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The Vicksburg Post Sunday, September 13, 2009 A9
Hostages escape Kansas home after suspect falls asleep
DOVER, Kan. (AP) — Two
newlyweds held hostage in
their eastern Kansas home on
Saturday escaped unharmed
when the man holding them
captive fell asleep — after they
gave him pillows and a blanket,
authorities and family
members said.
Jesse Dennis Dimmick, 23,
was shot and
injured when
confronted
by officers as
they stormed
the beige, onestory
ranchstyle
house in
Dover, a tiny
town about 15
miles west of
Topeka. Police
Wreck
Meals
Jesse Dennis
Dimmick
said Dimmick — wanted in
a homicide in Colorado and
burglaries in three states —
crashed a stolen car into the
couple’s front yard after leading
police on a chase.
Family members said the
couple befriended Dimmick
after he forced his way into
their home. They offered him
something to drink and gave
him pillows and blankets so
he could lie down in their
bedroom. When he dozed off
about 2 1/2 hours later, they
ran from the house.
The chase began about 50
miles west in Geary County
when sheriff’s deputies spotted
a car that authorities said
Dimmick stole in Colorado.
“The suspect ended up
having a couple of accidents
along the way,” Topeka Police
Capt. Jerry Stanley said. “It
was a pursuit that ended up
in the front yard.”
Dimmick was shot once in
the upper left part of his chest,
Continued from Page A1.
Continued from Page A1.
A family of four, for example,
with household income
of $28,665 or less qualifies
for free meals, or $40,793 for
reduced-price meals.
About 70 percent of Vicksburg’s
public school students
enrolled in free or reduced
meal programs last year,
Kavanaugh said. The district
is looking at a possible
74 percent eligibility this
year, out of an official enrollment
of 8,898 public school
students.
“That’s a big jump,”
Kavanaugh said. “We anticipated
a rise because of the
state of the economy and the
loss of jobs in our area.”
Classes began more than
a month ago and students
enrolled last year in the
meal program were automatically
carried forward
when the school year began,
Kavanaugh said, but new
applications are required
each year.
“We want parents to
respond,” she added. Just
one application is needed to
cover all school children in
the family.
Notices and application
forms have been sent home
by way of the students. In
Law enforcement officers work a hostage situation in Dover, Kan., Saturday.
though his injuries weren’t
considered life threatening,
said Kansas attorney general
spokeswoman Ashley Anstaett.
He underwent surgery
Saturday afternoon. His condition
hadn’t been released.
The couple, Jared and Lindsay
Rowley, were married last
week and went with police to
Topeka to answer questions
following the incident, family
members said. They said Lindsey
Rowley is studying criminal
justice at Kansas State
University. A message left on
Barbara Beard — who had
gathered at the family’s 127
Brookwood Drive home Saturday
confirmed the couple
had been contacted by the
Mississippi Highway Safety
Patrol and were told that
their son’s car was the one in
question.
“They’re positive that it’s
him,” said neighbor Anna
Jones. “They just haven’t
identified him yet.”
Wells said local 911 officials
received a call that a vehicle
had plunged off U.S. 82 and
was on fire. Mississippi Highway
Safety patrolmen, Wells
and other officials responded
and spent several hours
investigating at the scene,
about 3 miles west of Eupora.
The vehicle had been eastbound,
Wells said. While
forensic tests were incomplete,
he said indications
were that the car left the
roadway, became airborne,
crashed through some trees
and landed in a creek. It subsequently
burned, Wells said.
Authorities also searched
the area and did not find
any other people, and do not
believe anyone else was in
the car, he said.
A MHSP spokesperson
was unable to be reached
Saturday.
It was unclear why Beard
would have been in the
Eupora area, a town about 30
miles west of Starkville and
east of Interstate 55, or why
he was traveling east. Curtis
Robertson, Beard’s best
friend and a fellow senior at
Mississippi State, said there
was speculation Beard was
going to or returning from a
trip to Hattiesburg. “I think
he took a wrong turn,” he
said.
