Thursday Dec. 15,
2011
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 115, No. 298
2011 Christmas Basket Fund ‘A Community Tradition’
’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 $23,855 has been raised. Food baskets were given away based upon the faith the goal will be attained this year. Donations include $500 from New Hope Presbyterian Church; $50 from Hopewell Baptist Church; and $150 from SOUTHBank in honor of the local SOUTHBank Advisory Board. 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.
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 18 pages • 1 section
The magic of Christmas Community effort helps family make special trip BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Basket fund nears $24,000 in donations
Mild with rain
Kalee Mayo is getting the chance to live every little girl’s dream. All because so many love her mother. The 4-year-old daughter of Casey and Heather Mayo is headed to DisneyWorld with her family following the outpouring support from the Alcorn School District and community. “Christmas is magical,� said Alcorn Central Elementary Principal Tonya Farris. “Every little girl should experience Disney World with their mother.� That desire to see Kalee spend that magical time with her mother is what drove ACES to make the dream a reality. Heather Mayo, a first grade teacher at the elementary school, has battled melanoma cancer for two years. The 28 year-old has been limited to resume teaching while receiving treatments to combat the disease. “Heather has been so special to me,� said Farris. “The whole district has come together and helped since she has been sick.� Through the efforts of the district, local churches, Mississippi
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Alcorn Central Elementary teacher Heather Mayo gets a hug from student Marlee McCalister. ACES spearheaded an event to send the Mayo family to DisneyWorld. Highway Patrol and the community, the Mayo family will be flying to the Magic Kingdom on Friday.
“It has spread like wildfire,� said Farris of the support. “Every school has taken part and we had
people that would just come up and donate money,� added assistant principal Tammy Johnson.
Hill Bros. of Ripley has donated its jet to fly the Mayos and other family members to Orlando. A condo has also been donated for their stay. “Kalee is so excited about going,� said her mother. “She loves princesses so much.� Kalee will get a chance to have breakfast with a princess on Sunday morning, according to school PTC President Amy Parker. “The Lord has had his hand in this,� said Parker. “I am thankful to be a part of this ... it let’s me see how blessed I am.� Scotty Harville, Heather’s father, said it’s unbelievable the way the community has stepped forward wanting to help. “It’s overwhelming,� said the assistant chief with the Corinth Police Department. “So many people want to do something to help that I can’t say enough good things.� Alcorn Central teachers were given extra incentive to help. If they donated at least $20 to the cause, teachers were allowed to wear jeans to school for the whole month of December. Please see MAYO | 2
Alcorn 911 makes move to justice center BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Deadline for film festival lengthened BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
The submissions deadline for the Northeast Mississippi Film Festival has been extended to Jan. 28, 2012. Corinth’s pioneering film festival will be held Saturday, March 28, 2012, at the Malco Corinth Cinema 10. The specific time for the film festival will be announced closer to the date of the event, said Karen Beth Martin, project director. The Northeast Mississippi Film Festival is a short film competition. All entries must be 40 minutes or less, including credits. Longer films will not be eligible. “This is a best-of-show competition. All genres are thrown together,� Martin explained. “There will be no special awards Please see DEADLINE | 2
Alcorn County’s 911 operations moved to the Alcorn County Justice Center on Tuesday. Now known as Alcorn County Communications, the service took the first call at its new home at 2:06 p.m. — a medical call for a seizure. Twenty years after taking 911’s very first call in Alcorn County, 911 Director Teresa Burns experienced a bit of deja vu as she and other staffers anxiously anticipated the first call at the South Harper Road justice center. “I remember sitting in the basement of the courthouse waiting hours and hours for that first call,� said Burns. 911 spent its first 20 years
Staff photo by Jebb Johnston
Dispatcher Murry Bragg and 911 Director Teresa Burns make preparations for the first calls to begin at the Alcorn County Justice Center. in a small office in the Alcorn County Courthouse. Resi-
dents must visit the 911 office to register addresses and get
paperwork necessary to activate utilities, and that business will now be conducted at the new location. The office can be found on the east side of the building at the emergency management entrance. The 911 space includes the dispatch center, an administrative office, director’s office and kitchen. “Being able to have these dispatchers isolated from all distractions is going to heighten the level of service to our citizens,� said Burns. The layout eliminates past concerns about the public interfering with dispatching when visiting the 911 office. Burns said it also will be advantageous to be under the Please see 911 | 2
Alcorn farmers consider peanuts as new crop BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Some Alcorn County farmers are taking a look at peanuts as a possible crop. The Mississippi State University Extension Service hosted a meeting in Corinth this week for interested growers with Brian Atkins, manager at the Birdsong Peanuts receiving station near Aberdeen, and
Charlie Stokes, agronomist with the Extension Service. The meeting was organized in response to interest expressed by some local growers. “It could be an opportunity for some of our farmers to diversify,� said County Director Patrick Poindexter. He said the growers will have to approach peanut farming from a business perspective
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and determine if it’s a good fit for their operations. Atkins discussed the peanut industry and how Birdsong works with growers. “They do offer tremendous service to their farmers,� said Poindexter. “The peanut industry is something that’s growing. They are looking to the future and looking to expand their operations.�
Mississippi is fairly new to producing peanuts, according to the Extension Service, and benefits from more rain and less disease problems than in some other states. “The one big thing you have to have is sandy type soil,� said Poindexter. “That’s a must.� It’s not that they will not Please see PEANUTS | 2
On this day in history 150 years ago The Union blockade of Southern ports continues to tighten. Two Confederate ships are seized off the coast of North Carolina; one at Cape Hatteras, the other at Cape Fear. By Tom Parsons, NPS Ranger
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Quinisha Logan, M.D. | Jason Cesario, M.D. | Diane Evans, D.O., M.S.