Saturday E-edition

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Saturday Nov. 19,

2011

50 cents

Daily Corinthian Vol. 115, No. 276

Breezy Today

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65

56

• Corinth, Mississippi • 20 pages • Two sections

New D.A. says Corinth office to remain open “We need to create a better citizen as opposed to put them away and create a bad citizen for life.”

BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

District attorney-elect Trent Kelly of Lee County is offering assurance that Corinth will not see its branch of the district attorney’s office close when he takes office. “I intend right now to keep the office staffed as long as we can work out the physical arrangements,” Kelly said during a visit to Corinth. “I can’t tell you the people will be the same. They may be. I don’t know at this time. But I can tell you the positions will be maintained in a same or a very similar fashion.” Kelly, city prosecutor for Tupelo since 1999, accepted an invitation to meet on Wednesday with Mayor Tommy Irwin, Board of Supervisors President Gary Ross and others to discuss keeping

Treny Kelly Lee County district attorney-elect

Staff photo by Jebb Johnston

District attorney-elect Trent Kelly (center) makes a point in a meeting at Corinth City Hall as City Attorney Wendell Trapp (left) and Ward 1 Alderman Andrew Labas listen. the Corinth office open. “We don’t need to lose a job in Corinth, Mississippi, nor that office,” Irwin told the Board of Alder-

men on Tuesday. “Those jobs are important to this community.” Kelly said he sees Corinth as a good loca-

tion for an office since it is the district’s secondlargest city behind Tupelo. He met with realtor Robert Williams while

in Corinth to discuss the property. Kelly, who ran as a Republican, was successful at unseating longtime district attorney John Young of Corinth in his second attempt. “I think I can be very involved in your community and help people in this community,” he said. Kelly has practiced law in the first judicial district for 16 years. A lieutenant colonel in the Mississippi Army National Guard, he did two deployments in Iraq, one as a battalion commander. He does not

anticipate another deployment. He said he ran for district attorney because he wanted to make a difference in the community and influence lives by bringing closure and healing. “I also think there’s a lot of criminal defendants who are young or made stupid mistakes that may not need to be life-ending — they need to be lifealtering,” said Kelly. “We need to create a better citizen as opposed to put them away and create a bad citizen for life.”

Corinth revises drug policy for city employees BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

The Board of Aldermen this week adopted a revised drug policy for city employees. City officials have said the policy needed to be brought up to date along with a few other tweaks. The policy covers alcoholic beverages of any kind and controlled or illegal drugs. The policy allows drug testing if an employee is believed to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Neutral-selection drug testing may be done on employees involved in activities affecting public health or safety. The policy requires drug testing for many categories of new hires and transfers. The policy was changed to require drug testing for any accident while on duty, not just those that result in injury. Also, the policy previously allowed consumption of alcoholic beverages at authorized city- or business-sponsored events, and that has been changed to exclude all consumption of alcoholic beverages. In other business:

■ The board gave conditional approval to a contract with Telepak, which officials have said will place fiber optic lines in the city, allowing C Spire, formerly Cellular South, to provide 4G mobile broadband. The contract, which has been in negotiation for some time, includes stipulations for construction in the city and a franchise agreement. The investment “should open up competition and services,” said David Huwe, director of community development and planning. City Attorney Wendell Trapp said there is one remaining point to be clarified with the state Attorney General’s Office. ■ Municipal Court Clerk Dianne Johnson informed the board that city court was beginning the moving process and plans to be moved into the new justice center next week. The court is planning to have its first regular court session at the justice center on Nov. 28. The municipal court is already holding initial appearances at the justice center.

