Saturday Dec. 10,
2011
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 115, No. 294
2011 Christmas Basket Fund ‘A Community Tradition’
Cooler Today
Tonight
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 24 pages • 2 sections
Salmonella count rises BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
The number of verified local cases of salmonella continues to climb. Magnolia Regional Health Center has treated a total of 29 confirmed cases of salmonella as of Friday afternoon, according to Annie Rhoades, the hospital’s director of marketing. Friday’s total was up seven
Confirmed total goes to 29; state still quiet on the cause from the 22 confirmed cases on Thursday. The first report of patients being treated for salmonella was made public on Tuesday after-
noon, when hospital CEO Rick Napper released a statement saying the hospital had received 11 positive salmonella cultures since Monday, Nov. 28, 2011.
Upholstery on U.S. 72 East. The first unit arrived at the business three minutes after the call came in. Three more units responded quickly, and the firemen soon had the blaze under control. “It was extinguished very
quickly,” said Corinth Fire Chief Rob Price. “The guys did a super good hit on it.” The owner of Perfection Upholstery, David “Uncle Dave” Stevens, said all the material in the shop was ruined, but he doesn’t know yet if his sewing
The Mississippi State Department of Health was contacted Friday, but had no new information to release on their ongoing investigation into the origin of the continuing rash of local cases of food poisoning. On Tuesday a spokesperson for the state health department said the agency started its investi-
Donations to basket Blaze destroys upholstery business fund top $21,000 BY BOBBY J. SMITH
bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
’Tis the season for giving as donations continue to arrive for the 16th annual Corinth Rotary Club/Daily Corinthian Christmas Basket Fund. A $25,000 fundraising goal has been set so 1,100 food baskets can be given to local families today at the Crossroads Arena So far $21,170 has been raised. Food baskets were given away today upon the faith the goal will be attained this year. Donations include $150 from Gardner’s Supermarket in memory of Jimmy Gardner; $150 from Roger’s Supermarket in memory of Jimmy Gardner; $50 from Jerry Caldwell Sr. and Jerry Caldwell Jr. in memory of Joyce Ann Caldwell; $100 from Mr. and Mrs. James E. Newcomb; $500 from Bell Liquified Gas in memory of Mrs. GeeGee Palmer and Peyton Houchins; $1,000 from Gunn Drug Co. in honor of all the Gunn girls; $25 from Ruth Sunday School Class at West Corinth Baptist Church in honor of teachers Sally Plaxico and Doris Ballard; $50 anonymous gift in memory of Bobby E. Martin; $25 from Debbie Garrett in memory of Susan Darwin; $100 from Mickey Davis and Scott, Stefanie, Sarah and Sydney McClain in memory of Bobby Dean Davis; and $40 from Mr. and Mrs. Lester Strickland. Donations are a perfect time to make a tribute to a loved one. Contributions to the Christmas Basket Fund can be made “in honor of” or “in memory of” a special person or persons. The tribute will be published in the Daily Corinthian. Donations can be brought by the newspaper office or mailed to: Daily Corinthian, Attn.: Christmas Basket Fund, P.O. Box 1800, Corinth, MS 38835.
The interior of a Corinth upholstery business was destroyed in a Friday morning fire. The Corinth Fire Department received the call at 8:07 a.m. about a fire at Perfection
Please see SALMONELLA | 2A
machines were damaged beyond repair. “The fire department got here right quick and put the fire out, but the little building got so hot that everything melted,” Please see BLAZE | 3A
Rienzi ready to celebrate Christmas with parade BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
The Singing Tree The First Baptist Church Singing Christmas Tree — a tradition since 1984 — returns following a three-year break. Performances are scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m., 5 p.m. on Sunday night and 7 p.m. on Monday night. Standing over 25-feet tall, the all new tree consists of 40,800 programmable lights and will feature 50 singers. The program will include favorite Christmas songs in a nostalgic nod to the rich musical heritage of the church. The performances are free and open to the public. No tickets are required.
RIENZI — The streets of the town of Rienzi will be filled with Christmas cheer this Sunday as the town hosts its annual Christmas parade. The fun kicks off at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon and Mayor Walter Williams says they hope everyone will come out and join them for one of the town’s biggest and most exciting events. Williams said they haven’t picked a specific theme for this year’s parade, but they want everyone to focus generally on the idea of an old fashioned Christmas. The parade draws a big crowd to the streets of this small southern Alcorn County town. Williams said this year they’ve even had to extend the parade route a bit to make sure there’s plenty of room for everyone who wants to celebrate with them. The route will begin this year at the Pulpwood Yard and run down South Front Street to School Street and then Clark Street, then onto Highway 356 and then back down to Robbins Street to end at the Wurlitzer building. Williams encourages all area residents to bundle up and come out and join them for a fun afternoon as they celebrate the spirit of the season.
Toy store volunteers spread holiday cheer BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Santa Claus was no where to be found. Volunteers dressed in red hats and even reindeer antlers were the ones spreading the Christmas cheer some 17 days before the big day. Over 300 volunteers were on hand making the season brighter for those in need on Thursday at the Lighthouse Foundation Toy Store — a program that helps provide Christmas presents for children in Alcorn County whose families have been affected by tough times. “Today has been amazing,” said Lighthouse Foundation Assistant Director Markenna Duff. “The beautiful thing is seeing people from every aspect
of life come together to help those in need.” The Lighthouse Foundation gymnasium was transformed into a giant toy store for the 15th annual event on South Johns Street. People dressed in the season color of red with big smiles were more than happy to play a part in making Christmas brighter. “I take a vacation day every year to be here,” said volunteer Latosha Burns. “This is a life-changing event that I look forward to and wish the world could be like this every day.” A need to help is what brought out so many volunteers of all ages. “I have been on the Lighthouse board for over 10 years Please see TOY | 2A
Klisha Burns marks an item off a list at the Toy Store.
Index Stocks...... 7A Classified......4B Comics....11A Wisdom....10A
Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports...1-3B
On this day in history 150 years ago The Confederate Congress allowed the expatriate Kentucky “government” into the Confederacy as the 13th state. Kentucky joins Missouri as the two states which claim both Union and Confederate state governments.
Staff photo by Steve Beavers