McNairy County Same-sex couple gets marriage license
Prentiss County Supervisors to set special judicial election
Tishomingo County Iuka holds December city court session
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Friday Jan. 1,
2016
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Daily Corinthian Vol. 120, No. 1
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 20 pages • Two sections
Flooding closes roads as river rises BY JEFF YORK For the Daily Corinthian
PICKWICK DAM, Tenn. — Some roads could remain closed for more than a week in Hardin County due to flooding from recent heavy rains. The rain has stopped for now and the Tennessee River has now crested, according to the TVA. The floodwaters around the Tennessee River had reached 383 feet above sea level before the water level began to return to normal. TVA reported that the 383-foot-crest was five feet shy of the level that marks a major flood stage. This 383 feet level is the highest the river has reached in Savannah since December 2004. Just in the month of December, the Tennessee River watershed has received nearly two times the amount of rain the area normally would get in
Dec. and nearly three times the runoff. Pickwick Dam is releasing over two million gallons of water per second to help prevent any flooding in Hardin County. The Tennessee Valley Authority opened the flood gates on all of its nine mainstream dams on the Tennessee River earlier this week. TVA made the decision after almost a foot of rainfall in parts of the Tennessee Valley over the past week put the river above flood stage in parts of northern Alabama. TVA stayed in flood control mode this week working in tandem with the Army Corps of Engineers, which is in charge of managing other river systems and dams in the Tennessee Valley. Pickwick Landing Dam is a Please see FLOODING | 2A
Terry Weaver of Savannah, Tenn., captured this photo Tuesday below Pickwick Landing Dam of all the flood gates open. The dam is releasing over 2 million gallons of water per second in an effort to prevent flooding in the area.
Top Ten Stories of the Year Corruption, violence top news in 2015
Smith to lead Kosciusko schools
BY JEBB JOHNSTON
BY ZACK STEEN
jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
It was one of the newsiest of years. That much was clear as the news staff reflected on 2015 to present the annual “top 10 stories of the year” list. Thinking back on 35 years in newspapers, Editor Mark Boehler said he could recall no year, in terms of local news, that outdid 2015 in Corinth. “As I filled out my ballot with 14 choices for the top 10 stories, I realized numbers 11 through 14 could be a top-five story in any other year,” he said. “2015 will be remembered for me as I spent Easter Sunday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day on duty gathering news for death, tragedy and mayhem stories.” Considering factors such as lasting impact and community reaction, the vote resulted in a clear top three, with opinions varying on placement of the rest. And the top 10 are:
A massive shootout in April
Mrs. Smith is going to Kosciusko. Alcorn School District board member Russ Nash confirmed Wednesday current school superintendent Gina Rogers Smith has accepted the superintendent position with the Kosciusko School District. “Gina has done a wonderful job for our school district the Smith past four years,” said Nash. “She helped get the district out of the red and into the black financially and helped improve the overall district state rating.” Nash said Smith should be credited for helping the district add new technology. “I don’t think we would be where we are now with the upcoming implementation of wireless and new network infrastructure install without Gina’s help,” added Nash.
Please see TOP 10 | 2A
Please see SMITH | 2A
1) County government corruption scandal It’s a story making a rare repeat in the number-one spot after first breaking in Decem-
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Former Second District Supervisor Dal Nelms is escorted into the Alcorn County Courthouse in September before entering a guilty plea to embezzlement by a public official, two counts of false representation to defraud government and two counts of fraudulently obtaining public funds. ber 2014. As the state auditor’s probe expanded to encompass all of the county government, four more arrests came, including Sheriff Charles Rinehart.
The original five arrestees, including former supervisor Dal Nelms, made guilty pleas and were sentenced, with Nelms getting 12 years to serve.
2) Gang-related shootout
25 years ago
10 years ago
Debra Adams begins the new year with a new job as interim manager of the Corinth Downtown Association. She replaces Debbi Stauffer who leaves to lead Tupelo’s downtown merchant’s organization.
County Emergency Management Director Ray Gene Holloway is honored with a reception and luncheon marking his retirement after 51 years of service.
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