Governor unveils new state tag BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@ dailycorinthian.com

The first Mississippibuilt Toyota Corolla wasn’t the only new creation unveiled this week when Toyota officially opened operations this week at its new Blue Springs plant - the state also used the occassion to debut the state’s new car tag. Governor Haley Barbour presented the first of the new tags to Toyota to be placed on the first Corolla produced at the plant. The new tag will get into the hands and onto the bumpers of motorists in the state next October when it replaces the current design featuring the Biloxi Lighthouse,

“The new car tag pays tribute to Mississippi’s artistic culture and one of our greatest musical legends, B.B. King.” Gov. Haley Barbour chosen in 2007 to honor the state’s determination and resillence following Hurricane Katrina. The new license plate highlights Mississippi’s unique musical heritage. The design includes a pair of ribbons bearing the slogan “Birthplace of America’s Music”. In the center is a round seal enclosing an image of legendary Mississippi blues musician B.B. King’s signature guitar, known as Lucille. The border of the seal has the phrase “Celebrating Mississippi’s

Creative Culture”. “The new car tag pays tribute to Mississippi’s artistic culture and one of our greatest musical legends, B.B. King,” Barbour said. “I appreciate the work of the Department of Revenue and Mississippi Development Authority to create the new design, which recognizes Mississippi’s rightful position as the Birthplace of America’s Music.” The goal of the plate is to promote the state’s musical heritage, which

has also been a key part of tourism promotion campaigns across the state in recent years. The state license plate design must be changed every five years according to Mississippi law. The new design was created by Lucy Hetrick, an artist with the Mississippi Development Authority and approved by the Mississippi Car Tag Commission. The tag will be the primary tag offered for the 2.6 million passenger vehicles currently operating in Mississippi, though drivers will continue to be able to also choose from a variety of speciality tags. The new tag will be issued to drivers when they renew their tags beginning in October. 2012.

City sales, tourism tax shows modest gains this month BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

Corinth sales and tourism tax collections enjoyed modest gains in the latest reported month. That trend also held for the region and the state. Nine of 11 local municipalities posted gains for the month, while statewide collections totaled $31.28 million, a 2 percent gain from the same month a year ago. Corinth received $432,146.20 at midNovember, an increase of almost 2 percent in

year-to-year comparisons. The latest deposit reflects sales activity that occurred during the month of September. For the fiscal year to date, the city has received $856,264.09, just a few dollars from being even with the previous fiscal year. The 2 percent tourism tax on prepared food and lodging generated $80,062.61 for the month, a 4 percent increase from a year earlier. The tax, which is used for tourism promo-

Tourism Director Kristy White noted the monthly result reflects activity during a fairly busy period that included the county fair and the Battle of Farmington re-enactment. tion and to pay the arena construction debt, is continuing its positive trend, with a year-to-date total of $176,137.81, a 10 percent gain compared to the previous fiscal year. Tourism Director Kristy White noted the monthly result reflects

Index Stocks...... 7A Classified......5B Comics....11A Wisdom....10A

Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports......1B

activity during a fairly busy period that included the county fair and the Battle of Farmington reenactment. Although it was a positive month for sales tax, figures from the Mississippi Department of Revenue show gross retail

sales continuing to post negative growth. For the period of July through October, gross retail sales in Alcorn County totaled $164.7 million, a 13 percent decline from the same period in fiscal 2011. The statewide total is down less than 2 percent. Tishomingo County was an exception in the northeast corner, with $56.4 million, an increase of 19 percent. Other mid-November sales tax diversions from the region: ■ Booneville —

$148,411.30 (+6%); ■ Burnsville — $12,371.11 (+1%); ■ Farmington — $4,022.42 (-6%); ■ Glen — $1,726.30 (-1%); ■ Iuka — $66,704.96 (+6%); ■ Kossuth — $4,003.31 (+18%); ■ Rienzi — $2,847.30 (+8%); ■ Ripley — $99,773.95 (+5%); ■ Tupelo — $1,396.408.42 (+7%); ■ Walnut — $17,949.45 (+14%).

On this day in history 150 years ago In an optimistic speech to the Confederate Congress, President Jefferson Davis states, “Liberty is always won where there exists the unconquerable will to be free.” Mississippian Lucius Q. C. Lamar appointed Confederate special agent to Russia.


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