Friday Jan. 31,
2014
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 118, No. 27
Mostly cloudy Today
Tonight
52
45
20% chance of rain
• Corinth, Mississippi • 22 pages • 2 sections
Blaze destroys Wenasoga home BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
WENASOGA — All Andrew Cummings could do was watch as his family’s home was destroyed by fire late Thursday morning. “I was in the bed and heard something,” said an emotional Cummings while the home burned to the ground. “I saw flames and couldn’t do anything.” Alcorn County 911 received a call about the blaze near the VFW Club on County Road 725 in the Wenasoga community of north Corinth around 10:40 p.m. Thursday. The home, owned by Cummings’ sister, Margaret Harris Cummings, had been in the family 98 years. “I can’t believe this happened, we’d lived here our entire lives,” said Andrew Cummings, who was at home along with his sister and another family member when the fire started. Wenasoga Volunteer Fire Department and Biggersville Fire and Rescue were the first to respond to the scene. “The home was built in 1916,” said Ricky Gibens, Alcorn Staff photo by Zack Steen
Please see FIRE | 2A
A volunteer firefighter battles the blaze at a home in the Wenasoga community.
Store’s shoe drive helps Lighthouse Black History Museum planning longer hours
BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
A local retail store is helping the community by putting shoes on the feet of the needy. Maurices, located in the Southgate Shopping Center, is holding the event to benefit the Lighthouse Foundation. Those who bring in a slightly used or new pair of shoes through Saturday will receive a coupon for 20 percent off any regular-priced item in the store. “While we participate in a number of maurices-sponsored benefits throughout the year, we are especially proud when we have the opportunity to support causes right here at home,” said store manager A.J. Gipson. The drive began Jan. 26 and customers can drop off donations any time during store hours, according to assistant Please see SHOES | 2
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Assistant manager Pam Colley adds a pair of shoes to the collection basket at maurices. The store is holding a shoe benefit for the Lighthouse Foundation through Saturday,
MSU to host free lecture on wildlife interactions BY KIMBERLY SHELTON kshelton@dailycorinthian.com
Want to get up-close and personal with nature’s furry inhabitants? Does the prospect of communing with animals awaken something something deep within your soul? Well, you are in luck. Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine offers the chance to attend a free wildlife interactions lecture. Wildlife enthusiasts can learn about human-animal interactions from experienced wildlife veterinarian
and guest speaker Dr. Mark Johnson of Global Wildlife Resources. The lecture is part of the college’s Human-Animal Bond Lecture Series and will be held on Feb. 6 from noon-1 p.m. in the Wise Center’s spacious auditorium. Johnson’s presentation, is entitled, “Care, honor, and respect for every animal: a perspective on wildlife and feral animals.” It is supported by Wildlife Exotic Zoo Avian and Aquatic Medicine. Over the years, Johnson Please see LECTURE | 3A
Please see MUSEUM | 3A
Johnson named new program director BY KIMBERLY SHELTON kshelton@dailycorinthian.com
Proving hard work, courage, and determination pay off, Gary Johnson is moving on up. He was recently named as program director for the Air Evac Lifeteam base in Corinth. Most recently, Johnson served as the company’s base clinical lead. Johnson He began his career with the Air Evac Life-team eight years ago. In 2010, Johnson was pre-
Index Stocks......8A Classified......3B Comics......9A State......5A
Black History Museum volunteer Freida Miller often sees more out-oftown visitors pass through the doors than she does Corinth residents. The museum hopes to see that change during February as the 1109 Meigg Street museum expands its days of operation for Black History Month. “We’re pleading for people to come in and see what we have to offer here at the Black History Museum, because most of the people in our area have not taken advantage of the vast knowledge that’s in this building,” said Miller. “We are kind of disappointed that we have not reached that segment of society that
needs to know our history and our heritage and pass on to their children what they need to know concerning our backgrounds.” The museum at the Webb house near Corinth National Cemetery will open on Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the month. It will also host Marvin Jones on Saturday, Feb. 15, from 1 to 5 p.m. Jones will display and talk about a collection of postal first-day covers featuring prominent figures such as Booker T. Washington, Ray Charles and Hattie McDaniel. A first-day cover is an envelope with the stamp canceled on the first day of issue and with a design on
Weather....10A Obituaries......6A Opinion......4A Sports....12A
sented with the company’s annual President’s Award. The honor is given to only one employee annualy and recognizes those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. It is presented at the Air Evac Life-team National Awards Banquet. “I like working for Air Evac because it’s truly the best company I’ve ever worked for,”said Johnson. “This company cares about and for its employees.” A 2000 graduate of the Northeast Mississippi Community College nursing program, Johnson has worked as a nurse at Magnolia Regional Health Center. He and his wife, Kellie, have four children: Kalah Rogers,
Brittany Davis, Hannah Beth Johnson and Taylor Johnson. They also have one granddaughter, Sadye Rogers. Air Evac Life-team is an air medical service that provides rapid access to definitive health care for those who live in medically underserved areas. Flight crews consist of a pilot, flight nurse and flight paramedic. Teams are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to the scene of an emergency, or provide transportation between medical facilities. Air Evac Life-team currently operates 113 bases in 15 states. (For more information, please visit www.lifeteam.net, or like them on Facebook.)
On this day in history 150 years ago In Georgia, Gen. Johnston is worried about his number of cavalry and asks Gen. Polk in Meridian to send as much as he can spare. Polk is worried about protecting the Alabama coal country and asks Johnston to send as much cavalry as he can spare.
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