NATCHEZ — For Miss-Lou residents, crime, education and efforts to improve the community made headlines in 2017.

The year started with a series of fatal shootings and store robberies that spurred residents to express concerns about public safety in the community.

At the same time, Natchez-Adams School District officials pushed for approval of a $35 million school bond to build a new high school and renovate existing schools.

Here is a look at some of the stories that dominated the year:

Fatal shootings

The first person to die from a fatal gunshot wound in 2017 was actually shot on Dec. 30, 2016, though she died on Jan. 4.

The death of Destiney Knight, 21, would spark a year laden with violent deaths in Natchez, with approximately five people being fatally shot in the months to follow.

Knight was shot in the chest in what police at the time believe to be a drug deal outside the Natchez Youth Center.

Two teenagers’ charges were updated from attempted murder to murder after Knight was taken off life support and died on Jan. 4.

That same day, Lee Raymond Smith was shot and killed on East Franklin Street.

Smith’s half-brother, Kejuan Thompson, was also shot multiple times.

No arrests have been made in this case.

Just six days later, another shooting would kill 41-year-old Joyce Haynes.

Eiljah Hall, 41, was charged with murder after allegedly shooting his girlfriend, Haynes, several times including in her head on Morgantown Road.

Haynes’ death would be the last for several months.

On May 16, an Adams County man was shot while sleeping in his bed on Southmoor Drive.

Deputies responded to a 911 call after Kelvin Sadler Brown’s mother found him unresponsive in his bed and suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

Sadler Brown was found dead when deputies arrived on the scene at 3 a.m.

The intruder allegedly entered through a window in the front of the house and exited through the kitchen door in the back.

Sadler Brown had been a victim of a shooting on May 1 as well, but had survived the multiple gunshot wounds after being airlifted to a Jackson hospital.

The man charged with attempted first-degree murder in Sadler Brown’s May 1 attack was arrested but never charged with Sadler Brown’s murder.

In the early morning of Oct. 1, a Natchez man was shot at least three times while inside his white Cadillac on West Stiers Lane.

Twelve people were arrested in connection with the death of Richard Frazier, 34.

Police say a truckload of several young men chased Frazier through several areas of Natchez while shooting dozens of rounds at him from a high-powered rifle.

No one else was harmed, but Frazier died on the scene.

The Natchez Police Department said no more warrants likely would be issued in relation to the murder, but that more arrests could come upon further investigation.

Just four days before Christmas and in the last known shooting of 2017, 48-year-old Jeanette Proby was allegedly shot and killed by her stepfather after a family dispute.

Leroy Henderson, 63, was charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder after allegedly fatally shooting Proby, shooting two other people and stabbing one woman.

Natchez Police Chief changes

One day after a motion was made in a specially called Natchez Board of Aldermen meeting in May to terminate Daniel White as the city’s police chief, White announced his plans to retire his five-year tenure leading the police force.

The board decided to defer action on the matter after Alderman Billie Joe Frazier made the motion citing concerns about lack of discipline at the police department.

White had faced increased scrutiny following a series of convenience store robberies, burglaries and shootings in Natchez. Ethical questions about the employment of White’s son Devin White were also raised before White’s retirement.

After White’s retirement, the board hired former Vicksburg Police Chief Walter Armstrong in July. Armstrong took the oath of office on Aug. 1. At his swearing in, Armstrong emphasized the need to focus on the recruitment and retention of police officers, including making sure officers were fairly compensated for their work.  Armstrong pledged to work with the community and provide a police force that would “excel and exceed one day at a time.”

School district’s efforts to build new schools

On May 23, Adams County voters defeated a proposed $35 million school bond effort by the Natchez-Adams School Board to build a new high school, renovate the existing high school into a new middle school and for repairs to other district schools.

Undeterred by the failed school bond referendum, school board members pursued other options for raising the revenue necessary to build the proposed project.

Using a lease program approved by state law the board planned to raise $25 million without raising taxes in the district.

In June, the board unanimously passed a resolution to borrow an additional $9 million by raising taxes by up to 3 mills, using another provision in the Mississippi Code. A group of concerned citizens started a petition to force the issue to a vote, but could not get signatures from 20 percent of qualified voters before the July 21 deadline.

