Wednesday Dec. 28,
2011
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 115, No. 312
Sunny Today
Tonight
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32
• Corinth, Mississippi • 24 pages • Two Sections
Corinth OKs wage survey Arena manager BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Corinth Board of Aldermen has commissioned a wage survey of municipal employees. The board recently agreed to hire Jimmy Wheeler, a CPA, to prepare a report looking at wages and benefits for municipal workers in other communities of the region. In other recent actions: ■ Alderman gave approval to the boundaries of the proposed entertainment district, which provides an incentive for businesses to construct or renovate buildings for an entertainment venue. Qualifying projects will get an accelerated income tax depreciation deduction.
The city must apply to the Mississippi Department of Revenue for approval of the district. The two proposed areas generally include the historic business district and some open property in the Crossroads Arena area. ■ The board had a discussion of looking into hiring a security employee for City Hall now that the police department has moved to the justice center on South Harper Road. ■ The board directed the city attorney to send a letter to Reynolds and Fisher, the developer for a commercial project near Home Banking Company on South Harper Road, notifying the business that they
are expected to comply with the agreement made with the board of adjustment for a detention pond to be included in the development. ■ The board accepted a bid from Fix and Sons for animal cages at the animal shelter. The purchase follows a grant to the city made by the National Humane Society. ■ Aldermen accepted a bid for the sale of lot 36 in Spence subdivision. ■ Drainage commissioner Milton Sandy Jr. reported that the local creek projects are nearing the top of the work schedule of the Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District.
Alcorn County man to turn 106
resigns position BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
The manager of Crossroads Arena has resigned. Arena General Manager Kathryn Dilworth submitted a letter of resignation on Tuesday, said Bill Strickland, president of the facility’s board of directors. Strickland declined to discuss any additional details of the resignation. He said the board had just received Dilworth’s resignation and he would be willing to make a comment in the near future. Dilworth said she decided to end her term of employment as the arena’s general
manager after much consideration. “It was a decision I took a lot of time to think about,” she said, “and I decided to move my career in another direction.” Dilworth — who has Alcorn County roots reaching back to the founding of the county — began her term as general manager of the arena on August 22, following a year-long stint as director of the Crossroads Museum. The former general manager said she parted amicably with the arena’s board and she wishes them “luck and success.”
BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
The staff of MS Care Center are getting ready to celebrate the birthday of a man who is, quite possibly, Alcorn County’s oldest living person. On his upcoming birthday, Earskin Evetts will turn 106. Born Jan. 9, 1909, Evetts grew up on a farm in Rienzi. As a young man he worked the land to put food on the table just as he had growing up. “That’s what we did,” said his 78-year-old daughter, Vera Ruiz, who still lives in Rienzi. “It was the only thing we had to do. There were no factories around until the shirt factories came around. There was nothing for men but hard work, like digging ditches.” Evetts later moved to Kenosha, Wis.., where he worked as a janitor in two hospitals before his retirement. After retiring, he moved back to Rienzi, where he resumed working with the soil as he had so many years before. “Up until his last years at home he grew flowers,” his daughter said. “He really liked those flowers. He still does in his hats.” Evetts’ love for flowers — and hats — is well-known to his caretakers at the MS Care Center, which has been his home since July 18, 2006. “He’s wonderful. He’s the sweetest, cutest little thing, and he always wears a hat,” said Lacy Taylor, the unit manager for Evetts’ hall at the Care Center. “He loves unique hats. You do not see him when he does not have a hat on.” At the MS Care Center, where Evetts is known simply as “Pop,” the people who know him best are quick to point out two main qualities about him — his love for God and his love for people. “He’s a very Christian man, a Godly man,” said Taylor. “You’ll catch him at times just praying, you know? He don’t care if he’s in the dining room, he don’t care if he’s in the hallway — he says his prayers.” Deborah Houser is one of Evetts’ nurses at the Care Center. She describes him as a very
Submitted photo
Marshall Ramsey presents Monica Carreon a framed edition of her winning entry in the MPB holiday card art contest. Carreon along with her mother and sister attended a reception for winners where she was awarded the framed award along with a pize package.
