070215 daily corinthian e edition

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Daily Corinthian

Thursday July 2,

2015

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Vol. 119, No. 154

• Corinth, Mississippi • 18 pages • One section

Sheriff, Nulls plead County gives out same-sex license not guilty of fraud BY BRANT SAPPINGTON

bsappington@dailycorinthian.com

Wednesday was a plea and revocation day for the court, and arraignment for the three individuals was conducted in judge’s Rinehart chambers before proceeding with other cases in open court. Rinehart and the Nulls were arrested June 22 after a grand jury returned the indictments stemming from an investigation by the state auditor’s office of the sheriff’s department’s purchase of six cars from the Nulls’ business, Cars for Less, during the past three years. The auditor’s office said fraudulent quotes representing other vendors were created by the Nulls and submitted by the sheriff to the Alcorn County Board of Supervisors as competitive quotes. The auditor’s office said the six vehicles were salvaged vehicles at the time of purchase and were rebuilt with potentially stolen parts prior to being sold to the county. The auditor issued an unrelated civil demand to the sheriff for $181,161.93 for misap-

BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

Alcorn County Sheriff Charles Rinehart, accused by the state auditor of a bidrigging scheme for vehicles, was arraigned along with two alleged co-conspirators in Alcorn County Circuit Court Wednesday morning. Rinehart, 73, of 10 Rollingwood Circle, Corinth, waived a formal reading of the indictment and entered a plea of “not guilty” on five counts of fraudulently obtaining public funds and five counts of false representation to defraud government. Rinehart, with his attorney, Tony Farese, appeared before Judge Thomas Gardner in the judge’s chambers. He is free on a $25,000 bond. Teddy Cleveland Null, 50, of 2110 Norman Road, Corinth, and Pamela Denise Null, 46, of the same address, each entered a plea of “not guilty” on five counts of conspiracy to defraud the state and five counts of defrauding the state by fraudulent representations. The Nulls are represented by attorney John Ferrell. They are also free on $25,000 bond. The three were directed to meet with their attorneys on Oct. 14 ahead of the November court term.

propriated funds relating to the Alcorn County Regional Correctional Facility Technology Fund, the Alcorn County Sheriff’s Commissary Account and the Alcorn County Regional Correctional Facility. In other cases before the court Wednesday morning: ■ Edith Spence pleaded guilty to burglary of a building and was given a suspended seven-year sentence on three separate counts and a $1,000 fine on each count. She must pay restitution with co-defendants to three individuals totaling $2,240. The plea stems from a breakin at Northside Storage on Sept. 1, 2014. ■ Austin Wade Martin, 43, of Ramer, Tenn., pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine and was given a suspended three-year sentence with two years of unsupervised probation and a $1,000 fine. He was arrested on Sept. 29, 2014, following a traffic stop of a vehicle in which he was a passenger in Alcorn County. ■ Daniel Bearden pleaded guilty to possession of oxycodone and was given a suspended eight-year sentence with five years of probation and a $1,000 fine. His plea follows an arrest on Dec. 21, 2014.

Prentiss County has issued its first marriage license to a samesex couple. Circuit Clerk Mike Kelley said his office issued a license to a female couple Monday afternoon after receiving a letter from the Mississippi Attorney General’s office informing circuit clerks they could begin issuing licenses. Alcorn County has yet to issue a license to a same-sex cou-

ple, according to Alcorn County Circuit Clerk Joe Caldwell on Wednesday. Prentiss County’s Kelley said he is required to obey all laws including the law established by the Supreme Court’s ruling last Friday regarding same-sex marriage. “The law and the Supreme Court have shut down Mississippi’s law and we’re obligated to obey the law. I took an oath to folPlease see LICENSE | 2

Officials respond to Langston appeal BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com

Federal prosecutors have responded to a motion by former Booneville attorney Joey Langston seeking to have his 2008 conviction on a federal conspiracy charge thrown out. Langston pleaded guilty in 2008, along with several others, to allegedly attempting to influence Circuit Court Judge Robert “Bobby” Delaughter to rule favorably in a case filed

by Richard “Dickie” Scruggs. Langston was sentenced to three years in federal prison, three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine. He completed all terms of his sentence and was fully released from custody and supervision on April 17, 2014. On April 15 of this year he filed a motion in federal court arguing the conviction was impropPlease see LANGSTON | 2

