Saturday March 1,
2014
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Daily Corinthian
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • 1 section
Vol. 118, No. 52
$500,000 bond set Childers to seek US Senate seat for muder suspect BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
Bond was set at $500,000 for the 59-year-old man charged with murdering his next door neighbor early Thursday morning. Jerry D. Miller, of 207 Sharp Street, faces charges of murder and malicious mischief after being arrested for the stabbing death of Gregory Owen Scott, 43, and the vandalism of another neighbors vehicle. Corinth Police responded to a vehicle burglary call in the area directly behind the vacant
West Corinth School property at 12:21 a.m. Thursday. When officers arrived, they heard screaming coming from a neighboring home. Officers entered the 302 Nelson Street residence where they found a bleeding Scott on the kitchen floor with a stab wound to the chest. Scott’s wife was the person who was heard screaming. Police said Miller was throwing large rocks at the victim’s neighbors vehicle, when the victim confronted him. Miller then allegedly stabbed Scott
with an 8-inch butcher knife. The murder weapon was discovered in the home, under the bed of the suspect still covered in blood. Miller will be appointed an attorney and his preliminary hearing will occur in about two weeks. Scott was transported to the Magnolia Regional Health Center where he later died. Visitation is today from 4-8 p.m. at Cutshall Funeral Home in Iuka. Funeral services are set for Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Asphalt Rock Baptist Church in Cherokee, Ala.
Corinth schools launching new technology initiative BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Corinth High School gymnasium erupted into a roar of approval from students Friday afternoon as they learned of plans to put Apple tablet or laptop computers in their hands. After hinting in recent months that this would happen, the Corinth School District made it official with an announcement before a gym packed with Corinth students. “This is about making learning fun and more relevant for them,” Superintendent Lee Childress said after a celebratory event that saw him take the stage and dance to pop songs. Students in prekindergarten through the second grade will get iPads for classroom use, while students in grades three
Staff photo by Jebb Johnston
Please see TECHNOLOGY | 3
Corinth students showed their approval of the district’s plans to put tablet or laptop computers in their hands.
BY STEVE BEAVERS The Crossroads Home & Outdoor Show has added an auction to the its April 5 lineup. Crossroads Arena officials signed a contract with MidSouth Auction & Realty LLC of Blue Mountain Wednesday to do the auction. “We are full steam ahead,” said Crossroads Arena General manager Tammy Genovese. “Clay (Meeks) is interested like us in doing this type of auction every year.” Unlike the farm show auction normally done in January at the arena, April’s event will be an auction of small tractors, dozers, trucks, boats and other farm equipment. “We were at the point of doing it or not,” said board chairman Dr. Hardwick Kay. “It will be different than what we had before, but I didn’t want to drop it entirely … I think we will pull it off.” DeWitt Auctions Co., of Sikeston, Mo., had been in charge of the popular usedmachinery auction the last two years. Billed as the the largest agricultural-based trade show in Northeast
BY JEBB JOHNSTON
“The museum board and myself are thrilled with the Green Market. It has been a huge success.”
jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Mississippi, last year’s event saw an excess of $5 million in equipment with the auction netting close to $3 million in only its second year. A shortage of large scale farm equipment forced the board to go in a different direction this year. “The people we are targeting in April will be those interested in lawn mowers and boats,” said Kay. “I am impressed with Clay. The people I talked with were real high on him.” Crossroads Arena will get 70 percent of profits after expenses are paid. In other CA news, Brantley Gilbert tickets have taken off in only a week. Around 2,813 tickets were sold the first day tickets were made available to the public. As of Wednesday, Genovese told the board the total had risen to 3,592. “Lines were out to the parking lot last Friday,” said Kay. “This will be a good chance for us to make some money,” added the general manager. Gilbert is slated to perform at the multi-purpose facility on March 29.
