Saturday Jan. 4,
2014
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 118, No. 4
Sunny Today
Tonight
45
33
30% chance of rain
• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • 1 section
Deep freeze: Crossroads area braces for arctic blast BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
A powerful arctic front moving into the area this weekend is forecasted to usher in extreme, single digit temperatures. Now is the time to prepare the home for what could be some of the
coldest air in years. Low temperatures are forecast to drop into the single digits with wind chills below zero across much of the area. For Sunday, the high is predicted to be 41, with a low Sunday night of 9. Monday’s high is
forecast for 17 with a low of 5. Temperatures are likely to remain around or below freezing through Wednesday. “The most important thing is to leave the water running in all sinks in the house,” said Jason Roach, owner of Roach
Plumbing and Electrical. “Even at a trickle … this helps prevent pipes from freezing especially in older homes.” The 23-year veteran of the business said leaving the cabinet doors open under the sink is also a good idea. “Normally
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when its cold for several days and then temps drop into the single digits its much easier for pipes to freeze.” Roach suggested ensuring all vent wholes are covered or Please see WEATHER | 2
“There are simply no deep pockets here for Paul Kevin Curtis or his attorney to tap.” James Everett Dutschke Ricin letter suspect
Suspect in ricin case responds to lawsuit BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
tive director of Crosswind. Homelessness has many faces. It can strike anyone at anytime. For Capps, the damage cuts much deeper and resonates with him at a different level.
Ricin letter suspect James Everett Dutschke describes himself as an “incarcerated pauper” and victim of harassment by former suspect Paul Kevin Curtis of Corinth in his answer to the civil suit filed by Curtis. Dutschke’s court filings, in which he denies mailing the tainted letters, are handwritten because he is financially unable to hire an attorney while he is held in custody awaiting trial in the federal case against him stemming from letters mailed to President Obama, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and Lee County Justice Court Judge Sadie Holland. He is represented by an appointed public defender in the criminal case. Dutschke, who is accused of framing Curtis, describes the lawsuit as a “guerrilla legal attack against a penniless inmate” and “simply a continuation of the plaintiff’s long-time persecution of the defendant using this court as his latest weapon.” In the suit, Curtis accuses Dutschke of defamation of character, intentional infliction of emotional distress and intentional interference with a business relationship. He seeks damages as determined by a jury. In addition to the answer to the complaint filed by Curtis in September in Alcorn County Circuit Court, Dutschke has recently filed an answer to request for admissions and a motion for summary judgment. Dutschke says in the filings that he has no assets beyond the notepad and pen with which he writes. “There are simply no deep pockets here for Paul Kevin Curtis or his attorney to tap,” Dutschke writes in the motion for judgment. “I have no attachable assets.” He says government interference closed his bank account and kept him from renewing his insurance licenses, eliminating all insurance residuals from existing clients. He claims Curtis’ civil suit is sinister in timing and “clearly designed to interfere with the criminal case, ripe with the intent to further harass the defendant.” While Curtis contends that Dutschke’s actions caused him loss of income by harming his ability to work as a celebrity impersonator, Dutschke argues that Social Security disability payments are Curtis’ primary source of income. He jests at the notion that statements he made are “the cause of his continued unemployment in the booming celebrity impersonator marketplace in Corinth …” Dutschke writes that he never attempted to sabotage Curtis’ business relationships by contacting venues. “I contend that would be impossible,” he states, “even if one had the desire to, since he was never scheduled to perform anywhere to begin with.”
Please see HOMELESS | 2
Please see RICIN | 2
Staff photos by Zack Steen
First-time parents Savannah and Justin Rickman welcomed Liam Alexander Rickman into the world on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 9:25 p.m., above. New mother Savannah Rickman holds baby boy Liam, below.
Couple welcomes Alcorn’s first baby of 2014 BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
Smiles and laughter filled the hospital room in the Labor and Delivery unit at Magnolia Regional Health Center on Friday. Maw Maw Geraldean crowded around first time parents Savannah and Justin Rickman as they welcomed their first child into the world. Surrounded by supplies and gifts donated by area businesses and orgizations, Savannah joked, “he looks like his daddy … thank goodness.” Liam Alexander Rickman became the first baby born in the new year in Alcorn County on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 9:25 p.m. The bouncing baby boy weighted 7.5 pounds and was 20 inches long. Please see BABY | 2
Awareness luncheon spotlights plight of homeless BY KIMBERLY SHELTON kshelton@dailycorinthian.com
Somewhere in our city, a heart has been shattered. A soul has grown tired of fighting for the necessities that others have taken for granted. They have known true hunger...pain...sickness...abuse... sorrow...neglect...defeat.
For the past three years, Crosswind has been committed to helping the hopeless through their ministry. They have partnered with M.U.T.E.H (Mississippi United To End Homeless) in Jackson to conduct a comprehensive search for the homeless in our area. An awareness luncheon
will be held at noon on Jan. 8 at Crosswind Ministries (located at 703 Tate Street) in order to spotlight the growing need in our area. “Our goal is to end homelessness in Corinth. We want to invest in people, to take away their disgrace, and offer them grace instead,” affirmed Bobby Capps, execu-
Index Stocks......8A Classified....15A Comics...... 7A State......5A
Weather......9A Obituaries......6A Opinion......4A Sports....12A
On this day in history 150 years ago Trains are leaving Corinth with the last of the inhabitants of the Contraband Camp. The camp is now nearly deserted and work crews are dismantling cabins and other buildings with the lumber sent on to Memphis.