Troopers hoping for safe travel on holiday

Church hosts July 4th event

BY JEBB JOHNSTON

Multi-colored pyrotechnics will light up the sky as The Central Church of Corinth holds its 4th Annual Celebrate America on Saturday. “We see it as our gift to the community and as a wonderful way to celebrate the good ole U.S.A.,” said Terry Harmon II, who has served as the pastor of The Central Church for eight years. “People say they enjoy the festivities and appreciate the good family environment we provide.” The patriotic event will kick off at 4 p.m. followed by a huge firework show at dusk and a live Southern Gospel concert by the Down’s Family from 7 to 8 p.m. “We’ll have inflatable jumpers and games set up for the kids as well as free hot dogs, homemade ice cream, popcorn, snow cones and other items,” said Harmon. “Drinks will be available for 50 cents each.” “Active outdoor games begin at 4 p.m. with several rounds Frisbee and beach ball fun,” he added. “At 5 p.m., we will have a water balloon fight and at 6 p.m. we will have sidewalk chalk for the children.” All games and relays will be adult led and supervised.

BY KIMBERLY SHELTON kshelton@dailycorinthian.com

jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

Motorists will see more troopers on the highways as the state beefs up its law enforcement presence for the holiday weekend. An additional 48 troopers will be on patrol during the holiday enforcement period from 6 p.m. Friday to midnight Sunday. MHP hopes this will help the state fare better than last year’s Fourth of July period, when the state recorded seven fatalities on its highways. “With the new texting and driving law that is now in place, we are encouraging drivers to change driving habits that could put themselves or other motorists at risk,” said Lt. Johnny Poulos, MHP. “Our main concern is in what manner the vehicle is being operated. Therefore, careless and reckless driving laws will be enforced by MHP. Safety checkpoints will be established to prevent impaired driving, promote seatbelt usage, and to ensure safe operation of motor vehicles by licensed drivers.” The new law, which took effect Wednesday, encompasses not just texting but also e-mails Please see TRAVEL | 2

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Staff photo by Steve Beavers

Mary Dell Dicks and Carlean Parker check out the quilt made by Dicks to raise money for American Legion Post 6.

Special quilt raises money for Legion BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com

Carlean Parker challenged quilter Mary Dell Dicks. The longtime quilter produced. Dicks churned out a patriotic quilt design which will be used to help the American Legion Post 6 Ladies Auxiliary raise money. “I love this one more,” said Dicks as she looked over the Queen-size product. “It’s bigger than the one I did last year and it’s made from actual flags.” Parker came up with the idea of using stars of flags set

for disposal. “The stars and red and white strips of those flags are in the quilt,” said Parker. “It’s special because of that.” “She made a good suggestion,” added Dicks. The quilt is made of 36 stars along with 12 Little Farmer Boys and 12 Sun Bonnet Sue dolls. Chances for the quilt are $2 or three for $5. Proceeds collected from the quilt will be used to fund the many programs sponsored by the American Legion such as Boys State, oratorical contest for high school students and

other numerous programs of the organization. Chances on the quilt will be be sold starting Saturday at the Jacinto Festival. They can be bought at the American Legion booth. The quilt will be awarded on Veterans Day at the legion hall. Last year, the auxiliary made $600 from chances on the quilt. The winner does not have to be present, according to Parker. (For more information about purchasing a chance on the quilt contact Parker at 662-462-3443.)

Please see EVENT | 2

25 years ago

10 years ago

Jim Whitehurst walks away with the first ever Corinth-Alcorn County Golf Championship title. Whitehurst won the tournament at Shiloh Ridge by four strokes over second place finisher Carroll Little.

Miss Alcorn County Jill Shumaker and Miss Mississippi State University Sally Steen, both of Corinth, will compete in the Miss Mississippi pageant this week.

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