Wednesday March 28,
Daily Corinthian
Partly Sunny
2012
50 cents
Vol. 116, No. 75
Today
Tonight
83
56
• Corinth, Mississippi • 20 pages • 2 sections
Board says no to center’s request Hope Dream Center wanted to delay installation of sprinkler system BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Corinth Board of Adjustment on Tuesday voted “no” on the Hope Dream Center of Corinth’s request for time to install sprinklers in its facility. The center, which plans to serve as an emergency shelter for women and their children, requested a variance allowing temporary occupancy with a time frame of 12 to 18 months to install a sprinkler system in the building at 1223 Tate St. while housing clients only on the first floor. The board of adjustment’s decision is a recommendation
to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and can be appealed before the city board. But the group has already made its case before the Board of Aldermen, and Jennifer McCoy, representing the center, said she will not appeal. Members of the board of adjustment offered to help spread the word about the fund-raising effort to purchase and install the sprinkler system. The board of adjustment heard more than an hour of discussion with comments from McCoy, the city building inspector, fire chief and director of community development
and planning. The organization believes the building, which meets fallout shelter requirements, is safe from fire and worthy of the variance, but city officials believe there is potential liability that cannot be overlooked. The building was constructed with non-combustible materials. “That’s our thing is, ‘What’s gonna burn?’” said McCoy. Building Inspector Philip Verdung and Fire Chief Rob Price both recommended denying the variance. City Attorney Wendell Trapp said the request presents “a
great liability issue.” “It’s a human safety issue, too, that requires much more thought,” he said. “You are being asked to vary from something that tells you, ‘Here’s what we think is best from a life safety standpoint,’ and that’s not often the case in the things y’all deal with.” Verdung consulted with the International Code Council, which recommended denying the variance request. He also expressed concern about setting a precedent by granting a variance on a life safety issue. The code council “advised
us against issuing any type of temporary occupancy exceeding two residential units or five people, whichever is greatest,” said Verdung. Price said most people who die in fire situations are killed by smoke inhalation. He said a sprinkler system is the best safety measure to suppress fire and smoke. The state fire marshal’s office also advised against the variance, he said. McCoy said the situation is frustrating because there are women who need shelter now and there is nowhere in Corinth to send them.
Corinth man arrested after pill robbery BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
The Choice Bus presenter Eryka Perry talks with Corinth Middle School students about the power of education.
A Corinth man has been charged with robbery after taking a bottle of prescription medication from B&R Pharmacy. The Corinth Police Department on Tuesday arrested Jeremy Dale “J.D.” Feazell, 35, of North Parkway, and charged him with robbery. Bond was pending at 3 p.m. Police Chief David Lancaster said a man wearing a camouflage mask entered the Shiloh Road pharmacy on Saturday and told everyone to get on the
floor. He demanded Hydrocodone and, after receiving a bottle of the medication, fled the scene. People in the store did not see a weapon. Employees gave police a description of the vehicle the suspect drove — a 1993 GMC pickup — and were able to provide a possible identification of the man. The information led to Feazell’s arrest on Tuesday. Police recovered all of the pills. Detective Sgt. Pete Smith investigated the case with the assistance of Fred Serio.
Trip aboard this bus delivers School board decides students ‘Right Choice’ options fundraiser guidelines BY STEVE BEAVERS
BY BOBBY J. SMITH
sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Students have a choice. Time on a bus might make those decisions clearer. Corinth Middle School fifth and sixth grade students climbed on The Choice Bus for a 20-minute presentation on the importance of education and the consequences of dropping out of school. “We have been doing the buses since 2008 and have seen well over a million students during that time,” said program manager Lynn Smelley. The Choice Bus — the nation’s first mobile experience dedicated to reducing the dropout rate — was created by The Mattie C. Stewart Foundation of Birmingham, Ala. to increase the graduation rate through the creation of relevant and effective tools and resources. “The response has been absolutely outstanding,” said Smelley. Sponsored by State Farm, the bus will make stops at schools across the state and visit more than 900 students in the process. Fifteen CMS classes took part in the event on Tuesday. “The bus is designed to keep students interested during the
The Alcorn School District Board of Directors has outlined a new set of guidelines for fundraisers in the district. “Basically, what we want to do is have the fundraisers placed on the school calendar so we don’t have one fundraiser overlap with another,” said Assistant Superintendent Wayne Henry. “We want one to end before the other begins.” Also, the board is asking for organizations to be specific on fundraising applications about what the money is being raised for. In light of concerns regarding the number of fundraisers that are held, the new guidelines require the items sold in fundraisers to be useful, to promote school pride and that the items are conservatively priced. “In the present time with the state of the economy it affects everybody — households and businesses — and we want to be mindful of that,” explained Henry. Another recent, unrelated issue with fundraisers is a letter sent to all Mississippi School Districts informing all school fundraising organizations that they must register with the
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Program Manager Lynn Smelley (right) gives Zyon Pollard a pledge card. presentation with a lot of interaction,” said the program director. The Choice Bus stresses the importance of making good decisions and being around the right crowd. The front half of the Blue Bird model bus is a classroom setting with the back portion containing a prison cell replica. “This is a great learning opportunity for the children,” said school principal Brian Knippers. “We focus on integ-
rity as part of the education and this is an added piece of the initiative.” As students enter the bus, a short movie will quiz the audience on the earning potential of a dropout versus a highschool and college graduate. The movie features several testimonials from prison inmates who regret quitting school. Once the movie ends, students are given the chance to experiPlease see CHOICE | 12A
Index Stocks...... 7A Classified......5B Comics......3B Wisdom......2B
Crystal the Clown 11-2 Face Painting & Balloon Art
Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports......8A
“Basically, what we want to do is have the fundraisers placed on the school calendar so we don’t have one fundraiser overlap with another.” Wayne Henry Assistant superintendent, Alcorn School District
Secretary of State’s Office. “Over the past few months, it has come to the attention of the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office that several school districts, parent teacher organizations (PTOs), parent teacher associations (PTAs), booster clubs, and other fundraising school related organizations are not registered or exempted with the Securities and Charities Division of our Agency,” the letter stated, saying also that the organizations were possibly not aware of the requirement. It instructs the aforementioned organizations to “follow the law and register” or file an exemption.
On this day in history 150 years ago Charles Ellet, Jr., a civil engineer, was authorized by the War Dept. to purchase and fit out river steamers to be converted into rams and used against the Confederate naval forces on the Mississippi River.
24th Happy Birthday
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