. 

Hope is fading and the likelihood of Bond being found alive lessens each day. Some officials have even speculated that the Sound's currents already may have taken Bond out to sea, probably toward Louisiana. 

Another storm that rolled through South Mississippi this weekend further hampered continued search efforts by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department and Ocean Springs police. 

Media reports said Bond was one of five people aboard a 21-foot boat when 5-foot waves flipped its passengers into churning waters caused by high winds from an approaching storm. They were on a sailing trip that included time at the annual Horn Island Blowout.

Reportedly, the Coast Guard rescued about nine more people from the Gulf Coast waters.  

The four boaters with Bond included reserve officer Jonathan Navas, 23, and his wife Whitney, patrol officer Michael Green, 31, and his girlfriend Becky Welch, 37. They spent Sunday night floating in the Sound before the Coast Guard rescued them Monday afternoon, May 18, near Horn Island. They were taken to Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, where all were treated and released by Thursday, May 21. 

While at Memorial they recounted their ordeal to media outlets:

(videos are subject to time limit)

Mike Green tells how boat capsized. (sunherald video)

Whitney Navas talks about time in water/rescue. (sunherald video)

Whitney Navas says they are blessed to be alive. (wlox-tv video)

Mike Green says they should have waited. (wlox-tv video)

Eloi Anthony Guidry Jr.

Lance Corporal Eloi Anthony Guidry Jr. of Long Beach died Wednesday, April 22, 2009, in Gulfport.

Media reports said Guidry, 21, was killed when his Honda motorcycle struck a Ford 250 pickup on U.S. 90 in Pass Christian. He died at Memorial Hospital at Gulfport.

Guidry was a member of the United States Marine Corps and a student at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He loved family, friends, fast cars, and his dogs George and Sue.

Guidry was survived by his wife, Desiree Guidry of Long Beach; infant daughter Brenna Leann Guidry; mother Paulette Jones and her husband Scot of Long Beach; father Tony Guidry and wife Lisa of Necaise Crossing; siblings Angela Guidry of Long Beach, Alan Peters of Diamondhead, Tyler Amacker of Pass Christian, Tomi Rene Barnes of Carthage, Stephen Jones of Long Beach, Chris Jones of Carthage, Joseph Stelly of Necaise Crossing; and grandparents Glenn and Norma Dore' of Kiln, Randall Snyder of Asheville, N.C., Robert and Joyce Guidry of Necaise Crossing and Barbara Jones of Slidell, La.

Funeral services were April 25 at Reimann Family Funeral Home in Long Beach. Interment was in St. Joseph's Cemetery at Rotten Bayou.

In lieu of flowers a memorial account was established at Hancock Bank in Guidry's honor to help provide for his family.

A online guestbook may be signed and viewed at www.riemannfamily.com

Crash claims young father

www.sunherald.com

(must reference archives)

Remembering Varnado and Barron

GULFPORT -- It's been four years now since another two families lost loved ones serving in the military on foreign soil. 

Spc. Danny Varnado, 23, and Spc. Bryan Barron, 26, died May 23, 2005, while serving in Iraq. 

Both men were from Gulfport, and were members of the Mississippi National Guard, 155th Brigade Combat Team known as Dixie Thunder.  

(This information will be updated later.)

Officer Curry Added to National Memorial

GULFPORT -- Police Lt. Robert James Curry had his name added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., on May 13.

He is among 387 officers in the nation and among 199 from Mississippi who died in the line of duty to be added to the memorial. 

Curry, 39, died Aug. 14, 2008, when a vehicle struck his motorcycle as he helped escort a funeral procession on U.S. 49 in Gulfport.