Fire set at family’s trailer
Published 11:28 pm Thursday, August 6, 2009
VICKSBURG (AP) — A white landlord and a black tenant are questioning why a black family’s rented mobile home was set on fire this week.
Kenny and Lawanda Smith and their children are the only black family in their small neighborhood near the Vicksburg National Military Park.
The Smith’s 17-year-old child smelled gasoline and went outside to extinguish the fire Tuesday night.
Doris Hill, the landlord’s mother, lives near the Smiths. She pointed out Thursday where a bottle of flammable liquid had been placed beneath the Smiths’ children’s bedroom.
Hill said a neighbor, who was not identified, has said he believes the Smiths shouldn’t be in the neighborhood.
Hill said Kenny Smith is ‘‘a hardworking man and should be left alone.’’
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Information from: The Vicksburg Post, http://www.vicksburgpost.com