Daily Corinthian E-Edition 12-14-11 by Daily Corinthian

Wednesday Dec. 14,

2011

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Daily Corinthian Vol. 115, No. 297

2011 Christmas Basket Fund ‘A Community Tradition’

Basket fund tops $23,000 in donations

’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 could be given to local families on Saturday, Dec. 10. It was a record number of baskets. So far $23,155 has been raised. Food baskets were given away based upon the faith the goal will be attained this year. Donations include $50 from Joey and Judy James in memory of Keith James; $100 from Mr. and Mrs. John U. Potts in memory of Leon Potts; $100 from Peggy and Al Wodhouse; $100 from Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Honey; $25 from Mr. and Mrs. William T. Stine; and $100 from Brad Brawner in memory of Becky Brawner. 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.

Fire chief urges safety BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

The display of live Christmas trees, cooking of big holiday meals and the use of electrical space heaters combine to make December one of the most fire-prone times of the year in the home. Fire officials encourage residents to keep safety in mind as they enjoy the holidays. From 2005 to 2009, more than 200 home fires per year in the U.S. began with Christmas trees, according to the state fire marshal’s office. Corinth Fire Chief Rob Price said proper care of the live trees is very important. “Be sure the trees are wellwatered. They drink more water than you think they would,” he said. As a general rule, according to the marshal’s office, tree stands should provide 1 quart of water per inch of stem diameter. Shedding needles indicate a tree is dry and a fire hazard. Tree lights are another potential source of trouble. “Make sure that the lights’ wires are not frayed, and when purchasing new lights, make sure they have a UL listing,” said Price. The UL listing is a product safety certification. Lights should be unplugged before leaving or going to bed, and Christmas trees should be kept away from any potential sources of ignition, such as Please see SAFETY | 3A

Some clouds Today

Tonight

• Corinth, Mississippi • 30 pages • 2 sections

Outbreak source: Don Julio State report confirms 59 cases came from 1 restaurant BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com

The salmonella crisis is over. The Mississippi State Department of Health reports that salmonella is no longer a risk to the public in Corinth and singles out one restaurant as to the source of the recent

food poisoning outbreak. The MSDH reports that 59 patrons and employees of Don Julio Mexican Restaurant — located in The Commons shopping center — have had positive cultures confirming the presence of salmonella. “Our investigation has

shown that the incident does not appear to be a food producer or supplier issue,” said Northeast Mississippi District Health Officer Dr. Jessie R. Taylor. “It appears to be an isolated problem with this particular restaurant, and the restaurant is working closely with

us to correct the problem.” Don Julio will remain closed until an improvement plan is approved by the MSDH. The MSDH reports that area health care providers have been notified of the situation. Please see OUTBREAK | 3A

Grant helps famous sword’s return BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com

The Corinth Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is teaming with the Sons of Confederate Veterans to bring the sword of Col. W.P. Rogers back to Corinth.

Board members agreed to a funding request of $3,500 to sponsor the Corinth Civil War Relic Show in March in which the sword will be displayed. “This year I am 99.9 percent sure we will have Col. Rogers sword,” said Larry Mangus with

the Sons of Confederate Veterans. “We hope to get a 20-25 percent increase in people attending because of the sword.” Should the sword not arrive to be displayed, the board agreed to fund the event for $2,500. “This will be a once in a

lifetime treat,” said Mangus. “Who knows if we will ever get it back again.” “Usually, we sponsor the show for $2,500 but this is a special year,” added tourism Please see SWORD | 3A

Organizations host legislative reception BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com

