Saturday Dec. 24,
2011
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 115, No. 306
2011 Christmas Basket Fund ‘A Community Tradition’
Basket fund donations top $27,000 The spirit of giving this Christmas season is alive and well in the Alcorn County area. Donations continue to arrive for the 16th annual Corinth Rotary Club/Daily Corinthian Christmas Basket Fund. A $25,000 fundraising goal was set so 1,100 food baskets could be given to local families on Saturday, Dec. 10. It was a record number of baskets and the community has responded in a big way. Baskets were given away based upon the faith the goal would be reached and the faith has now turned into fact with the goal not only being reached, but surpassed. So far $27,270 has been raised. Donations include $100 from Four Seasons Garden Club; $100 from John R. and Susan Young in memory of James “Buddy” Crow, Frances Vivian Young and Phil M. Young and in honor of Mary Sue Crow; and $140 from employees of Corinth Dental in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Spencer Lee. Since the newspaper office is closed Christmas Day and Monday, donations will continue to be accepted through Tuesday and 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.
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 20 pages • 2 sections
Lighthouse honors dedicated volunteer BY BRANT SAPPINGTON
bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
When it comes to keeping the books at Corinth’s Lighthouse Foundation, it’s truly integrity that counts the most. For more than a decade, retired accountant and Corinth School District business manager Margaret Dennie has volunteered her time and talents to manage the finances of the busy non-profit organization. She was honored recently for her work by the foundation’s board with a reception recognizing her for her many years of service. “You won’t find anyone with more integrity and honesty and just pure dedication to what she does than Margaret Dennie,” said longtime Lighthouse Foundation board
member Jett Wilson. Foundation Executive Director Gary Caveness said it’s hard to imagine how the organization would function without her leadership and dedication. He said she works countless hours both in the office and at home without asking for anything in return and gives leaders the security of knowing the work is done right and done well. “There is simply no cutting corners,” said Caveness. He said Dennie’s work at the foundation goes beyond keeping the books, a job that has grown immensely over the last few years with the addition of the foundation’s thrift store and the growth of Please see DENNIE | 5A
Margaret Dennie admires a charm bracelet given to her at a recent reception in her honor at The Lighthouse Foundation.
Mother-daughter duo share holiday spirit BY ANGELA STOREY astorey@dailycorinthian.com
The true spirit of Christmas is being shared in the Corinth area thanks to a mother and daughter who want to make the holidays brighter for others. An idea was born when Eliza Hill of Booneville began collecting snow globes for residents at Whitfield Nursing Home in Corinth. Along with snow globes, she found other gift ideas such as “poinsettias in a can,” which came with seeds
and dirt so residents could enjoy growing their own plants. For men, there were gifts of woodworking kits complete with glue and wood so they could build little boats. The gifts were delivered to Whitfield Nursing Home by Eliza Hill, her 5-year-old son, Bo Hill, a preschooler at First Methodist Church in Booneville, and Eliza’s mother, Sherri Rutledge of Corinth. The residents were given the opportunity to select the gift of
their choice. Also among the gifts was one little ballerina doll. “One woman selected it and was so happy with it. Everybody got exactly what they wanted,” said Rutledge. The residents also enjoyed interacting with Bo and hugging him as he helped deliver the gifts. The three generations did more than simply take gifts to residents. They made room-toroom visits where they talked with residents and listened as
they spoke about their lives and families and shared other thoughts. “When we first got there everybody was quiet and nobody would say much. By the time we left, six or seven people who’d been in their rooms came out smiling, thanking us and saying goodbye. It was like a different place,” she said. Rutledge said her daughter came up with the idea of Please see GLOBES | 5A
Happy ‘holi-do’
Farmington board praises animal shelter leadership Staff photos by Mark Boehler
BY BOBBY J. SMITH
Libba Harvey models a holiday hairdo and the complete boxed gift package during the Fantasy Christmas Updo Contest at the Corinth Academy of Cosmetology, left. Harvey and fellow designers Desire’ Hamm and Michelle Johnston won first place. Ashley Baswell models the second place updo — ice skaters atop a snowy mountain of hair, above. Baswell’s fellow designers were Ashley Raines and Bethney Speck.
bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
The new management of the Corinth-Alcorn Animal Shelter received some glowing praise from the mayor of Farmington at a recent meeting of town officials. “You have been doing a good job since the first day. It’s a thousand percent better than it was,” Mayor Dale Fortenberry said to shelter board member Arlene Crawford, during Crawford’s update to the board. Crawford reported a “crazy month” of December at the shelter, with only 14 cats and about 30 dogs remaining — a decrease from the shelter’s 350 dogs and 250 cats in the previous month. “We’re almost out of animals to adopt,” she said. Another topic of Crawford’s report was the condition of the building. She said the new board has made great progress Please see BOARD | 5A
A look back at 2011: The year in review — Part I BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
(Editor’s note: Part 1 of 2 of the 2011 year in review.) Following is a look back at some notable headlines from the first half of 2011:
January Signaling a busy county election year ahead, 25 hopefuls sign up on the first day of qualifying, which not only fell on a Saturday but also the New
Year’s Day holiday. Corinth’s new Board of Mayor and Aldermen seek an audit of internal operations. The city gets a 9- to 10-inch snowfall on the evening of Jan. 9, the biggest snowfall in Corinth since January 1988, closing the county schools for a week. New county school board members take the oath of office — Russ Nash for district 1 and Peggy Bain for district 2. Corinth gets another 1 to 2 inches of snow on the night of
Index Stocks...... 7A Classified......6B Comics....12A Wisdom....11A
Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports...1-3A
Jan. 20. A half-inch snowfall follows on the night of Jan. 26. The Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance recommends a reprimand and suspension for Justice Court Judge Jimmy McGee for improper use of the prestige of the office and DUI ticket-fixing. The accusation of ticketfixing is later dropped. The biggest chunk of missing wreckage from the October 2010 fatal plane crash in southwest Alcorn County is found
near a home on County Road 117 in Farmington, about 20 miles from the main crash site.
February 2010 Census results show Corinth’s population at 14,573, up about 4 percent, and Alcorn County’s population at 37,057, up 7 percent. The increase in county population means the county will get a third constaPlease see REVIEW | 3A
On this day in history 150 years ago “Christmas Eve ... As much as I desire to see you all, I would not leave my company alone ... I give my company a Christmas dinner tomorrow, consisting of turkey, oysters, pies, apples, etc.; no liquors.” — Capt. Robert Carter, 22nd Mass.