Wednesday Jan. 11,
2012
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Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 9
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 20 pages • 2 sections
Longtime football coach Mitchell retiring BY H. LEE SMITH II lsmith@dailycorinthian.com
“Mitchell Mania” is the craze no more. Jimmy Mitchell, who guided the Corinth Warriors to 12 straight playoff appearances, is hanging up his whistle after 40 years on the sidelines. The 1968 Winona graduate announced the decision, effective at the end of the school year, on Tuesday. “It’s just time,” said Mitchell, who informed the players and coaches Tuesday morning. “It wasn’t an easy decision ... it hurts.” Mitchell and his wife, Angelyn, who teaches at Corinth Elementary school, have each spent 40 years in the school business after marrying in 1970. “We want to have time to travel and do various things before we’re too old to do them,” said the coach. Mitchell spent the bulk of his head-coaching career at Corinth, quickly turning the program into a postseason contender. After going 11-11 in his first two seasons, the Warriors began a string of five straight Division 1-3A championships in 2000, prompting the student body to
“I’m excited about the chance to just watch football games. I might have to lay low when August rolls around. I don’t know if I could handle riding by the fieldhouse when practice starts.” Jimmy Mitchell CHS football coach don “Mitchell Mania” shirts. Corinth won 10 games or more during the five-year stretch, reaching the championship game for the first time in the program’s history in 2001. The Warriors put together a trio of perfect regular seasons and advanced to the state semifinals three times. Mitchell was the longest tenured football coach in the program’s history and also the winningest, posting an 118-54 mark in 14 seasons. In 20 total seasons, he was 164-77 with 15 playoff appearances. After enduring just his fourth losing season in 20 years as a head coach, Mitchell’s 2011 Warriors finished 6-6 and went 1-1 in the postseason after finishing second in Division 1-4A.
Corinth, which was bumped up to Class 4A for the first time since the 1993-94, 1994-95 school years, beat Shannon 2120 in the regular-season finale to extend its playoff streak. “I really enjoyed this past season,” said Mitchell. “I couldn’t have asked for a better group to finish with — they never quit.” Mitchell began what would prove to be a native tour at Pontotoc in 1992, leading the Warriors to a North Half title and a state runner-up finish in his first year. He went 10-10 in two seasons with the Indians of Itawamba AHS before coming to Corinth in 1998. Of his seven coaching stops — including four as an assistant —
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Please see MITCHELL | 5A
Corinth High School football coach Jimmy Mitchell is retiring after 14 years of running the Warrior gridiron program.
Cannons shall roar again
Trustees told of Two groups plan Shiloh re-enactments program update BY BOBBY J. SMITH
bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Two living history groups will offer separate re-enactment events to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh. The Battle of Shiloh was fought April 6-7, 1862, in a wooded area near the banks of the Tennessee River. With almost 24,000 total casualties, the horror of the battle shocked both sides. Its name comes from Shiloh Church, a small log meeting house that stood in the middle of the battlefield. From March 29 to April 1, two re-enacting groups will recreate the carnage at nearby sites. The Blue-Gray Alliance’s 150th Blue-Gray Shiloh will begin on March 29; the 150th Battle of Shiloh, presented by The Armies of Tennessee, will begin March 30.
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
scribed as a few miles from the main entrance to Shiloh
The Corinth School District Board of Trustees received an update Monday on the status of the high school’s new Cambridge program. As students adapt to a new approach that requires more reasoning and analysis rather than memorizing a set of notes, the district is seeing a need to move that approach into lower grades so that students are better prepared for it when they reach high school. A group of Corinth Middle School teachers will visit Miami next week to see how the approach is used in a middle school there. Also, a representative of the National Center on Education and the Economy, the sponsoring organization for the pilot program, will visit the district later this month. “He is going to spend two days
Please see SHILOH | 3A
Please see CAMBRIDGE | 3A
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
150th Blue-Gray Shiloh Over 8,000 re-enactors are expected to participate in the 150th Blue-Gray re-enactment, according to Lee Millar, event coordinator. “We have lots of activities go-
Civil War re-enactors talked to local school groups during the Battle of Farmington Re-enactment in September. Two re-enactment groups are planning activities around the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh this year. ing on that week,” Millar said. The re-enactment’s activities include a display of a replica of the CSS Hunley — a Confed-
erate submarine — with a CS Navy soldier giving educational talks on the vessel. The re-enactment site is de-
Make a resolution to stop smoking in 2012 For the Daily Corinthian
The start of the new year is a time to reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the upcoming year. The Mississippi Tobacco-Free Coalition of Alcorn & Tippah Counties urges Crossroads area residents to make a resolution to kick the tobacco habit in 2012. “If you are a tobacco user, make plans to become healthier by deciding 2012 is the year you become tobacco-free. Whether you are a smoker or a smokeless tobacco user, there are many benefits to quitting,” said Roy Hart, director of the Office of Tobacco Control at the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH).
“Nicotine is an incredibly addictive drug and the cravings and withdrawal symptoms can overpower even the strongest will,” said Hart. “Those who seek and receive professional help are twice as likely to quit for good.” Nearly 509,000 Mississippi adults smoke cigarettes and 69,000 Mississippi kids under the age of 18 will die prematurely from smoking. Every year, over 500 Mississippians die from the exposure to secondhand smoke, he said. Seven and a half percent of Mississippi adults and more than 16 percent of Mississippi male high school students use some form of spit or chewing tobacco, he explained.
“Many people mistakenly believe that using spit or chew tobacco is healthier than lighting up,” added Hart. “This isn’t true. There are actually 28 known cancer-causing chemicals in spit tobacco.” Hart said using spit tobacco may increase a person’s risk of cancers of the lip, tongue, cheeks, gums and mouth. In addition, there is also some evidence that spit tobacco may cause cancer in organs other than the mouth. “Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States,” said Emily J. McGrath, director of the Please see SMOKING | 5A
Index Stocks...... 7A Classified......4B Comics......3B Wisdom......2B
Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports...8-9A
Staff photo by Mark Boehler
Nearly 509,000 Mississippi adults smoke cigarettes and 69,000 Mississippi kids under the age of 18 will die prematurely from smoking. Every year, over 500 Mississippians die from exposure to secondhand smoke, according to the Mississippi Tobacco-Free Coalition of Alcorn & Tippah Counties.
On this day in history 150 years ago U.S. Secretary of War Simon Cameron resigns from his cabinet post under charges of corruption and mismanagement. His corruption is so blatant it was said the only thing he would not steal “was a red-hot stove.”