Community leaders received chance this week to become more familiar with local representatives in state government. The Alliance and Corinth Area Convention & Visitors Bureau co-sponsored a legislative reception for the officials on Monday evening. “We want to keep a good rapport with our legislative delegation and let them know who we are,” said The Alliance President and Chief Operating Officer Gary Chandler. “This is an effort to say thank you for their service and best of luck.” “It’s a time to meet with our local and state reps one-onone,” added Alliance president Brian McCullen. Among those attending the reception where newly elected local state representatives Nick Bain, Lester “Bubba” Carpenter, Tracy Arnold along with other city and county elected officials. “It has been an exciting and fun time,” said district 2 representative Bain. “We have a chance tonight to talk with people and find out what their concerns are, along with just having a time of fellowship.” Chandler said he looks forward to working with the representatives in the state legislature. “We have a lot of new faces and we need to stick together as Alcorn County and the TAP Alliance,” he said. Carpenter is ready to continue the work for the area. “They’re a lot of good people in Alcorn County and I’m honored by their support,” said the district 1 representative. “I look forward to working with the new guys.” Arnold told the crowd that all three of the reps will be working together for northeast Mississippi. “We have a great opportunity in this part of the state and we are all pulling in the same

Staff photos by Steve Beavers

District 2 State Rep. Nick Bain of Corinth talks with newly elected supervisor Lowell Hinton, above. District 1 State Rep. Lester “Bubba” Carpenter (left) of Burnsville was one of several local and state officials recognized at The Alliance and Corinth Area Convention & Visitors Bureau’s legislative luncheon, right. direction,” said the district 3 seat winner. Bain agreed with his fellow representative. “There is no better place,” said Bain. “All of us are going to stay together for this region.”

District moves forward on softball facility BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

The Corinth School District is moving forward with plans for a softball facility at property it owns on Proper Street east of Harper Road. Superintendent Lee Childress told the board of trustees on Monday that it’s possible the field will be ready for use

in the upcoming season, which begins around March 1. “We are hoping to get that out for bids real soon … We are going to begin to clear the site where we can hopefully get it drier than it is with the trees that are on it right now,” he said. Architectural plans are yet to be completed, but the district

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is planning for bleachers with seating for 408, two dugouts, fencing, dressing area and ticket booth. “If we ever built a baseball field on the other side, it will serve as a dual entrance and ticket booth for both fields,” said Childress. Showing the board some preliminary drawings, the su-

perintendent noted that the field house does appear “extremely long.” “Part of this is a covered area that the coaches would like to have to work out in bad weather,” he said. “A lot of these things will be bid as alternates so we can see how they come in.”

On this day in history 150 years ago Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria of England, died at the age of 42. Though in poor health, he had been working behind the scenes to defuse the tension between the United States and Great Britain caused by the “Trent Affair.”

Please see BOARD | 3A

2A • Wednesday, December 14, 2011 • Daily Corinthian

Christmas at Corinth Elementary

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Photos by Kim Jobe/Corinth School District

Students in Lee Ann Knuckles’ second-grade class at Corinth Elementary School took time out recently to hang the ornaments they made on the Christmas trees which stand in the entryway of the school. The trio of pre-lit Christmas trees were provided by the school’s PTO in order to spruce up the school for the holiday season. Students in pre-K through fourth-grade have spent a little time recently creating ornaments to be placed on the trees. The students will take the ornaments home with them when classes are dismissed on Friday, Dec. 16, for Christmas break. Also pictured are first-graders in classes taught by Jennifer Strickland (candy canes) and Lauren Roberts (snow men) who were working on their ornaments to hang them on the tree.

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3A • Daily Corinthian

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Deaths

UT-Martin offers waiver BY JEFF YORK For the Daily Corinthian

SELMER, Tenn. — A Crossroads area university is now offering to waive out-of-state tuition for high-achieving students. The University of Tennessee at Martin will begin in 2012 to waive out-of-state tuition for any applicant with an ACT score of 25 or above and a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale. The offer is expected to increase the number of Mississippi students at the U.T.-Martin campus branch in Selmer. The tuition break is valued at about $12,400 per year, and applicants will also be eligible for university scholarships such as the Deans, Chancellors and University Scholars. “We do expect it to get more students from Mississippi to come to

our school,” said Deidra Beene, director of the U.T. Martin/McNairy County — Selmer campus. “This waiver is a fantastic way for those students to come to our university and save money.” U.T.-Martin had previously lowered the out-of-state tuition to Mississippi students in Alcorn, Tishomingo and Tippah counties. “We did get more of the area students from across the state line when UTM reduced some of the out-of-state tuition two years ago,” said Beene. UTM now has approximately 250 students at their Selmer campus and that number is growing larger every year. Prospective students can apply online and find scholarship infor-

