Friday Jan. 20,
2012
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 17
Rep. Carpenter remains noncommittal on the issue BY BOBBY J. SMITH Three state legislators from the Alcorn County area are opposed to legislation calling for a city-only vote on liquor sales in
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 18 pages • Two sections
3 legislators oppose city-only liquor vote bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
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Corinth, while a fourth remains noncommittal. On Tuesday the Corinth Board of Aldermen adopted a resolution seeking legislative approval for a city-only vote on the sale of
Alcoholic beverages. District 1 Rep. Lester “Bubba” Carpenter of Burnsville was noncommittal on the issue, but said
Keeping in touch Sen. Rita Potts Parks Alcorn, Tishomingo, Tippah counties 662-287-6323 (H) 662-415-4793 (Cell) rparks@senate.ms.gov Rep. Nick Bain Alcorn County 662-287-1620 (H) 601-953-2994 (Capitol) nbain@house.ms.gov Rep. Lester “Bubba” Carpenter Alcorn, Tishomingo coun-
ties 601-359-3374 (Capitol) 662-427-8281 (H) lcarpenter@house.ms.gov Rep. William Tracy Arnold Alcorn, Prentiss counties 662-728-9951 (H) warnold@house.ms.gov All legislators can be reached via mail: c/o Capitol P.O. Box 1018 Jackson, Miss. 39215
Please see LIQUOR | 2A
Supervisors request justice center repairs BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Lighthouse Family Thrift Store Manager Sheila Hurst works on a display for Valentine’s Day. The thrift store will celebrate its one-year anniversary on Saturday.
Thrift store celebrates 1 year BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
The Lighthouse Family Thrift Store is ready to celebrate and wants the community to join the festivities. The thrift store will observe its oneyear anniversary on Saturday at its Harper Square Mall location. “The past year has been a big success,” said store manager Sheila Hurst. “We haven’t gone a day without someone donating.” A fundraising project for the Light-
“The past year has been a big success. We haven’t gone a day without someone donating.” Sheila Hurst Manager, Lighthouse Family Thrift Store house Foundation Ministry projects, the thrift store opened Jan. 21 of last year. On Saturday, the store will have a Buy 1/Get 1 free sale as part of the celebration. Free hot dogs and drinks
will be available from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. “We have been very pleased with Please see STORE | 2A
The Board of Supervisors wants some items fixed at the Alcorn County Justice Center before releasing retainage funds to the contractor. The board agreed that a detailed list of issues should go to the contractor along with a letter from the board attorney before release of remaining retainage of $46,494.49 to Flintco. Warden Doug Mullins advised the board of a number of issues including roof leaks, video cameras not functioning, a hole in the ceiling of the medical room, an issue with some tile, a lighting problem in the courtroom and inaccessible air filters in the HVAC. Mullins reported the state inmate census stands at 299 with another 58 in the work center. The state reimbursement for December was $265,548.46, and the city of Corinth was billed $31,000 for housing inmates. The county needs $223,000 monthly to pay the construction note. In other business this week: ■ Tax Collector Larry Ross presented a revised budget to the board. He withdrew his previous request of a budget increase of $13,720 in order to keep outgoing collector Greg Younger on the payroll for several months to assist in the transition. The revised budget changes some line items but makes no change to the bottom line. Ross said he will use $6,900 out of the budget to keep Younger on staff as long as those funds will cover. Ross said he is maintaining all of the existing staff in the collector’s office. ■ The board reappointed J.C. Hill and Thomas Coleman to the board of directors of the Northeast Mississippi Planning and Development District. For public official slots on the board, supervisors reappointed Jimmy Tate Waldon and appointed Dal Nelms. ■ The board heard a presentation from NaturChem, a business that wants to provide roadside turf growth management.
Corinth board Former House speaker reflects on career schedules four public hearings BY BRANT SAPPINGTON
bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
The Corinth Board of Aldermen this week scheduled public hearings for a new group of properties that are under scrutiny for cleanup. The hearings will coincide with the next regular board meeting at 5 p.m. on Feb. 7. The properties are: ■ The former Bonanza and Green Onion Grill location on U.S. Highway 72 — Code Enforcement Officer Kim Ratliff said the property has a safety hazard with some exterior lights on poles that are in danger of falling. ■ 402 Penn Street — Some cleaning has been done on this property at the corner of Meigg Street and Penn Street but not to the extent that the city desires. With a brick home on the lot, the property is fenced and posted “for sale.” ■ Corner of Fleming Street and Fillmore Street — Ratliff said this overgrown lot is in a high-visibility area. It is near the railroad but is not railroad property.
THRASHER — Almost a third of a century ago, a young man named Billy McCoy was elected to the state legislature with a simple but powerful focus in mind. “I was just not satisfied with what was happening in our part of the state. I felt like many things could be done to improve the situation. We were not even the status quo,” he recalled recently as he relaxed on his farm at Thrasher. The start of the new year brought a close to McCoy’s 32-year career as the representative for Mississippi’s third district, including eight years as speaker of the house — one of the most powerful positions in the state. Along the way McCoy has played a role in some of the most important legislation ever passed in the state, helping to pave the way for better roads, better jobs, better medical care and better lives for the people of Mississippi. He’s seen the state grow beyond its rural roots to one that is now among the most successful in the nation in economic development. McCoy’s district included southern Alcorn County, including the Rienzi
Please see HEARINGS | 2A
Please see MCCOY | 2A
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Index Stocks...... 7A Classified......5B Comics......4B Wisdom......3B
Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports......8A
Billy McCoy and his wife of 48 years, Edith, stand at their farm in Thrasher.
On this day in history 150 years ago Jan. 20 — “When a person is sick in camp they might as well dig a hole and put him in as to take him to one of the informal hells called hospitals.” Private Albinus Fell, 6th Ohio Cavalry.