Saturday Feb. 4,
2012
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Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 30
Thunderstorm Today
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • 1 section
Warriors to compete for soccer title BY H. LEE SMITH II lsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Corinth High School’s quest for a 47th state championship will hit a fever pitch this morning ... on the pitch. Corinth will face off with Bay today at 11:30 a.m. in the Class 4A soccer championship at Clinton High School. The Warriors pulled off a pair of dramatic wins in the previous two playoff rounds to reach
the title g a m e for the second time in three years. C H S won the 1A/2A/ 3A title in 2009-2010 before being edged out by Madison St. Jo-
seph in the semifinal round. Kyle Webb’s header off a Josh Trest corner kick with under a minute remaining gave CHS a 3-2 win over Pontotoc in the North Half title match Tuesday. Last Saturday, Corinth tied Florence in the closing seconds on another header — this one by John Mathis — and eventually prevailed 3-2 in overtime. Corinth sports a 17-2-2 mark, with losses to 6A DeSoto Cen-
tral — in a shootout — and 5A Starkville in the season opener. The Warriors two draws came against a pair of 6A foes — Tupelo and Horn Lake. “We’ve always played bigger schools just to get better,” said head coach Gregg Parker. Corinth won three state titles during the 2010-2011 school year before being bumped up a class to 4A following the annual two-year reclassification by the
Mississippi High School Activities Association. Prior to 2011-2012, Corinth has competed as a 4A program over just four school years — 1984-86 and 1993-95 — since a fifth class was added in 1984. A win today would be the school’s first 4A championship under a true elimination format. Tennis paces the title tote Please see WARRIORS | 3
Charges filed in apartment shooting BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
A Tupelo man was arrested after firing shots into an apartment at Farmington Arms in the early morning hours Friday. James Lee Long, 26, is being held at the Alcorn County Justice Center and will be charged on Monday with shooting into an occupied dwelling and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, said Corinth Detective Dee Dee Smith. No one was injured in the shooting at the apartments off Proper Street, which happened around 1 a.m. Friday. Police Chief David Lancaster said the
weapon was a .22 caliber handgun and four shots were fired into the apartment. A short time later, officers with the Alcorn County Sheriff’s Department stopped the vehicle used in the shooting on County Road 213. The shooter was not in the vehicle but turned himself in soon afterward. The driver is not expected to be charged. Smith said the suspect was on probation for a carjacking offense in Alcorn County. Lancaster said the department appreciates the assistance of the sheriff’s department in apprehending the vehicle.
Highway 72 traffic signals to be updated BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Mississippi Department of Transportation is making changes to signalization at several intersections on U.S. Highway 72 in Corinth to help keep traffic moving. Based on recommendations from an engineering study, the changes will tweak the timing at the intersections and increase the opportunity for left turns. Work was completed at South Tate Street and U.S. 72 Friday morning, and work will take place at the Fulton Drive and Cass Street intersections during the next couple of weeks. “We want the motoring public to be careful until everybody gets used to the changes,” said W.L. Sanders, who oversees signalization for MDOT. During the work, signals will be turned off and MDOT law
enforcement will direct traffic. At the South Tate intersection, if a motorist was turning from the highway onto Tate, the signal only allowed a protective left turn with a green arrow. Sanders said that has been changed to allow a protective-permissive left turn — motorists will still get the green arrow, but they will also now get a regular green light allowing a turn while yielding to oncoming traffic. At Fulton Drive and U.S. 72, all four sides of the intersection will be changed to allow both types of left turns. At Cass Street and U.S. 72, eastbound highway traffic will gain the permissive left turn to head onto Cass Street. Sanders noted that MDOT made similar changes at the highway’s intersections with South Parkway and Alcorn Drive last year.
Photo by Kim Jobe/Corinth School District
Good luck, Warriors Corinth High School teams heading to state tournament play started a new tradition last year when Corinth Elementary School opened on Droke Road. After doing the Walk of Champions at the high school, the bus makes a detour at CES on the way out of town. Holding signs or pompoms and decked in Warrior team colors, the CES students line the back part of the roadway encircling the school. If time permits, the team members get off the bus and walk around the school’s ring road giving high-fives to the younger students. Before heading to Jackson on Friday, the CHS soccer team made a sweep through the cheering group of elementary school fans. The Corinth team will face Bay High School from Waveland at 11:30 a.m. Saturday in Clinton for the state Class 4A soccer championship.
Allen concerned about proposed cut Tull Brothers celebrates BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
A proposal by Gov. Phil Bryant to cut spending on the state’s community colleges has Northeast Mississippi Community College’s top official worried about the impact the cuts could have on the institution. “I do have concerns. Community colleges have been neglected the last 10 years, and continued neglect could cause lasting harm,” said NEMCC President Dr. Johnny Allen. The governor has proposed a 5.5 percent cut to spending on the state’s community college system, the same decrease he has proposed for other state agencies. Allen emphasized he understands that the new governor is trying to be cautious and conservative in his proposed budget and said he has great respect for Bryant but feels that
Allen if the budget is cut it will create major problems for both Northeast and other community colleges across the state. Enrollment at NEMCC has increased by approximately 30
percent over the past 10 years while state spending per student has actually fallen by approximately the same percentage. That type of situation is not sustainable and to continue to provide services funding must come from somewhere, said the college president. “It’s just mathematics,” he said. Allen said he is doing and will continue to do everything in his power to avoid any tuition increase, but at the end of the day if state funds and other funding does not cover the cost of providing services to students the money must come from somewhere. He said a tuition increase is not an option he favors because he knows it has a direct impact on the ability of potential students to attend college. “I know every time I raise tu-
Index Stocks........7 Classified......14 Comics...... 13 Wisdom...... 12
Weather........5 Obituaries........ 3 Opinion........4 Sports...... 10
Please see BUDGET | 3
half a century of success BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Tull Brothers Inc., the Corinth-based distributor of specialty building products, will celebrate 50 years of business Tuesday. The business was founded in 1962 by brothers Sam and Ray Tull. What started as a twoman glass installation business has expanded over the years and now employs 105 people. Last year, Tull Brothers did $16 million in business, with a payroll of $4.1 million. “It doesn’t feel like we’ve been here for 50 years,” said Sam Tull. “We’ve enjoyed the business. Corinth and the surrounding areas have been good to us.” The brothers began the
venture after serving their apprenticeship period as glaziers — construction professionals who select, cut, install, replace and remove glass — with the Binswanger Glass Company of Memphis. While working for Binswanger Glass, the brothers did glass installations at Corinth’s First United Methodist Church, the National Bank of Commerce branch office on Shiloh Road, the Wurlitzer building and numerous storefront renovations. After spending so much time working in Corinth, they decided it would be a good place to open a business on their own. Corinth is also near the
On this day in history 150 years ago Confederate Gen, Lloyd Tilghman, commander of Fort Henry, Tenn., learns of the large Union expedition headed his way. He is heavily outnumbered and calls for reinforcements, but begins to plan the abandonment of the strategic fort.
Please see TULL | 3