mation at www.utm.edu. The deadline to apply for scholarships is Feb. 1, 2012. Beene pointed out a student could get their two-year degree at Northeast Community College and then cross the state line to finish their four-year degree at UTM in Selmer. The UTM campus offers degrees Elementary Education (K-6), Social Work, History and BUS (bachelor of university studies). Beene has been working at the Selmer campus for 11 years and has served as the director of the school for the past six years. Since 1998, U.T.-Martin has administered the Selmer campus, which serves McNairy County, Please see WAIVER | 5A

SAFETY: ‘Never leave (space heaters) unattended. If you have to leave the room, turn them off’ CONTINUED FROM 1A

heaters. Artificial trees should be fire-retardant. When cooking for the holidays, Price said it’s important to remain attentive and keep young children away. Heating can pose a hazard at the holidays and throughout the winter. The fire department often sees problems with

space heaters. “Never leave them unattended,” said Price. “If you have to leave the room, turn them off.” Also, “Do not ever sleep with them on,” he said. “We have had people throw the cover off the bed and cover them up and start a fire.” As a fire in the city last Friday illustrated, electric wall heaters are

also a threat. Common in homes built during the 1950s and 1960s, the heaters need to be removed from the power source or the breaker thrown if they are not being used. The heaters can sometimes turn on even when they appear to be off. “The thermostat that is in them does not have an ‘off,’” said Price.

OUTBREAK: 10 new cases reported over weekend CONTINUED FROM 1A

Ten new cases were reported over the weekend while the final count shows an increase of 20 from Monday. A report from Magnolia Regional Health Center on Tuesday says the hospital treated 40 patients for salmonella. The first report of patients being treated for salmonella was made

public last Tuesday afternoon, when Magnolia Regional Health Center CEO Rick Napper released a statement saying the hospital had received 11 positive salmonella cultures since Monday, Nov. 28, 2011. A note taped to the front door of Don Julio since last Tuesday says the restaurant’s management decided to close for the safety of its cus-

tomers. The restaurant claims it was closed due to reports of contaminated vegetables it had received from suppliers. The restaurant had been inspected by health officials, the note explained, and no evidence of contamination was found. Although the restaurant was not ordered to close, it would remain inoperative to await test results.

BOARD: District’s average daily attendance set to increase about 100 from the last school year CONTINUED FROM 1A

In other business: The board voted to extend the current agreement with Easom Outreach Foundation through March as the foundation makes plans for the South Corinth campus. However, the board agreed it is time to move toward resolution for the three vacant elementary campuses and to consider alternate possibilities. ■ Childress reported that the district’s average ■

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daily attendance appears set to increase about 100 from the last school year, which is expected to lead to a funding increase for the district in the next school year. ■ The superintendent reported the high school band has been invited to participate in the inaugural parade of gover-

nor-elect Phil Bryant. ■ The board approved donation of equipment to the sheriff’s department and bus #16 to the city of Corinth. ■ The board approved Project Attention’s use of the South Corinth gym on Jan. 14 for a Martin Luther King Jr. program.

Sallie P. Burress BOONEVILLE — Sallie P. Burress, 81, died Monday, Dec. 12, 2011, at Landmark. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Patterson Memorial Chapel.

Larry Vanzant Larry Vanzant died Monday, Dec. 12, 2011, at Magnolia Regional Health Center. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Memorial Funeral Home.

