Daily Corinthian
Friday Jan. 27,
2012
50 cents
Vol. 116, No. 23
Today
Tonight
55
36
• Corinth, Mississippi • 18 pages • Two sections
State of the City
Mayor focuses on major issues facing Corinth BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Corinth Mayor Tommy Irwin discussed some of the biggest issues the city will face in the upcoming year at a meeting of the Corinth Rotary Club on Thursday. The main topic of Irwin ’s talk was Corinth ’s infrastructure. “I ’m serious about our infrastructure and our aldermen are too, ” Irwin emphasized. The mayor discussed the main problems the city is facing and what is being done to x them. Improving the city ’s drainage system to combat Corinth ’s ooding problem is one of the mayor ’s top priorities. Irwin cited the ongoing improvements made around the Phillips Creek, Elam Creek and Bridge Creek drainage districts. “As long as I ’m in ofce, with the team I have, we want to see water leave our community through these three avenues rather than through a business or somebody ’s home, ” the mayor said. The drainage districts were created in the early 1900s to alleviate Corinth ’s swamp-like conditions. Over the years, the man-made waterways became neglected, resulting in increasing instances of ooding in Corinth. The effort to repair the city ’s drainage system has been a major local issue since the May 2010 Corinth ood. Another infrastructure issue the city is facing is its inadequate sewer system. Irwin said the current system has a permit to handle 4.6 million gal-
Mostly sunny
MHP revamps driver’s offices BY BRANT SAPPINGTON
bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
we ’ll be facing the same costs again, ” said the mayor. He said the sewer upgrade will take place in 2013. The mayor pointed to large holes next to roads in Corinth as another area that could use some
The highway patrol is revamping locations for drivers to obtain and renew their licenses in an effort to save funds and boost efciency. The Corinth license ofce, located in the Alcorn County Sheriff ’s Department, is one of three main ofces (along with New Albany and Tupelo) that will continue to serve customers from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Booneville ’s driver ’s license ofce is currently closed, but unlike ofces in several area communities Booneville ’s situation is expected to only be temporary. The Mississippi Highway Patrol is in the process of consolidating and closing several satellite driver ’s license ofces across the state and has announced the closure of ofces in Holly Springs, Ripley and Fulton. Mississippi Highway Patrol Troop F Spokesperson Trooper Ray Hall said while the Booneville ofce is currently closed they are actively looking for a new location and want to reopen it as soon as possible. “MHP has a goal of opening an ofce in Booneville one day every week. However, this will
Please see SPEECH | 2A
Please see LICENSES | 2A
Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
Corinth Mayor Tommy Irwin (right) shakes hands with Rotary President Stephen E. Icardi after speaking during the Corinth Rotary Club’s meeting Thursday. lons each day. On a rainy day, the mayor said, the system is overloaded with “more like 20 million gallons. ” The sewer system is also facing problems from deterioration. “The drainage and sewer pipes are not looking very well, ” Irwin said. “In some cases
they ’ve basically disintegrated. ” To x the system ’s problems will cost an estimated $16 to &17 million, Irwin said, but putting the problem off for another day would be even more expensive. “If we ’re smart we ’ll work every day to x these problems or
Crossroads Poetry Project launches annual contests BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Crossroads Poetry Project — the local community-based poetry group — has announced the details of its annual poetry contest and an upcoming competition for poetry memorization and recitation.
Poetry contest The deadline for the Crossroads Poetry Project ’s annual
Poetry Writing Contest is 5 p.m. on Friday, March 2. The contest is open to Alcorn County residents of all ages. It will be organized into categories by grade for students of area schools with a separate category for the general public. Poems must be no longer than 40 lines. Participants must submit two copies, one with only the poem and another including the author ’s name, address and phone number.
Poems can be submitted in person at KC ’s Espresso and the Tourism Ofce. Submissions can be mailed to Harper Square Mall, Box 15, 1801 South Harper Road. Winners will be announced the last week of April. For more information contact CPP Vice-president Milton Wallis at 662-415-2446.
Poetry Out Loud The Northern Regional Con-
test of Poetry Out Loud, a national competition to teach young people about poetry through memorization and recitation, will be held Monday, Feb. 6, at Waldron Street Christian Church. “We ’re happy to have the honor of bringing the regional contest to Corinth, ” said Milton Wallis, vice president of Crossroads Poetry Project. “We ’re excited about hosting the event for the rst time in Corinth. ”
The Northern Regional Contest will feature poetry recitations by the winners of Poetry Out Loud contests in 11 North Mississippi high schools. Wallis said the event ’s organizers are expecting a big turnout, with two groups of students from area schools in attendance and that spectators should show up early to be sure of nding a seat. Please see CONTESTS | 2A
Tour Guide is map to finding it all BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Mississippi has a lot to see. The 2012 Tour Guide is a map to nding it all. Around 1,500 of Mississippi ’s ofcial tour guide arrived last week at the Alcorn County Welcome Center. “We usually have people waiting on them to get here, ” said center supervisor Sherry Brown. “They like to plan their trips around the book. ” The magazine-style guide covers it all when it comes to tourism attractions in the state. Published by the Mississippi Development Authority ’s Tourism Division along with the Mississippi Tourism Asso-
ciation, around 300,000 will be distributed by the end of the month. Guides will be at 13 of the state ’s welcome centers. “It ’s a great tool for us, ” said Brown. “We use it every day and most everyone that stops here takes one. ” The guide has a strong Corinth avor throughout the 180 pages of things to do and see. The city is listed on four of the eight Feature pages with most of the events falling under the Civil War Sesquicentennial. A photo of the Interpretive Center along with notes about the Civil War Relic Show (March 3-4), March to Shiloh Reenactment at the Interpretive Center (March 28-29), and CT-A musi-
cal On Shiloh Hill (April 13-14). “Corinth is mentioned in several pieces of the guide, ” added Brown. Borroum ’s and Pickin ’ on the Square are mentioned on Listen to the Sounds page. Hinkle Creek Pottery is touched on in the Arts feature section while Corinth is among a list of cities in the Discover Your True Town portion. The city is also mentioned in the Themed Travel sections of Civil War in Mississippi and African-American Heritage. The guide, which features The Great Mississippi River Balloon Race in Natchez on the cover, is available at all welcome centers. It can also be ordered by going to www.visitmississippi.org
Index Stocks...... 7A Classified......5B Comics......4B Wisdom......3B 1260 WAYNE ROAD
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Welcome Center Supervisor Sherry Brown displays the Mississippi Official Tour Guide, which is available at the Alcorn County Welcome Center.
On this day in history 150 years ago
Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports......8A
Exasperated by the lack of initiative in his commanding generals, President Lincoln issues General War Order No. 1, which mandates a general offensive to begin in February all along the Union lines.
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