Wednesday Jan. 4,
2012
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 2
Mostly sunny Today
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 20 pages • 2 sections
Supervisors elect Hinton as chairman BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Alcorn County Board of Supervisors opened the new term Tuesday morning by appointing different faces to two key positions and selecting a new board chairman. It was the first meeting for newcomers Lowell Hinton, district 1; Dal Nelms, district
Cook Coggin becomes county engineer firm 2; and Tim Mitchell, district 3. Returning supervisors are Gary Ross, district 4, and Jimmy Tate Waldon, district 5. With the support of the three newcomers, Hinton was elected chairman. Waldon nominated Ross, who was chairman during
the past term. The board elected Mitchell as vice chairman. The nomination of Ricky Newcomb as county engineer failed in a 2-3 vote. The board selected Cook Coggin Engineers in a 3-2 vote, with the
‘The Mother of ACE’
new supervisors supporting Cook Coggin, who handled the county’s engineering prior to Newcomb’s service during the last four years. The board appointed William Davis Jr. as board attorney with the support of the three new su-
BY BOBBY J. SMITH
Submitted photos
Gail Doty retiring after 50 years BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Alcorn County Electric Power Association will soon celebrate the career and life of a beloved employee. A reception honoring Gail Doty — an employee of ACE Power for more than 50 years — will be held Friday beginning at 2 p.m. “For thousands of ACE customers and members, she made sure they were taken care of,” said ACE General Manager James “Jim” Nanney. “She’s done her job to the best of her ability — and we’re inviting all the friends Gail developed through 50 years, and all of Alcorn County, to thank her for what she’s done for ACE Power.” After growing up in Biggersville and completing a course of study at Northeast Mississippi Community College, Doty be-
Submitted photo
ACE General Manager Jim Nanney congratulates Doty on 50 years of service. gan her illustrious career with ACE Power on Sept. 14, 1961. During her early years with ACE, she had the opportunity
to exceed to almost all the office duties performed by ACE emPlease see DOTY | 2A
Please see SUPERVISORS | 2A
Local restaurants rebounding from salmonella outbreak bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Gail Doty sits at her typewriter in the earlier days of her career in 1978, left. A reception for Doty, whose ACE Power career stretches back over 50 years, will be held Friday, right.
pervisors. Previous board attorney Bob Krohn was also nominated. Other appointments: ■ Tyler Moss and Jeremy Blaylock as public defenders. Moss is a new appointment following the resignation of Nicholas Bain, who was elected to the Mississippi Legislature.
Local restaurateurs are moving into 2012 with fresh memories and expensive lessons from the year-end salmonella outbreak that sickened scores of Corinthians. Don Julio Mexican Restaurant is the business most closely associated with the recent outbreak, with a total of 59 Don Julio customers and employees testing positive for the food-borne illness. Now the restaurant is seeing an upswing in business, said a manager, while its staff and management step up their efforts to provide a safe dining experience for Don Julio’s patrons. “They recently did another inspection,” said Refugio Mendoza, Don Julio co-owner and manager. “We were careful before — but now we’re extremely careful.” Mendoza said business at Don Julio is improving every day, and customers are feeling more confident with every visit. For other local restaurants, the outbreak brought questions from worried customers and an increased awareness of food safety. “We stayed really busy around the holidays,” said Marcia Wigginton, owner of Mike’s Cafe on Harper Road. While Mike’s didn’t hurt for hungry customers, its staff had to field hundreds of questions from worried customers. “People came in here asking if we’d been checked out or if we’d found any bad produce. Dealing with some of the talk was hard,” Wigginton said. There was also talk among
“It put everybody on their toes to find out where it came from. It was terrible. None of us wanted to have it in our restaurants. We all scrubbed more and looked deep into the coolers.” Marcia Wigginton Owner, Mike’s Cafe local restaurant owners about how to protect their customers and businesses from the bacteria, she said. “It put everybody on their toes to find out where it came from,” Wigginton recalled. “It was terrible. None of us wanted to have it in our restaurants. We all scrubbed more and looked deep into the coolers.” At one local eatery, the salmonella scare prompted no decrease in business, but an increase in compassion for the people whose health — and livelihoods — were hurt by the ordeal. “We weren’t affected at all and couldn’t tell any difference,” said White Trolley manager Jeremiah Dees. “My heart goes out to the people who were. I feel for them. It could’ve happened to anybody.” Looking at the big picture, the economic impact of the 2011 salmonella outbreak Please see OUTBREAK | 2A
MHP reports fatality, Boys & Girls Club honors young man increased DUI arrests BY STEVE BEAVERS
sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Mississippi Highway Patrol reported one traffic fatality in the northeast district during the holiday weekend period and an increase in the number of DUI arrests and traffic citations issued across the state. Statewide, three fatalities occurred on the highways during the New Year’s holiday period, rising from one last year. The local district’s fatality occurred about 4:20 a.m. Friday on Mississippi Highway 2 in Tippah County near the Chapman community. Jacob R. Bryant, 21, of Ripley, died in the single-vehicle rollover crash. MHP said it appeared he lost control of the 2003 Chevrolet Blazer he was driving and was ejected from the vehicle. Bryant was not wearing a
seat belt. An unbuckled passenger was treated for nonlife threatening injuries. The other fatalities occurred in the Gulfport and Batesville regions. Statewide, MHP made 156 DUI arrests, up from 108 last year, and issued 3,501 traffic citations, up from 2,802 last year. MHP investigated 104 crashes in the holiday period, which ran from Friday through Monday. The local troop’s public affairs officer, Ray Hall, noted the year ended with an increase of more than 50 percent in the number of fatalities in the northeast district during 2011 compared to 2010. The district had 36 fatalities during the year, and
Terrel Payton now realizes his potential. The Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Mississippi played a huge part in helping the 17-year-old see that. “Terrel is a true example of an extraordinary young man,” said unit director Christy Grice. The Boys & Girls Club member has been selected the Youth of the Year by the local club. He is now set to compete for the Mississippi Youth of the Year and a $1,000 scholarship from Tupperware Brands Corporation. “The Youth of the Year program celebrates youth who have overcome enormous odds and demonstrated exceptional character and accomplishments,” said Grice. “Terrel is exactly the kind of kid that the award was designed for.” Payton’s path hasn’t always
Please see TRAFFIC | 2A
Please see YOUTH | 3A
Index Stocks...... 7A Classified......5B Comics......3B Wisdom......2B
Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports...8-9A
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Terrel Payton plays the role of a shepherd during the Boys & Girls Club Christmas production. Payton was recently named the club’s Youth of the Year.
On this day in history 150 years ago On this, the fourth day of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s campaign in western Virginia, the town of Bath falls to the advancing Confederate forces. The winter campaign will later be known as the Romney Expedition.