Chad Everett Partelow JACKSON, Tenn. — Memorial services is set for Chad Everett Partelow, 42, are set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Chester County Senior Center in Henderson, Tenn. with burial in the National Cemetery. Mr. Partelow died Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011 at Jackson-Madison General Hospital after an extended illness. He served in the Navy in the Gulf War Dessert-Storm. He was preceded in death by a wife, Gina Partelow; his mother, Vickie S. Partelow; and his father, Jerry M. Partelow. Survivors include his sister, Donna M. Holland (Kenny) of Glen; two brothers. Jerry M. Partelow (Susan) of Wesport Island, Maine; David M. Partelow (Debra), of Jackson, Tenn; and a daughter, Jennifer M. Partelow. Donations may be made to the Dia-

Gladys A. Smith Funeral services for Gladys A. Smith, 88, of Corinth, are set for 3 p.m. today at McPeters Funeral Directors Chapel with burial in Henry Cemetery. Mrs. Smith died Monday, Dec. 12, 2011 at the Magnolia Regional Health Center. Mrs. Smith was a member of West Corinth Church of Christ, she was a longtime associate of the Wurlitzer Corporation and was very proud of her prior Smith years as sales associate for Rubel’s Department Store. She is preceded in death by her husband Ernest Smith; parents Walter and Hettie Brown; brothers Archie Crum

betes Foundation, or the Hospitality House Fund at Jackson-Madison General Hospital in Jackson, Tenn.

L.B. Whitehead IUKA — Funeral services for L.B. Whitehead, 82, of Iuka, are set for 11 a.m. today at Cutshall Funeral Home Chapel-Iuka with burial in Forrest Grove Cemetery. Mr. Whitehead died Monday, Dec. 12, 2011, at Tishomingo Manor Nursing Home in Iuka. Born April 17, 1929, he was retired from MDOT after 23 and a half years of service. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lena M. Whitehead; two sisters, Agnes Cadle and Opal Isabell; and a brother, Marcus Jr. Whitehead. Survivors include his children, Danny Joe “DJ” Whitehead (Marsha) of Corinth, Jacky Lane Whitehead (Shana), Terry Mack Whitehead (Melissa) and Gina Cavness (Phillip) all of Tishomingo; two sisters, Magalene Hood of Haleyville, Ala., and Hazel Moxley of Dennis; a brother, M.R. Whitehead of Tishomingo; grandchildren, Michael Paul Whitehead, Gregory Neal Whitehead, Jason Cody Whitehead, Emily Dawn Whitehead, Lauren Rose Cavness, Madison Amanda Whitehead, Dustin Wilson and Gavin Lane Whitehead; and four great-grandchildren. Rev. William Burcham and Bro. Hal Holt will officiate. and Herbert Brown; sisters, Epsie Davis and Helen Dobson and special friend, Foy Reynolds. Survivors includes one sister, Myrtle Parish of Kossuth; nephews, Jimmy Parish (Janice) of Kossuth, Bobby Crum of Germantown, Tenn; nieces, Syble Thrasher (Bobby) of Kossuth; Carolyn Faye Harvill (Larry) of Michie, Tenn; Bernice Mills of Corinth; Sue Harvill of Jackson, Tenn, Marie Lively (Bob) of Jackson, Tenn; Sarah Butler (Mike) of Bartlett, Tenn. and Patty Young (Richard) of Arlington, Tenn.; several great-nieces, nephews and friends Arthur and Shirleen Wroten. Minister James Vansandt will officiate. Visitation is 11 a.m. until service time at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Pinevale Children’s Home, 1872 CR 700, Corinth, MS 38834 Condolences may be made to mcpetersfuneraldirectors.com

SWORD: Show set for March at Crossroads Arena CONTINUED FROM 1A

director Kristy White. “The sword 150 years later is returned to Corinth.” The show is slated to be held March 3-4 at the Crossroads Arena. “There will be some other great artifacts there to see,” said Mangus. Last year, 675 attended the relic show, a figure that was up from 550 the previous year. “It’s unbelievable the sword is coming back,” said Mangus who saw the sword for the first time at a relic show in Franklin, Tenn., last year. The Texas officer

earned legend status when he was fatally shot several times as he lead his Confederate troops on the assault of Battery Robinett during the Battle of Corinth in October, 1862. A Union general order Rogers buried at the spot where he died out of respect for Rogers’ bravery. It is Rogers’ statue on the grounds of the Alcorn County Courthouse. The tourism board also granted a $5,000 funding request to the Crossroads Arena. The amount will be used to advertise the Alcorn Farm and Machinery Show on Jan. 19-21. The event is being

billed as one of the largest agricultural trades shows in Northeast Mississippi that gives farmers access to machinery vendors. Alcorn Central was granted $250 to be used for T-shirts and help with the hospitality room during the Holiday Hoops basketball tournament later this month. The next board meeting is set for Jan. 17 at 8 a.m.

