Friday Oct. 7,
2011
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 115, No. 239
XX Today
Tonight
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 22 pages • 2 sections
Flags fly at half staff over Northeast Traffic accident claims second student in four-day span; college dedicates homecoming to memory of lives lost BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
BOONEVILLE — It was supposed to be a week of homecoming celebration. Instead, a college campus mourns the loss of another young student. Northeast Mississippi Community College student Clinton Blake West became the second student to be killed in an automobile accident over a four-
day span. West, a pre-occupational therapy student at the Prentiss County college, was fatally injured when his 2005 Nissan Altima left the road and hit a tree before overturning multiple times. NE student Cameron L. Bernal was killed in a onevehicle accident early Sunday morning as he traveled west on Highway 364. “This is a sad occasion
“This is a sad occasion for us. From all appearances, both were fine young men who were thought very highly of by faculty and staff.” Dr. Johnny Allen Northeast Mississippi Community College President for us,” said Northeast President Dr. Johnny Allen. “From all appearanc-
es, both were fine young men who were thought very highly of by faculty
and staff.” West, a 19-year-old graduate of Pine Grove High School, was headed west on Highway 4 approximately three miles east of the Tippah County line when the accident took place around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a Mississippi Highway Patrol report. Neither West or Bernal were wearing seat belts.
“Our sympathy goes out to their families,” said Allen. “We as a college lose from something like this, but it’s family and friends who lose the most.” Dr. Allen said campus flags will be flown halfstaff from sunrise today until sunset Saturday in honor of the two students. The college president has also asked Tigers’ footPlease see DEATHS | 2A
‘Celebrate Life’ ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ October means to be annual more beautiful benefit theme autumn foliage BY JEFF YORK BY BOBBY J. SMITH
jlyork@tsixroads.com
bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
An elegant dinner and a nationally known speaker are two good reasons to come to the Resource Center for Women banquet for their annual fall fundraiser. The theme of the banquet is “Celebrating Life.” This year’s banquet will be held Tuesday, Oct. 25. For information or to make a reservation, call Martha Jobe, executive director, or Darlene Durbin, reservations coordinator. Deadline for reservations is Oct. 14. “Our center is very active and helps many people in a six-county area,” said Jobe. “This banquet is our chief fundraiser of the year.” The five counties served by the center besides Alcorn are Prentiss, Tippah, Tishomingo and Tennessee counties McNairy and Hardin. A nationally known speaker is always brought in to bring the keynote address at the banquet. This year’s speaker will be Tony Perkins. He hosts a national radio program “Washington Watch Weekly,” and broadcasts a daily commentary. He is president of the Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council. Perkins served eight years in the Louisiana legislature. He joined the FRC in 2003 and has launched new initiatives to defend Christian values the nation was founded upon. Perkins has a tremendous burden to reclaim the culture for Christ and believes that this revival will begin in the churches across America and build on shared values of family and freedom. Jobe said the banquet was first held in 2006 and has proven to be a very successful event for the Resource Center for Women. “We will talk about our goals for the future and will give a ministry update of what the center has done this year,” said Jobe. The center’s other fundraisers are Please see LIFE | 2A
Northeast Mississippi Community College started celebrating Homecoming 2011 on Monday this week as buildings around the Booneville campus became adorned with displays showing school spirit and support for the undefeated Tiger football team. Northeast student services administrative assistant Charlotte Tennison of Booneville (left) along with (second from left to right) Northeast homecoming queen Sallie Richardson of Olive Branch, Sam Steen of Corinth and Seth Bragg of Rienzi work on a “Welcome to the Jungle” themed display in front of the Haney Union. Northeast’s 2011 Homecoming culminates with the 12th-ranked Tigers taking on the thirdranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College on Saturday at 3 p.m. Homecoming activities include various events staged by the college’s Student Government Association (SGA) and Student Activities such as a rave, movie night, homecoming dance and the crowning of the queen at halftime of the Tigers’ football game. Other events during homecoming week include the Northeast Development Foundation’s ‘Friends of the Tiger’ Golf Classic today and the induction of the Northeast Sports Hall of Fame and luncheon at noon on Saturday along with the college’s softball alumni game at 1:30 p.m on Sunday.
Near the middle and end of October the days grow shorter and the trees are painted with brilliant shades of orange and red. With the dog days of summer behind and the bitter chill of winter still ahead, October is the time of the year when leaf-gazers hit the streets and backroads in search of the perfect fall scene. Tishomingo County — with picturesque backroads and state parks — is a perfect jumping off place to begin an expedition to see nature’s beauty in the fall. One way to take in the colors, according to Theresa Cutshall at Tishomingo County Tourism, is to drive into Tishomingo County and pick any road to explore. As the entire county abounds in scenic beauty it’s difficult to find a road that doesn’t travel through a naturally beautiful stretch of land. If scenic explorers wish to have a more guided experience, they can pick up a copy of the Tishomingo County Color Driving Tour map. Available at the tourism office at 1001 Battlefield Drive in Iuka, this map outlines a route that reaches from Pickwick Lake and J.P. Coleman State Park in the county’s north to Belmont, Golden and Bay Springs Lake in the county’s southern reaches. Other locations included in the route is Tishomingo State Park, the TennesseTombigbee Waterway and Woodall Mountain, the highest point in the state. Starting a fall foliage tour in Tishomingo County also places the color-seeking traveler in a perfect jumping-off point for another stretch of highway known for its beauty in the fall — the Natchez Trace Parkway.
The Natchez Trace
One point of access to this scenic thoroughfare in Tishomingo County is near the town of Tishomingo, south of Tishomingo State Park on U.S. Highway 25. Extending roughly from Natchez to Please see LEAVES | 2A
Alcorn church leaders focus on the family BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
A group of Corinth and Alcorn County church leaders met Thursday at Corinth’s First Presbyterian Church to discuss plans for an upcoming program to strengthen the community by focusing on the family. Forty Days of Family Focus is a campaign to encourage all churches of
Alcorn County to concentrate on the biblical teaching and standards for marriage and the family. Each church will do this in a way true to itself and its traditions, but organizers hope all participating churches will have their family focus during the same 40 day period — from October 9 until November 17 — in order to create a conversation in the community as all
churches converge on the same study. This effort — in connection with the Strengthening Families Task Force of The Commission on the Future of Alcorn County — is intended to be a catalyst whereby the churches can set the pace for strong marriages and families that will have an impact in the community. Please see FOCUS | 2A
Index Stocks......9A Classified......4B Comics....12A Crossroads ....3B
Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports....10A
A group of Alcorn County church and community leaders met Thursday at Corinth’s First Presbyterian Church to discuss plans for an upcoming program to strengthen the community by focusing on the family, including (front, from left) Mona Grady, of CARE Community Foundation; Kim Ratliff, pastor of St. Mark Baptist Church; Don Elliott, pastor of First Presbyterian Church; (back, from left) Prentiss Gordon, pastor of First United Methodist; Josh Hodum, pastor of Grace Tabernacle; and Kenny Digby, of the Alcorn Baptist Association.
On this day in history 150 years ago Oct. 7, 1861 — The Pony Express is discontinued after a mere 18 months of service and the transcontinental telegraphic was placed in operation seventeen days later. The CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack) is launched at Hampton Roads, Va.