HINDS COUNTY

Jackson educator wins

teacher of year award

n JACKSON -Stacey Donaldson, an English teacher at Murrah High School in Jackson, was named 2009 Mississippi Teacher of the Year on Thursday.

Donaldson was chosen from among four finalists, including Pam McAlilly of Tupelo, a gifted education teacher at Carver Elementary.

The Teacher of the Year program is sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Education and the Mississippi Teacher Center.

Barbour calls meeting

on stimulus package

n JACKSON -- Gov. Haley Barbour will host a public meeting on April 16 in Jackson for state and local officials to discuss the federal economic stimulus package.

Barbour said Thursday that he hopes the federal government will provide enough information about regulations for how the stimulus money may be spent.

He's asking state agency managers to discuss their plans for the money and to take questions from the audience at the summit.

Mississippi is receiving an estimated $2.5 billion-$2.8 billion through the stimulus.

LEE COUNTY

Teen, juvenile charged with third-degree arson

n TUPELO - A 17-year-old and another juvenile have been charged with third-degree arson.

Andrew Kidd, 17, of Tupelo was arrested Tuesday for allegedly setting fire to a car on County Road 53 on March 20. Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson said deputies are looking to arrest a third suspect in the case.

Third-degree arson is the burning of property without endangering a life.

Mike Tonos 4/2/09 WASHINGTON D.C.

Wicker gets top GOP

spot on subcommittees

n WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., has been named the top Republican on three Senate subcommittees.

Wicker, from Tupelo, will serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities; the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee's Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Production, and Insurance; and the Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy and Global Women's Issues.

He also was also named to the SASC Subcommittee on Seapower, which will allow him to work with Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's Seapower subcommittee, on Gulf Coast shipbuilding issues.

Daily Journal, wire reports