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Opinion

Reece Terry, publisher

Mark Boehler, 4A • Wednesday, December 14, 2011 editor Corinth, Miss.

Other Views

Improving education deserves brass bands Tooting a little horn isn’t getting the job done. Mississippi needs to strike up a proverbial brass band to promote itself. “You just don’t know what you’re sitting on here,” said Ed Day, president and CEO of Mississippi Power Co., to those gathered in Gulfport for a stop on the Mississippi Economic Council’s progress tour. He was referring to the positive aspects of Mississippi — the state’s infrastructure, workforce, environment, culture and improving educational performance — that are too often discounted by the state’s all too often low standing in national rankings. But as MEC President Blake Wilson said, “We do not own the franchise on problems and we need to stop selling that and buying into it.” To help put a stop to the poor mouthing and give Mississippians even more to brag about, the MEC is championing “Blueprint Mississippi,” the vision of which is “to enable a more prosperous, vibrant and resilient Mississippi, built upon a foundation of economic opportunity for all its citizens.” As with superior highways, superior schools will not blossom overnight. But classroom by classroom and district by district, progress can be made until no child is left behind anywhere in Mississippi for any reason. Methods to achieve this are already being formulated. But to spread success across Mississippi will require funding from the Legislature that does not dry up whenever the state experiences a rainy day. We’ve proven that we can build roads. Now we need to prove that we can put our children on the road to success here in Mississippi. Doing so will justify striking up quite a few brass bands. Sun Herald, Biloxi

Local reserves should be used for emergencies Gov. Haley Barbour, in a series of farewell speeches across the state, is putting forth some good ideas and at least one that’s not very conservative. Among a long list of suggestions on education, Barbour said K-12 districts, community colleges and universities should spend down their own reserve funds to reduce state budget pressure. Coveting local school district reserve funds to take the pressure off the state isn’t new with Barbour. He’s pushed the idea before. But those reserves are there for a reason — to use in emergencies. Perhaps there should be a limit on how much is held in reserve, but any agency or business needs one. It seems contradictory that while Barbour zealously guarded state reserve funds, he didn’t seem to appreciate local school districts holding back some money. Enterprise-Journal, McComb

Worth Quoting “With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh, I should die.” -- Abraham Lincoln

Sound Off Policy Effective immediately, the Daily Corinthian Sound Off policy will be the same as its Letter to the Editor Policy. Sound Offs need to be submitted with a name, address, contact phone number and if possible, e-mail address, for author verification. The author’s name and city of residence will be published with the Sound Off. Sound Offs will only be accepted from those who wish to have their names published with their opinion. All other Letter to the Editor rules apply for Sound Offs.

Prayer for today O God, forgive our accusations that you ignore us, and open our eyes to your presence and mercy. May we help to unbind others so they see the new life you offer. Amen.

A verse to share And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. — Matthew 2:10