Corinth student places in MPB state art contest BY STEVE BEAVERS Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
Earskin Evetts — one of Alcorn County’s oldest residents — reaches out for a hug by the Christmas tree. Evetts will turn 106 on January 9. loving man, always wanting to help somebody and looking for somebody to help. Evetts is always concerned about little children, she said, always wanting to make sure everyone around him is “okay.” He is still a man of strength, with a surprisingly firm grip and a stout spirit that allows him to still push himself up and down the halls of the Care Center at his advanced age. Houser describes a man who is always talking about his family. With his late wife, Irene, Evetts raised his daughter, Vera, and a son, Cecil, who now lives in Russell, Ala. The couple lost two daughters in infancy. The 105-year-old Evetts can call six generations his family: two children, eight grandchildren, 19
great-grandchildren, 26 greatgreat-grandchildren and one great-great-great-grandchild. His nurse has a theory on why Evetts has been blessed with such amazing longevity. “I tell him all the time, I say, ‘Pop, you must have really obeyed your parents’,” Houser explained. “Because the Bible says if you obey your parents you will live long on the earth. And he says, ‘Oh, yea! I obeyed my parents; I respected them.’” His daughter — who describes Evetts as a Christian man who’d give the shirt off his back to anybody — has a simple explanation for explanation for her father’s long life. “It’s all about being a good man and a hard worker,” she said.
sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
A Corinth Elementary student got an early Christmas surprise. Monica Carreon was named a third place winner in the Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s (MPB) 2011 holiday card art contest. Carreon was presented a framed edition of her winning entry of a Christmas tree with presents underneath. The student, who tied with Jeremy Seibel of Lawrence for the third place winning entry, also was awarded a MPB prize package by cartoonist/writer Marshall Ramsey at a reception for winners on Dec. 20. Over 200 children — ages 4-12 statewide — submitted original artwork through September and October. Winners had their pieces displayed on the official holiday greeting card of MPB. The card was sent to friends and members of MPB, including government officials and other agencies around Mississippi. Mississippi Public Broadcast-
ing (MPB) provides relevant instructional and public affairs programming to Mississippians through its statewide television and radio network. MPB enhances the work of educators, students, parents and learners of all ages by providing informative programming and educational resources.
A look back: Year in Review, Part II Editor’s note: Part 2 of 2. A look back at notable local news in the second half of 2011:
operations of the animal shelter under the leadership of a new board, taking the Corinth-Alcorn Humane Society out of the operation.
July
August
Officials seize more than 400 pounds of marijuana and $41,000 in a marijuana bust in Rienzi. Officers arrest four people. City, county and Farmington officials make plans to continue
Almost 12,000 people vote in the first party primary election. Among the closest races, Bobby Marolt wins reelection as chancery clerk by 98 votes over Greg Younger, tax collector. After some debate, the Board
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
of Aldermen makes the intersection of Cass Street and Bunch Street a four-way stop. Sunny Phillips resigns from the county prosecuting attorney post following an election defeat. The election winner, Bob Moore, is appointed to complete the unexpired term. Agencies conduct a mock drill at the vacant West Corinth Elementary campus to simulate a school shooting scenario. The Mississippi Supreme Court imposes a 270-day sus-
Index Stocks...... 7A Classified......5B Comics......4B Wisdom......3B
Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports......8A
pension and calls for a public reprimand for Justice Court Judge Jimmy McGee for judicial misconduct stemming from his actions involving a case in which his relative was a victim. The court dismisses a separate allegation of DUI ticket-fixing. Motorcyclist Terry Kiddy dies in a head-on collision with an SUV on County Road 156. The Corinth School District sees a 6 percent enrollment increase with the new school year. Former Corinth police offi-
cer Jamie Brewer is sentenced to 46 months in prison after he pleads guilty to taking money from individuals during traffic stops in Corinth. The state orders two cemeteries — Forest Memorial Park of Corinth and Oaklawn Memorial Park of Booneville — to cease and desist with all sales of pre-need goods and services because of inadequate funding in the perpetual care trust acPlease see REVIEW | 5A
On this day in history 150 years ago Dec. 28 — A small force of Confederate cavalry under Colonel Nathan B. Forrest scores a minor victory at Sacramento, Kentucky. This is the first in a long string of triumphs for the man later known as “The Wizard of the Saddle.”