Tuesday Oct. 4,
2011
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 115, No. 236
Sunny Today
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • 1 section
New jail facility requires sheriff’s pay raise Law mandates extra salary in counties where there is a regional state prison BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The opening of a jail facility for the housing of state inmates means a pay raise is due for the Alcorn
County sheriff. The pay increase of $15,600 is required by state law. It appeared on the Board of Supervisors agenda Monday for
authorization, but it was noted that the increase is part of the fiscal 2012 jail operating budget recently approved and already in effect as of Oct. 1.
State law specifies that when a county has contracted with the state for the housing of inmates in such a facility, the sheriff “is designated as the chief corrections officer for the facility housing state offenders, and in that capacity, shall assume responsibility for
management of the corrections facility and for the provision of the care and control of the state offenders housed therein. The sheriff shall be subject to the direction of the department for management of the correctional facility.” Pay for the related du-
ties is fixed at $15,600 in addition to the normal population-based sheriff’s salary, which is $72,000 for Alcorn County. In other matters related to law enforcement, Sheriff Charles Rinehart rePlease see SALARY | 2
Green Market continues to grow Northeast student dies in accident
BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
The October Green Market had beautiful weather, a record number of vendors and one of the biggest turnouts in the history of the almost three-year-old event. “It’s a really nice day, the weather is gorgeous and we’re really kicking off the fall season today,” said Program Director Karen Beth Martin. A total of 62 vendors signed on for the Green Market, 10 more than the previous record. The event featured a wide variety of fallthemed items. “We have mums, pumpkins and a ton of really nice fall display items,” Martin said. Corinth’s Curtis Potts hauled in a big load of pumpkins he’d grown for sale. “When we got here this morning the trailer was just about full,” Potts said while standing next to an almost-empty pumpkin trailer. Another big draw for the October Green Market was the Pet Cos-
BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
PRENTISS COUNTY — The investigation continues into a one-vehicle wreck that claimed the life of a Northeast Mississippi Community College student. Cameron L. Bernal, 19, of Iuka, was traveling west on Mississippi 364 when he apparently lost control of his 1998 Chevrolet S-10 and left the road. The truck overturned several times and Bernal, who was not wearing a seat
Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
The October Green Market had a record number of vendors, Mother Nature’s cooperation with the weather and one of the biggest turnouts ever, including these three Green Marketgoers — Samantha Cossitt, her four-legged friend Charlie and her grandmother Sandra Talley. tume Contest. Seventeen four-legged contestants vied for the grand prize, among them a Chihuahua dressed like a taco, a Great Dane as Superman and a baby goat with sparkly slippers.
In the end, Biscuit, a Bichon Frise dressed like a policeman, emerged top dog. Also noteworthy was Shorty, the contestant from the animal shelter. While Shorty won
an honorable mention, he was not able to find a home. The Green Market offered to pay half of Shorty’s adoption fee — but no heroes stepped Please see MARKET | 2
belt, was ejected. Bernal was pronounced dead at the scene according to the Mississippi Highway Patrol report. The MHP responded to the scene -- approximately three miles east of Booneville -- around 5 a.m. Sunday. A private memorial service for Bernal is set for 4 p.m. today at the family residence. He is survived by the parents, Gerald and Jennifer Austin, and a sister, Ashley Austin.
Boys & Girls Club serves up catfish and chicken BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Caught, cleaned and cooked. The Boys & Girls Club of Corinth is taking care of all three. All that remains is to eat and the club is hoping
plenty show up to do that for the 6th Annual Catfish & Khakis. “This started out as a way to give back to the community and turned into our biggest fundraisPlease see CATFISH | 2
Alcorn County supervisors hear Northeast annual report BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Northeast Mississippi Community College on Monday presented its annual report to the Alcorn County Board of Supervisors. College President Johnny Allen said Al-
corn County is the largest funding contributor in the college’s region, and it’s important to show the return on that investment. “You make a difference not only in the lives of our in-school students but our ability to serve people in this community,” he
said. The county’s new budget includes more than $1 million that will go to help fund college operations and the tuition guarantee. It is about 30 percent of all of the funding the college receives from area counties.
With state budget cuts, “The community college system now has less state funding per student than we had 30 years ago,” said Allen. “It has made student tuition and county funding much more important to the colleges. You are doing your share,
and we appreciate it.” The college’s board of trustees did not request any increase from the counties for fiscal 2012. Some of the statistics noted by Allen: ■ Alcorn County has 981 residents enrolled at the college, or about 30
percent of the student body. ■ Alcorn County residents make up 17 percent of the total staff at Northeast with a payroll of a little more than $2 million. ■ The college provides Please see REPORT | 2
Church’s backback ministry grows BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Started in early 2011, the Backpack Ministry program at Pinecrest Baptist Church just keeps growing. In the beginning, church volunteers filled 67 bags of food for needy schoolchildren to take home for the weekend. The number greatly increased as they discovered the level of need in the community. Now the Backpack Ministry volunteers fill 120 bags of food each Friday. “Every week they increased,” said R.M. Brooks, a Pinecrest member and the founder of
Backpack Ministry. The program has also caught on with two more churches in the state. Inspired by the work done at Pinecrest, Ashland’s Flat Rock Baptist Church started filling food packs for kids three weeks ago. After Brooks spoke at Ripley’s First Baptist Church, the congregation voted to adopt the program and will soon take up the fight against childhood hunger in Tippah County. Brooks said he came up with the idea for Backpack Ministry shortly after he was saved in January. “To feed hungry kids is something near and dear to my heart and the Lord
laid it on my heart to do something for hungry children,” Brooks remembered. After a session of prayer with his wife and Pinecrest’s pastor, Bro. Jeff Haney, Brooks learned of a program at a church in Arkansas that would provide the inspiration for the Backpack Ministry. “My wife and I bought the backpacks and presented them to Bro. Jeff and he presented them to the church,” he said. “They were all for it — so we got started.” Brooks’ plan was to Please see MINISTRY |3
Index Stocks........7 Classified......14 Comics...... 13 Crossroads .... 11
Weather........5 Obituaries........ 3 Opinion........4 Sports........8
Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
Members of Pinecrest Baptist Church meet each Friday for Backpack Ministry, a program started at the church to feed hungry children by delivering backpacks stuffed with foodstuffs to all the schools in Corinth and Alcorn County.
On this day in history 150 years ago President Lincoln approves a contract to build ironclad warships, including the USS Monitor. The Confederate government finalizes a treaty with the Shawnee, Seneca and Cherokee nations. By Tom Parson, National Park Service Ranger