A meeting of the school board on July 21 spiraled into chaos as accusations of racism were hurled during the meeting. After the meeting was temporarily recessed, the board accepted the signatures on the petition, which were eventually found to be short of the number needed to force a referendum.

In August, the board moved forward with efforts to take out the $9 million bond.

One of the petition’s organizers Kevin Wilson filed a lawsuit in August asking the court to strike down the board’s actions, alleging the board violated the law by not providing proper notice to the citizens of Adams County.

Dogfighting

What is believed to be the largest dogfighting bust in Adams County history was found on Nov. 6 at 29 1/2 Miracle Road in the Cranfield Community.

Tommie Queen was arrested and charged with 50 counts of felony dogfighting, one charge of animal cruelty and a charge of receiving stolen property after approximately 56 dogs were found in an emaciated state, many of which were wounded and left without access to food or water.

Queen’s was neither the first nor last alleged dogfighting ring found in Natchez in 2017.

Officers confiscated 14 dogs at 507 LaSalle St. after an anonymous tip in May led them to the home of Charoyd Henrence Bell, 36, who was arrested and charged with cruelty to animals.

One man was arrested and six dogs confiscated in yet another dogfighting ring on Nov. 29 in Ferriday.

Jamel Green, 37, was charged with dogfighting after the animals were found during a drug bust on his property.

The discovery of the dogfighting ring and the ensuing backlash led to a push for stronger dogfighting laws in Mississippi.

Natchezians led a march for animal rights on Nov. 19, with a keynote from Sen. Bob Dearing, D-Natchez.

Dearing is crafting a bill with tougher penalties for those convicted of dogfighting in the state of Mississippi. Dearing hopes to present his bill in the 2018 legislative session.

Tornado in Cloverdale community

After several tornadoes tore through the South on May 1 — and took the lives of 18 men and women — Gov. Phil Bryant declared Mississippi to be in a state of emergency.

The twister that touched down in Adams County hit the Cloverdale area and had wind speeds confirmed to be approximately 115 miles-per-hour.

The storm left many houses with severe damage and made roads impassable with scattered trees and debris.

No one was killed in the tornado in Adams County, but it took weeks to clean up roadways and rebuild damaged houses.

Community swimming pool

Construction crews broke ground in October on a long-awaited public swimming pool. After construction bids for the project in January came in approximately $700,000 over the $1 million initial budget for the project, Natchez-Adams County Recreation Commission members had to go back to the drawing board to pare down the project. Even though the second round of bids came in higher than expected in September, work began on the project in October. In November the Natchez aldermen, the Adams County supervisors and the Natchez-Adams School Board finalized an agreement with the YMCA to oversee management of the pool and other local recreation activities. The pool is expected to be finished in May 2018.

FOR Natchez

FOR Natchez, a group dedicated to the revitalization of downtown Natchez, completed the first two phases of its downtown revitalization plan in 2017 and expects to draft a final proposal to the Natchez Board of Aldermen in January.

The nonprofit group has commissioned a four-phase study aimed at receiving community input on how Natchezians think downtown could be best improved. The group hired former Natchez city planner Phil Walker and his consultants to take recommendations from the community and use them to develop a master development for the city, focusing on two areas — the Mississippi River bluff along Broadway Street and the historic black business district near the intersection of St. Catherine Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Street.

The group kicked off its effort in March with a community meeting at the Natchez Convention Center, met with stakeholders in the spring and early summer and hosted a series of workshops in July, inviting community members to suggest ideas they have for the city.

Go-cup ordinance

After months of deliberation, new go-cup legislation went into effect in Natchez on Oct. 20.

The ordinance was debated by city officials and citizens from early summer to the time of passage, but was enacted just in time for the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race.

The law allows licensed businesses to sell patrons legal open-containers containing alcohol as they travel to another location within the go-cup zone.

Cups are not transferrable between businesses, and are meant only for the trip between one establishment and another.

The bounds of the district extend West of Canal Street between the Madison Street and Natchez Visitor Center. The zone also includes an area east of Canal Street and west of Martin Luther King Jr. Street between Jefferson and Main streets and includes Under the Hill and the Magnolia Bluffs Casino.