Wells said investigators
would likely try dental
records first to positively
identify the victim, and if that
failed would use DNA samples.
“We are hopeful we will
know in the next two or three
addition, automated phone
calls have been placed and
notices have been mailed to
the 300 or so families eligible
in the past who have not
signed up for this year.
In recent years, the number
of students eligible for free
and reduced meals has
grown steadily at the rate of
about 1 percent annually.
Households must report
income information or provide
a Supplemental Assistance
Program or other
applicable program case
number. Other information
required includes names of
all household members.
The USDA runs verification
checks on a sampling
of applications, Kavanaugh
said, to ensure compliance
with income guidelines.
“If it’s over the allowable
amount (families) are taken
GIBSON
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6434 Highway 61 S
Vicksburg, MS 39180
601-636-1534
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cell phone was not returned.
Family members said they
received text messages from
the couple while they were
inside the house and passed
them on to authorities.
“They didn’t know where he
came from. They hadn’t heard
anything,” said Brenda Sage,
Lindsay Rowley’s aunt.
Another aunt, Janet Sage
Bruce, said the couple were
watching a movie and didn’t
know authorities had surrounded
their home until they
fled.
days,” he said.
Robertson, 23, grew up
with Beard and as a pre-teen
played baseball with him
before the two went to different
high schools.
“He was my hunting
buddy,” Robertson said.
Neighbor Bill Jones said
hunting was Beard’s passion
and that he excelled at it. “He
went every chance he got.”
Beard was a 2006 graduate
of Warren Central High
School where he played third
base on the baseball team.
His friends also knew him as
a kid with a great sense of
humor who loved jokes and
playing tricks on people.
“Did he ever have a sense of
humor!” said Bill Jones, who
watched Beard grow from a
little boy. “He loved to play
jokes on people — he played
a few on me. He was so funny
when you would least expect
it.”
Randy Broome, assistant
principal at Vicksburg High
off the program,” she said.
On the other hand, if a
family member becomes
unemployed or the family
Frank J.
FISHER
FUNERAL HOME
Vicksburg’s
Funeral
Home
Since 1854
601-636-7373
1830 CHERRY STREET
School coached Beard at
Warren Central.
“One thing about Derrick
was, he showed up every
day ready to work,” Broome
said. “He hung in there in the
good times and the bad. I was
blessed to have a kid like that
to coach.”
“I’ll always remember him
and the other boys playing in
the dirt together and playing
baseball out at Culkin,” Bill
Jones said. “He and my son
grew up together. They were
great kids.”
“Things like this break
our hearts,” Broome said.
“We’re not supposed to see
our kids pass before us. I’ve
talked with some of the other
coaches and our thoughts are
with the family.”
Mike and Barbara Beard
also have a daughter, Candace,
25.
Fisher Funeral Home has
been contacted regarding
funeral arrangements.
size increases after Monday’s
deadline passes without a
family applying, a parent or
guardian is encouraged to
GLENWOOD
FUNERAL HOMES
• VICKSBURG • ROLLING FORK •
PORT GIBSON • UTICA • TALLULAH, LA
• Vicksburg•
Mrs. Bonnie H. McClung
Arrangements Incomplete
Mr. Derrick Beard
Arrangements Incomplete
www.GlenwoodFuneralHomes.com
601-636-1414 45 Highway 80
The associaTed press
“They were watching ‘Patch
Adams’ on the TV,” she said.
Authorities were looking for
Dimmick in a homicide at a
motel in the Denver suburb of
Aurora, Colo.
On Friday, Geary County
deputies began chasing Dimmick
after learning that the
vehicle he was driving was
stolen in Greeley, Colo. During
the pursuit, Dimmick wrecked
the vehicle near Junction City
and fled on foot, the Kansas
attorney general’s office said.
Officials spent hours searching
for him Friday, then spotted
him Saturday in a second
stolen vehicle.
In addition to his connection
to the Colorado killing,
the Kansas Attorney General’s
Office said Dimmick is
also wanted in North Carolina,
Louisiana and Colorado
for burglary.
