HOUSTON - A Christmas eve accident took the life of a local youth. Michael D. Jones, 17, was traveling north on Hwy. 389 just inside the Houston city limits when he apparently lost control of his vehicle which left the road and overturned several times. Jones was ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, according to Chickasaw County Coroner Andy Harmon.

"He was right there in that curve just coming into town," Harmon said. "It was bad weather, raining and slick and it appeared that he just lost control."

Emergency responders received the call at 2:36 p.m. on Dec. 24 and responded to the scene, but were not able to help the young man.

"He was killed on impact," Harmon said.

Jones was a former student at Houston High School where he was listed as a junior. He currently attended West Oktibbeha High School in Maben.

Funeral arrangements can be found on page 3A and will be handled through West Memorial Funeral Home of Starkville.

Fire strikes farm

A second holiday tragedy took no human lives, but resulted in the death of several animals at Madi Bell Farm in Houston. The farm and petting zoo suffered a fire in the morning hours of Dec. 28. Fire fighters were toned out to the blaze at 12:25 a.m. Monday morning with members of Houston Fire Dept., Rhodes Chapel VFD and Thorn VFD responding.

"The barn was fully involved when we got there," said Houston Fireman Jonathan Blankenship.

The wood and tin structure was a total loss and initial reports were that several animals perished.

"We're not exactly sure how many," Blankenship said. "We know some escaped and some weren't in there."

The cause of the fire and fatalities were still under investigation at press time.