Reece Terry publisher rterry@dailycorinthian.com

Internet sales tax isn’t new, but fair to operate at a 7 perSTARKVILLE — It is cent price advantelling that Gov. Haley tage. Barbour — the man In other words, who was famously the hammer you “against raising anybought at the lobody’s taxes” — waited cal hardware store until he had one foot Sid cost you 7 percent out the door of state Salter more than the same government to emhammer purchased brace a tax that should Columnist online. Local merhave been collected all chants and the trade along. and business assoIn recent days, Barbour came out in favor of ciations that represented the Marketplace Fairness them howled at the unfairAct — a federal plan to tax e- ness of the tax policy, but commerce. The legislation like Barbour, no conservawould allow states to collect tive politician wanted to taxes on items purchased be accused of raising “anyonline or through catalogs body’s taxes” so the left the which currently isn’t col- inequity to fester. But now, Barbour sees lected because of a federal it differently: “The federal moratorium. In the infancy of the on- government ought to get line or e-commerce boom, rid of that policy and allow Barbour staunchly opposed states to collect sales tax,” collecting existing state Barbour said in recent days. Under the Marketplace sales taxes on e-commerce. That opposition from Bar- Fairness Act, states would bour came despite the ob- have to rewrite their tax vious unfairness to local laws in certain areas to merchants who were forced participate. In particular, under state law to collect states would have to write state sales taxes while the their laws to require that online merchants without a the sales tax be collected at physical business domicile the point of delivery rather in Mississippi were allowed than at the point of sale.

But Barbour’s original claim — that he was against “raising anybody’s taxes” — will still be true. Collecting sales tax on online purchases of items that are already subject to sales tax in Mississippi isn’t a new tax by any stretch of the imagination. It’s an existing tax that the state has failed to collect and that big corporations have fought to avoid. Congress gave those corporations cover. But now, even mighty Amazon. com has seen the light and agreed to voluntarily collect state sales tax. The technology exists to do it. And the failure to do so remains as unfair to mom-and-pop, Main Street merchants as it was a decade ago. A 2009 University of Tennessee study estimated that Mississippi lost between $102.1 million and $117.4 million in uncollected legal sales taxes due in 2010 and estimated Mississippi’s online sales tax collection losses between the period of 2007 and 2012 to be between $616.5 million and $667.6 million. That’s not from new taxes, that’s

from uncollected present taxes. Perhaps there’s one argument that conservative Mississippi lawmakers can embrace. Congress, after years of letting the lobbyists hold sway over the online sales tax issue, has the issue in its sights. If individual states like Mississippi don’t move quickly and decisively to collect existing state sales taxes and use that revenue to fund state government, then Congress is certain to look at online sales as a potential federal tax source. But what is clear is that as Barbour was in 2003, Bryant is on record against collecting existing state sales taxes on online sales. Why? He’s planning on facing the voters again and doesn’t want to do so with accusations that he raised taxes. Still, it’s clear that online sales tax collection isn’t a new tax at all. It’s full and fair collection of an existing tax that should be collected. Sid Salter is a syndicated columnist. Contact him at sidsalter@sidsalter.com.

Double standards were invented for Newt tive a place as ever Ya got trouble! I’ve lived, was the one Right here in River that hated Newt. City. “Newt” rhymes with “cute,” his past What followed were the stories everyone’s is moot, and that heard by now, told spells trouble. tabloid style with The old boy is lookRheta lively quotes from ing mighty good to Grimsley the locals. Not pretty. Republicans. He’s Johnson And back then he had running a few noses only one scorned exahead of Dopey and Columnist wife and her church Sneezey in early furchoir to provide juicy longs. Yet everyone pretty much agrees, even fodder. By the time the his staunchest supporters: show finished, Newt was Newt’s a rat. A reformed twirling a black mustache and tying the little woman rat, perhaps, but a rat. I was living in Carrollton, to a railroad track. Hypocrisy might not be Ga., while working for the Atlanta newspaper. Newt the worst sin, but it’s one of left town a few years before the least attractive. This, of course, was long I arrived, but some there before Newt explained couldn’t forgive or forget. One night a television that it wasn’t the Devil tabloid show teased its up- that made him do all those coming segment: The town things. It was working hard that hates Newt. I looked for his country that made up and saw a picture of Car- him susceptible to sinning. I frankly don’t care about rollton’s square. My town, his old town, as conserva- his personal life, but I didn’t

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care about Bill Clinton’s, either. Newt sure did. He grabbed on to Monica’s little blue dress like a life raft in an angry sea. But that was the old Newt. He’s done the televised confessional and made sense of it all. His new marriage is seamless, and his new hero is the pope. He and his wife pattern themselves after Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Can you get any more harmonious than that? None less than Sarah Palin has said the tea party has chosen to forgive Newt’s past transgressions and remember all the good he did. So long as he doesn’t step out of the small-government boundaries again, Newt may inherit scary Sarah’s constituency. The defrocked front-runner, Herman Cain, likes him; you’d think Cain might be bitter. And that probably means that along with forget-