Authorities in Colorado
wouldn’t comment on Dimmick’s
connection to the homicide.
They said they arrested
another man, Shayne Michael
Miller, Friday in Salina.
Death
Continued from Page A1.
head and neck injuries,
but we’re waiting for the
autopsy to be definite,”
Bailess said.
Medical records indicated
that Rashad’s injuries
occurred around noon,
Bailess said, and neighbors
helped do CPR on the
child. An ambulance was
called, and he was admitted
to the ER at 1:27 p.m.
Investigators from the
Delta Marshal’s office and
Madison Parish Sheriff’s
Department were present
at River Region to assist,
said Neal Horath, Madison
Parish investigator. The
Delta Marshal’s office is in
charge of the investigation,
Horath said. Their investigator
could not be reached
Saturday night.
Rashad was born July
4, 2007. He lived with his
mother, Sandra Graves.
He is also survived by his
father, Robert Harris, and
an older sibling.
contact the school.
“Families can apply at
any time during the year,”
Kavanaugh said.
Mrs. Wilma Mae Dees
Arrangements to be announced
5000 Indiana Avenue
601-629-0000
www.charlesrilesfuneralhome.com
PRECISION FORECAST
BY CHIEF METEOROLOGIST
BARBIE BASSSETT
TODAY
78°
TONIGHT
70°
Expect a chance of rain today
with a high around 80.
More of the same is in the
forecast through mid-week.
WEATHER
This weather package is
compiled from historical
records and information
provided by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, the
City of Vicksburg and The
Associated Press.
LOCAL FORECAST
Monday-wednesday
Chance of rain; highs in the
80s; lows in the 60s
STATE FORECAST
Today
Chance of showers and
isolated thunderstorms
throughout the day with
highs around 80
Monday-wednesday
Showers and thunderstorms
likely; highs in the
80s; lows in the 60s
ALmAnAC
HigHs and Lows
High/past 24 hours............. 84º
Low/past 24 hours .............. 72º
Average temperature ........ 78º
Normal this date .................. 77º
Record low .............49º in 1902
Record high ........ 100º in 1980
RainfaLL
Recorded at the
Vicksburg Water Plant
Past 24 hours ........................N/A
This month ................. 0.11 inch
Total/year ............. 39.87 inches
Normal/month .....1.40 inches
Normal/year ....... 37.90 inches
soLunaR TabLe
Most active times for fish
and wildlife Monday:
A.M. Active ........................... 1:35
A.M. Most active ................ 7:50
P.M. Active ............................ 2:05
P.M. Most active ................. 8:20
sunRise/sunseT
Sunset today ....................... 7:11
Sunset tomorrow .............. 7:09
Sunrise tomorrow ............. 6:44
RIVER DATA
sTages
Mississippi River
at Vicksburg
Current: 14.8 | Change: -0.7
Flood: 43 feet
Yazoo River at Greenwood
Current: 20.0 | Change: 0.4
Flood: 35 feet
Yazoo River at Yazoo City
Current: 14.7 | Change: 0.1
Flood: 29 feet
Yazoo River at Belzoni
Current: 17.9 | Change: 0.2
Flood: 34 feet
Big Black River at West
Current: 4.0 | Change: 1.6
Flood: 12 feet
Big Black River at Bovina
Current: 7.4 | Change: -0.1
Flood: 28 feet
sTeeLe bayou
Land ...................................70.0
River ...................................61.6
mISSISSIPPI RIVER
FORECAST
Cairo, Ill.
Monday ................................. 12.1
Tuesday ................................. 12.1
Wednesday .......................... 12.0
Arkansas City
Monday ....................................8.3
Tuesday ....................................7.6
Wednesday .............................6.9
Greenville
Monday ................................. 18.9
Tuesday ................................. 18.4
Wednesday .......................... 17.8
Vicksburg
Monday ................................. 13.7
Tuesday ................................. 13.2
Wednesday .......................... 12.7