Prentiss County Booneville to continue to fluoridate water.
Hardin County More than 40 animals taken from hoarder.
Tishomingo County Man arrested for breaking into neighbor’s truck.
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Daily Corinthian
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Vol. 120, No. 10
• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • One section
NTSB releases plane crash report BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the Christmas Eve plane crash near the CorinthAlcorn County Airport focuses on a battery compartment panel that opened after takeoff. The document says the pilot,
David G. Chase Sr., of Booneville, indicated all was normal during the preflight inspection and engine run-up. Based on examination of photographs of the aircraft, the NTSB identified the door that opened after takeoff as the cowl door for the battery compartment, located on the right side of the nose of the airplane just for-
ward of the wing leading edge. NTSB quotes Chase as saying the door opened partially after takeoff and started flopping up and down by a few inches in each direction. The pilot turned the aircraft to the left to return to the airport, and the door opened completely. “He could not keep the air-
plane flying even with ‘full power’ though he ‘put the nose back down,’” states the report. “The airplane then struck a tree, impacted the front lawn of a residence, ‘spun around,’ and caught on fire.” NTSB classified injuries as serious for the three passengers and minor for Chase.
The Piper PA-46-500TP, manufactured in 2007, crashed about 8:40 a.m. in clear weather conditions. The planned destination was Ocean Reef Club Airport in Key Largo, Fla. Chase has about 470 hours of flight experience. The NTSB retained the aircraft for examination.
Jackpot goes to $1.4 billion Recovery centers aid storm victims
GUYS, Tenn. — McNairy County businesses in Eastview, Selmer and Guys which sell Tennessee Lottery tickets continue to experience record sales, thanks mostly to people who live in Northeast Mississippi who are flocking to purchase a chance on a record multi-state Powerball jackpot. Lottery officials say the prize has swelled to an estimated $1.4 billion — the world’s largest. Ever. “Biggest jackpot in the history of the world. Absolutely confirmed,” Texas Lottery executive director Gary Grief said. The jackpot is so big that
billboards in Texas and around the country have to advertise the price as $999 million because they’re not built to show billions. The lottery computers will handle the decimal point without a problem. No one matched all six Powerball numbers Saturday night, leading to the astronomical prize. And that is all but certain to grow before the next drawing Wednesday, according to lottery officials. C. Baby’s in Guys and The Junction at Eastview saw a steady stream of Powerball ticket hunters on Friday and Saturday as people crowded in the stores and waited in long
lines. “We’ve never been at these levels,” said Grief, whose state lottery is part of the MultiState Lottery Association that runs Powerball. The odds to win are one in 292.2 million. Seventy-five percent of all the possible combinations were purchased before Saturday’s drawing, Grief said, and he expects that enough tickets will be sold to cover about 80 percent by Wednesday. About 95 percent of Powerball tickets have computer-generated numbers. “I’ve been in the industry Please see JACKPOT | 2
BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
WALNUT — FEMA officials arrived this week in the three North Mississippi counties hit the hardest by strong storms and tornadoes last month. Disaster recovery centers are currently open seven days a week in nearby Benton and Marshall counties. “So far we have received more than 500 applications statewide, and more than 60 from just Tippah County,” said Maria
Padron, FEMA public information officer. “The response has been very steady since the president okayed the FEMA funds last week.” Team members are canvassing areas to give residents an opportunity to register for disaster assistance and to quickly address immediate and emerging needs. “Team members are equipped with tablets in order to register Please see RECOVERY | 2
Residents report IRS phone scam returning BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
A phone scam in which the caller poses a representative of the IRS is resurfacing among local residents. Sheriff Ben Caldwell said the county has received a number of complaints on the harassing callers. “They are either leaving messages or telling them that they are with the IRS and they owe the IRS money and a warrant has been issued,” said Caldwell. According to the IRS, aggressive and sophisticated phone scams are currently targeting people across the county. The scammers often sound convincing as they tell the victim they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, according to the agency, the caller becomes hostile and insulting. Caldwell said one of the local victims re-
“They are either leaving messages or telling them that they are with the IRS and they owe the IRS money and a warrant has been issued.” Ben Caldwell Sheriff Staff photo by Steve Beavers
ported that the caller made a threat of violence. “One thing I know is the IRS is not going to call and threaten anybody with a warrant,” he said. The agency will also never require a specific payment method, ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone or threaten to bring in local police to have the person arrested. Caldwell said residents are welcome to contact the sheriff’s office with concerns about possible scam calls.
Audrianna Green (right) goes over plans for an indoor sale at the Boys & Girls Club with board chairman Mary Dilworth and unit director Trecee Hughey.
Club’s indoor sale will feed needy BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
The Boys & Girls Club of Northeast Mississippi has jumped onboard to help feed the needy. An indoor sale will be hosted by the club on Saturday, Jan. 16 with the fee for vendors be-
ing 10 canned goods. “This is the first of our four service projects during the year,” said unit director Trecee Hughey. “All proceeds made by vendors will be theirs to keep and all canned goods will be donated to the AMEN Food Pantry.
The 8 a.m. to noon event will be held in the club’s gym. Setup time is 6:30 a.m. “Our goal is to have 20 booths,” said Hughey. Vendors are asked to RSVP by Jan. 15 so if more than 20 Please see SALE | 2
25 years ago
10 years ago
Officials say building permits are higher than ever. Permits for construction in the past year hit $7.3 million said city building inspector Ralph Hurley.
Northeast Mississippi Community College’s board of trustees adopts a resolution, written by president Dr. Johnny Allen, supporting the Wellspring economic development project. The project would go on to help bring Toyota to Mississippi.
Doug Ann Michael Rick Jumper Hardin McCreary Jones
Neil Paul
Marea John Wilson Hayes
Alexis Rudd
Roger Audrey Clark McNair
2782 S Harper Rd
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