You have to see...Nell Perry's tulips in beautiful bloom at 1015 Lamar Street. Photo by Taylor Mitchell, Sunday Leader

Submit your Favorite spring pictures to spring@nextedmedia.com.

Check the community page frequently for all the beautiful spring pictures.

By David Johnson
The Leader

Charges are pending against a Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks law enforcement officer and a Cleveland attorney for trespassing with intent to hunt, according to documents obtained by the Sunday Leader.

Affidavits filed by a private landowner obtained by the newspaper were filed Wednesday in Bolivar County Justice Court alleging that MDWFP game enforcement officer Jimmy Russell and Cleveland attorney James Walker trespassed with intent to hunt on posted property at Donaldson Point near the town of Gunnison in western Bolivar County.

Donaldson Point is home to one of the most exclusive hunting clubs on the Mississippi River. The property on which the twosome have been accused of trespassing, however, is an 80-acre parcel that is not part of the hunting club.

The affidavit states that Jimmy Russel and James Walker “did willfully and knowingly enter upon the lands” of the private land owner without permission “with intent to hunt without permission.”

By David Johnson
The Leader

At least three candidates for city office have declared their intent to not attend the municipal political forum scheduled for April 14.

Alderman-at large candidate Debbie Holder, who will face incumbent Gary Gainspoletti in the May 5 Democratic primary, says she will skip the forum out of principal. Ward 5 aldermanic candidate Danny Barfield, who will contest incumbent Paul Janoush in the May 5 election, says he has a scheduling conflict. Incumbent alderman Ted Campbell of Ward 6 has also confirmed he will not attend the forum.

Holder, as have other candidates in recent weeks, expressed her concern over Cleveland/Bolivar County Chamber of Commerce executive director Judson Thigpen's role in the event. While the forum is sponsored by the Friends of the Bolivar County Library organization, library director Lynn Shurden has chosen Thigpen to moderate the evening.

By Ryan Fulgham
The Leader

A groundbreaking will soon be held for a new 6,000-square-foot church to be located just east of Cleveland.

An 11-acre parcel of land near Old Ruleville Road and adjacent to a private golf course development will become the new site for Homestretch Baptist Church, a fledgling congregation led by the Rev. Edward Duvall.

Homestretch, which currently has just 24 members, has operated in a downtown building just off of North Street since May, 2005.

“We hope to begin groundbreaking for our new church in May,” Duvall said.

By Ryan Fulgham
The Leader

A memorial for JoEllen Lambert Ferguson was held on the campus grounds of North Sunflower Medical Center in Ruleville, Friday.

Relatives, coworkers, and friends of Ferguson watched Stephanie and Rebecca, her daughters, start the ceremony by lighting a large, purple candle, front-and-center, at the base of a flagpole. Kimberly Eastland and Rodger McClain then began their rendition of “Amazing Grace”.

Like Ferguson’s life and now her memory, the memorial candle refused to succumb to the gusty winds’ challenges. The hymn ambled on, and the crowd in mostly purple shirts and scrubs could look past that sturdy pole to see a wellspring of new life: a flowerbed growing in front of a stately hedgerow. The campus grounds were ripe with metaphors.

Candi Parrent has joined the staff of The Sunday Leader.

Parrent, a native of Rives, Missouri, has been hired by NextEd Media as a marketing representative for the newspaper.

“I’m very proud and excited to take on this new challenge,” Parrent said. “I have enjoyed making the many new friends I have found in the Cleveland community."

Parrent's responsibilities include building relationships with the businessmen and women of Cleveland and coordinating advertising in the Sunday Leader.

NextEd Media, the parent company of the Sunday Leader, has announced it will begin publishing a newspaper in Clarksdale next month.

The newspaper, The Clarksdale Blues-Star, will begin publishing on Sunday, April 12. The weekly paper is the first of three scheduled market expansions for NextEd Media this year.

"Just as we feel in Cleveland, we think there is a need for a quality, local Sunday morning newspaper in Clarksdale," said Van Colotta, chief operations officer for the company. "We're excited about bringing quality news coverage to the people of Coahoma County."

The Clarksdale Blues-Star will have circulation in Coahoma, Quitman, Tallahatchie, Bolivar and Tunica counties in Mississippi and in Phillips County, Ark.

By David Johnson
The Leader

Rosedale awoke Saturday morning to its first homicide since October of 2006.

Eighteen-year-old Travis Horsley died of a gunshot wound to the chest, en route to the Bolivar Medical Center in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday.

Law enforcement officials say that Brian Bean, exact age unknown, has been charged with murder in Horsley's death and is currently behind bars at the Bolivar County Regional Correctional facility in Pace.

By Ryan Fulgham
The Leader

Screaming along at speeds of over one hundred fifty miles per hour merely ten feet off of the ground is not a place many people like to picture themselves.

In fact, a very small percentage of pilots have ever flown such stunts.

American crop dusters have combined art and science to create a thrilling agricultural vocation that has spanned nearly a century.

Sunday leader publisher David Johnson has announced two promotions and one new hire at the paper.

Taylor Mitchell has been promoted to sports editor, according to Johnson.

"Taylor has been on our staff for more than a year now and has achieved an excellent grasp of what is important to the community in the world of sports," Johnson said. "We are fortunate to have someone of his caliber in our community. He has a proven record for not missing the big or small stories that affect our children in their athletic endeavors."