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ting Newt’s check-kiting, double-dipping, ethics-violating, government-shutdowning ways, the rank and file also may be able to overlook his hypocrisy. That’s why double standards were invented, after all. I no longer say things like, “Gee, wouldn’t Democrats have a field day if Republicans nominated Newt.” Watch American politics long enough, and you learn to keep your mouth shut. For whenever you think you’ve reached the bottom of the barrel, pulled a monkey from the muck, then someone comes along to remind you it could be worse. My Georgia congressman, elected the year I moved to Carrollton, was Bob Barr. To find out more about Rheta Grimsley Johnson and her books, visit www. rhetagrimsleyjohnsonbooks.com.

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Editorials represent the voice of the Daily Corinthian. Editorial columns, letters to the editor and other articles that appear on this page represent the opinions of the writers and the Daily Corinthian may or may not agree.

Daily Corinthian • Wednesday, December 14, 2011 • 5A

Local Officials warn: ’Tis the season for phone, mail scams BY ANGELA STOREY astorey@dailycorinthian.com

Law enforcement authorities warn residents to beware of telephone and mail scams anytime and especially during the holiday season. “This time of year, we see an increase in ploys involving scams. I have received an unusual number of calls concerning scams within the last several weeks,” said Prentiss County Sheriff Randy Tolar. “The most recent have been someone calling and claiming to be a representative from Publishers Clearing House, notifying

people that they have won a cash prize with the catch that they must obtain a money card and put an amount of money on it, then either send the card or somehow otherwise transfer funds to them. “The other involves bogus debt collection that targets people that are vulnerable to pressure and convince them that they owe them money and insist the victim give them bank information or other means of making the pay-

ment over the telephone.” Sheriff Tolar encourages everyone to be wise to these sorts of scams and simply hang up. “Don’t carry on a conversation with them and just don’t answer the telephone during their numerous attempts to call back. Brandon Presley, the Northern District Public Service Commissioner, recommends these actions rather that talking with the scammer and take a chance on becoming con-

CARING FOR YOU

vinced of the ploy. “These people are very diverse in their methods of scamming and are very convincing. There are varying versions of these scams. The best rule of thumb is, if it sounds too good to be true it very likely is a scam.” Law enforcement also sees an increase in the number of thefts and burglaries during the holiday season.

“Most of them occur during the daytime hours while many people are at work. I encourage neighbors to look out for one another and when they see something suspicious (people, activities or vehicles passing frequently), call the Sheriff’s Office or Police Department giving a good description and direction of travel as possible. “This could prevent a theft or burglary, aid us in

catching the suspects in the act or provide a vital lead in the event of a theft or burglary. Even if the event might seem insignificant it could very well be something. “This last week, I had someone report suspicious activity in their community on two occasions and eventually was able to get a tag number that gave us a lead in a string of recent thefts.”

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CONTINUED FROM 3A

Southwest Tennessee and the bordering counties in Mississippi. U.T.-Martin is listed as a top-tier university in the 2012 edition of America’s Best Colleges compiled by U.S. News & World Report. More than 95 percent of U.T.-Martin’s graduates find jobs or are accepted to graduate schools within six months of graduation. (For more information, call the school at 731-6461636 or find the school on Facebook. You can e-mail Beene at dbeene@utm. edu.)

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LAST DAY FOR THIS SPECTACULAR SALE WILL BE DECEMBER 22ND

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Watch for our After Christmas Clearance Sale

The Holiday House 6 Farris Lane (off N. Polk/Old 45) Corinth, MS • 662-665-4925 Monday-Saturday: 10:00am-5:00pm Sunday: 1:00 pm-4:00 pm Come and bring a friend Rachel Huff, Owner/Designer

6A • Wednesday, December 14, 2011 • Daily Corinthian

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