Thursday March 15, 2012 50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 64
Thunderstorm Today
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • 1 section
New year brings sharp jobless rate drop BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
Alcorn County saw another drop in its unemployment rate for January, posting a figure more than two percentage points lower than a year ago. Unemployment in the county stood at 10.7 percent for January 2012, a 0.2 percent drop
from December 2011 and 2.2 percent lower than January 2011 according to the most recent figures released by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. The number of people employed in the county also saw a sharp rise in the past year, with 13,910 people working in
Alcorn County in January 2012 up from 13,230 employed in January 2011. Alliance President Gary Chandler said the positive employment figures are a sign that many existing industries have weathered the storm and are beginning to hire more people. He said in his visits to local em-
ployers he has seen many cases where companies are investing in expanding their workforce and their facilities as they begin to see some level of recovery. “There are definitely signs of life in our local industry,” said Chandler. He emphasized the county is certainly not where it wants
to be in terms of jobs and economic development and they are continuing to aggressively pursue new opportunities for new employers and the expansion of existing employers. Chandler said they are also extremely thankful for all of the Please see JOBS | 16
School board hears input from students BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Enjoying a sunny day
Autumn Strickland (left), 6, and Kahiland White, 1, got away from the indoors of the Boys & Girls Club to enjoy a beautiful sunny day with a book. Temperatures were in the mid 80s creating a great opportunity for all to get outside on Wednesday.
Alcorn School District Superintendent Gina Rogers Smith discussed the input she received from the district’s Student Advisory Committee at the March meeting of the Alcorn County school board. The Student Advisory Committee is comprised of students from each of the county schools. Committee members are chosen for their leadership roles in their respective schools. “We wanted their input on some upcoming things, and one of them was dress code,” Smith explained. The superintendent praised the Student Advisory Committee for its role in helping the district shape its future policy. “They were some amazing students. They spoke up, they shared, they were very complimentary to our district,” she said. “And at
the same time, when they were offering suggestions, at no time were they negative. Their school pride really was shown during this time, and you really could tell they had a concern about their classmates.” The committee’s recommendations on the district’s dress code policy will be presented during the April school board meeting. Another topic discussed by the committee was ways to combat the dropout rate. Smith said one of the main concerns of the committee was the need to provide the district’s students with more information during their final high school years. “They would like us to do a student orientation in the summer for the seniors so they — and their parents — can have more information about going into college,” the superintendent said. Please see SCHOOL | 16
Locals ready to seek fame on NBC’s ‘The Voice’ BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
For a number of young local singers, the path to their dreams leads to Atlanta this weekend. Over a dozen aspiring vocalists from the Corinth area will audition for NBC’s “The Voice” at the show’s open call auditions on March 17 in Atlanta, Ga. Their experiences and backgrounds are all unique, but they share one thing in common — the desire to make their dreams come true. For Trevor Blakney, a 2006 graduate of Kossuth High School who is now a sergeant in the Mississippi National
“A plethora of great Mississippi-born talent will be shining in Atlanta this weekend.” Trevor Blakney Contestant Guard, the trip to Atlanta will be a chance to overcome the obstacles that have stood between him and his dream since he was fresh out of high school. Blakney’s journey began in 2006. Shortly after graduating from Kossuth, he traveled to Memphis, Tenn., to audition for “American Idol.” After winning a karaoke contest on Beale Street the night before the au-
dition, a homeless man stole Blakney’s wallet — which contained his identification cards. “After waiting in line for hours I finally reached the registration desk, only to be turned away for not having photo ID, due to the fact that my wallet had been stolen the night before,” Blakney remembered. His next setback was in 2010, during the year he was deployed
to Iraq with the National Guard. A friend submitted a video audition of Blakney to “America’s Got Talent.” A representative from the show called Blakney for a callback audition. “Unfortunately I was still in Iraq, and wasn’t going to be home in time to go,” he said. The next roadblock Blakney would face came in 2011, when he was getting ready to audition for “American Idol” in Houston, Texas. “After weeks of anticipation and countdowns on Facebook, it was the week of the audition. Two days before I was set to drive to Houston, my car broke down and I had to use the money for the trip to fix my car,”
Bullard uses art to mark Civil War’s 150th BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
A local artist is dedicating his brush to the task of commemorating the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States with artistic renderings of the area’s historic events. Corinth native Tony Bullard’s latest painting depicts a trio of Southern generals planning the Confederate army’s strategy in shortly before the Battle of Shiloh. The three generals in Bullard’s painting — P.G.T. Beauregard, Albert Sidney Johnston and Braxton Bragg — are meeting next to the railroad crossing that made Corinth strategically important during the Civil
War. They are making plans to attack the Union army in its camp at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River, near the small wooden Shiloh Church. To ensure the historical accuracy of his painting, Bullard consulted park rangers at the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center. “I asked [Park Ranger] Tom Parsons if the three generals were ever all together, and he said they were planning together on April 4,” Bullard explained. The painting is the second in Bullard’s Civil War sesquicentennial series, following his depiction of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the Cherry Mansion
in Savannah, Tenn., the morning before the Battle of Shiloh. In this painting, Grant is symbolically looking south, preparing for the upcoming clash with Southern forces. In the Corinth painting, the Confederates are looking to the north, and the battle that lies ahead. “It’s basically the other side of the coin,” Bullard said. With three more years of the sesquicentennial still ahead, Bullard plans to continue producing his historical artworks and unveiling them on the actual 150th anniversary of the events he is depicting. “I want to try to get them on the day of the 150th anniversary as close as I can,” Bullard
Index Stocks........7 Classified...... 13 Comics...... 12 Wisdom...... 11
Weather........5 Obituaries........ 3 Opinion........4 Sports........8
said. Other paintings Bullard is planning include a portrayal of Grant at his Corinth headquarters; a painting which includes Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest; a scene from the Battle of Iuka, fought Sept. 19, 1862; and a painting of Col. William P. Rogers during the Battle of Corinth. Bullard, 44, has been drawing and painting since he was “big enough to hold a pencil.” A 1985 graduate of Alcorn Central, Bullard is largely self-taught. He would practice his techniques for up to eight hours each day after getting home from school, he said. He lives in Corinth.
Blakney said. “So you can understand the frustration I had and the feeling that I had let friends and family down.” Now, in just a few days he will travel to Atlanta to the auditions for “The Voice,” and another chance to make his dreams a reality. This time he’s prepared. “My hotel room is booked and paid for, I have money set aside and my car is road ready,” Blakney said. Blakney said his expectations for the weekend are high, and he is anxious to represent his home state. “Not to mention, I have some Please see ‘VOICE’ | 16
Club to honor ‘Phenomenal Woman’ BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Twelve monthly winners will be narrowed to one. The Boys & Girls Club is set to name its Phenomenal Woman of the Year with its first Black Tie Reception & Dinner on Saturday, May 12 at the Crossroads Arena. Each month throughout the year the club has recognized a woman in the community for her involvement in club activiPlease see WOMAN | 16
On this day in history 150 years ago March 15 — Gen. William T. Sherman sets out on river transports with troops to raid the railroad trestles near Burnsville. Torrential rain forces him to abandon the attempt. The rain was so heavy the Tennessee River rose 15 feet in less than 24 hours.