Prentiss County County fair includes music & family fun
McNairy County Revenue problems related to municipalities
Snapshot Saturday Reader photos share gardens’ bounty
Page 3A
Page 3A
Page 16A
Saturday Aug. 13,
2016
75 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 120, No. 195
Partly sunny Today
Tonight
83
73
60% chance of rain
• Corinth, Mississippi • 24 pages • Two sections
Alliance president to step down BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
After eight years working on economic development in Corinth and Alcorn County, Alliance President Gary Chandler is preparing to move on. Chandler informed local officials that he will depart his current job at
the end of September as he becomes director of the Jackson County Economic Development Authority in Scottsboro, Ala. “Leaving here was no easy decision,” said Chandler, A Tupelo native. “We are excited about the opportunity, but we certainly will miss our friends and our church in this
community. Corinth has been very good to us and we appreciate that.” His wife, Amy, is a teacher at Corinth Elementary School, and they have two children attending Corinth schools. The job in northeast Alabama is “an opportunity too good to pass up,” he said. A longtime director is
retiring from the post in Scottsboro, a city of about 14,800 population. The county has a population of more than 52,000. Current volunteer CEO Jason Marlar is sad to see Chandler go. “Gary’s personal involvement and Please see CHANDLER | 5A
Chandler
City school Family raises funds for St. Jude Couple enrollment jailed for stays level trailer theft BY STEVE BEAVERS
sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Corinth School District enrollment is on pace to be about even with last year. As of Thursday, the district had a little over 2,700 students. At mid-September in 2015, enrollment was 2,729. The numbers will climb a bit more as students continue to register, said Superintendent Lee Childress. Corinth Elementary School has 1,325 in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, almost unchanged from last September. Corinth Middle School is at 740, compared to 787 last September, and Corinth High School is at 640, up from 618 last September. The freshman class at CHS has topped 200 for the first time with enrollment of 210 as of Thursday. “We’re going to begin to see the enrollment increase at the high school because we’re keeping more and more of those stu-
The Dampoux family spent its last day in Corinth helping St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. All five family members had a hand in working at a lemonade and crepes stand at the corner of Fillmore and Third streets. “It was an activity we did while they were visiting,” said Elizabeth Husey while helping her French family at her Fillmore Street home. “I thought they needed to experience the American tradition of having a lemonade stand.” Sarah Lyle Dampoux and her husband, Emmanuel Dampoux, have spent the last three weeks at her mother’s home along with their children, Emma-Lyle Dampoux, Louis-Georges Dampoux and Honore`Dampoux. Emmanuel, who was in charge of making the crepes being sold for $1, is scheduled to run in the New York Marathon for St. Jude later this year.
Please see SCHOOLS | 5A
Please see FAMILY | 5A
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Staff reports
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Elizabeth Husey helps her grandchildren, Emma-Lyle Dampoux and Louis-Georges Dampoux, with their lemonade and crepes stand.
Locals learning how to improve education BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
BIGGERSVILLE — Chronic underfunding of public education caused one Mississippi group to kickstart a grassroots organization called Parents’ Campaign. Ten years later, the group travels across the state advocating for parents and communities on stronger education. Adrian Shippman with the Parents’ Campaign spoke to a group of local concerned parents and educators on Thursday night at the P16 Parent Advisory Council meeting held at Biggersville High School. “We want to educate peo-
A Rienzi couple has been arrested in connection with several thefts including the theft of a trailer stolen from Alcorn County. Prentiss County authorities made the arrest after they were caught on video on Monday, Aug. 8th at the scene of a break-in and almost caught by the property owners. The video provided a good description of the vehicle which was spotted pulling a trailer Wednesday morning in the Jumpertown area, said Prentiss County Sheriff Randy Tolar. The couple were eventually caught and transported to the Prentiss County jail. The trailer was determined to have been stolen from Alcorn County. Investigators looking through the contents of the trailer located evidence that led them to a house on CR 8251. After visiting the residence, it was determined that an outbuilding had been burglarized. The property Please see COUPLE | 2A
People of the Crossroads Dawn Smith, Biggersville Staff photo by Zack Steen
An advocate for public education, Biggersville native Dawn Smith says small school funding is very important. “My grandfather worked at Biggersville as a maintenance man and bus driver – five generations of my family have attended this school (Biggersville),” she said. “It’s very important to me and this community. The continued funding of public education is how we can ensure that Biggersville school is here to stay.” The 40-year-old stays busy with her son Peyton, a third grader at Biggersville Elementary School. A 24-year veteran of retail, Smith is the store manager at Cato Fashions in Booneville.
ple on why we believe our public schools are good and ways to be better,” she said. “We want to help parents and communities connect and figure out what can be done to achieve this goal.” The Oxford mother of two said the Alcorn School District has lost $13.9 million since 2009 because of the underfunding of public education by the state legislature. “For the 2016-17 school year, Alcorn County schools are underfunded by over $1.2 million,” said Shippman. “That funding could have gone toward hiring more teachers, creating smaller class sizes, Please see PARENTS | 2A
25 years ago
10 years ago
A study looks at the possibility of tapping the Tenn-Tom as a source of water for the region. Cliff Worsham of Corinth chairs a committee considering the idea.
Northeast at Corinth officially opens as college President Dr. Johnny Allen cuts the ribbon on the school’s full-service extension center on Harper Road.
• On Site Jewelry Repair • Custom Designs • Engraving • Jewelry for every occasion Located in Historic Downtown Corinth for over 65 years.
516 Waldron St., Corinth, MS • 662.286.5597