The Green Market at the depot museum is set to kick off the 2014 season with a new time, some new sellers and an opening day with the annual chili festival. The season opener is set for Saturday, April 5, and it’s shaping up to be a big weekend with the Corinth Home & Garden Tour and the Crossroads Chili Cook-off also giving Corinthians a reason to get out and about. Green Market is now the banner fundraiser for the Crossroads Museum. “The museum board and myself are thrilled with the Green Market,” said Executive Director Brandy Steen. “It has been a huge success.” The sixth season of the event, which unites artisans, farmers, gardeners and craftsmen in an open-air, grassroots setting, brings new hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. “One reason for the new hours is it always seemed that at 2 o’clock when the market was closing down that we had a good crowd,” said Steen. Another reason is to cut back on the set-up time during the sometimes dark early a.m. hours. The vendor fee is increasing to $20 per market or $120 for the entire season. “Because we went up on the price of the market and because we wanted to do something for those who are always there, those who sign up as season sellers will get a reserved spot with
Index Stocks........8 Classified......14 Comics........ 7 State........ 5
Former U.S. Representative and Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers has thrown his hat in the ring in the race for U.S. Senate. Childers qualified Friday to run in the Democratic primary for the seat currently held by Republican Thad Cochran. Candidates have through Saturday to qualify. Childers said Friday he believes Mississippians are looking for relief from the partisan gridlock in Washington. “I think people are just sick of what they’re seeing in Washington,” he said. His history of working across the aisle with both Republicans and Democrats in his previous time in the capitol has helped prepare him to bridge those differences. “I believe we can make a difference,” he said. Childers and his wife, Tami, own The Landmark Community nursing home and rehabilitation center in Booneville and he is also a longtime Realtor. He said his experiences as a small businessman help him understand the struggles everyone is experiencing in the current difficult economy and he’s prepared to bring those concerns with him to Washington. “I’m the only small businessman in this race, I believe. I get it. I understand what it’s like to have to make a payroll,” he said. The decision to join the race came after a long period of intense consultation with his closest advisors and, especially, his family. “I spent a whole lot of time talking with my family,” he said. Childers said Cochran’s decision to run and the influx of money from the Tea party in
support of Cochran’s primary opponent certainly changed the nature of the race. He said he is focused first Childers on winning the primary but firmly believes he can compete no matter who his opponent is in November if he’s successful in the primary. He’s looking forward to kicking off the campaign soon with a launch event in Prentiss County and is excited about traveling across the state meeting with the people of the state and listening to their concerns. Childers was elected to the U.S. House in an April 2008 special election to replace Roger Wicker who had been appointed to the Senate. He was reelected to a full term in the 2008 general election. He unsuccessfully ran for reelection 2010 and was defeated by Republican State Senator Alan Nunnelee for the seat. A native of Booneville, Childers was elected Prentiss County Chancery Clerk in 1991 and was reelected five times before stepping down. Cochran, who first won his seat in the senate in 1978, will face Tea-party-backed challenger state Senator Chris McDaniel in the Republican primary. Childers will face off in the Democratic primary against Bill Marcy, a previously unsuccessful candidate for the second district U.S. House seat who has run in the past as a Republican. The primary election is set for Tuesday, June 3.
Green Market ready for new season
Outdoor show adding auction sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
BY BRANT SAPPINGTON
bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
Weather........9 Obituaries........ 6 Opinion........4 Sports...... 12
Brandy Steen Executive director
a sign that has their name on it,” said Steen. “We’ve never allowed reserved spots before.” All vendors must sign up by 4 p.m. on the Friday prior to the market; walk-ups will no longer be allowed on the day of the event. Steen said anyone selling food such as baked goods, canned goods, jellies or honey needs to learn about and follow Mississippi’s new cottage food law, which requires labeling with a listing of ingredients. The April kickoff coincides with the chili cook-off, which will set up along Wick Street next to the CARE garden. Competitors will have samples of their chili recipes available in exchange for a donation to the Corinth-Alcorn Animal Shelter. The remaining dates for the season are May 3, June 7, July 5, Aug. 2, Sept. 6, Oct. 4 and Nov. 22.
Season sellers signed up thus far are: ■ Little Monkey Creations — Custom bows and unique outfits for children ■ Hinkle Creek Pottery — Hand-crafted pottery and other items made from Mississippi clay ■ Traci & Mom Treats & Gifts — Huge selection of jams and jellies, cakes and breads ■ S&R Custom Creations — Vintage handmade jewelry and distressed furniture ■ Wood Crafts by Chris — Scroll saw toys and crafts, custom ceramic coasters and handturned pens and pencils ■ Rhonda Leblanc — Handcrafted jewelry made with natural stones and recycled metals and hand-dyed fabrics ■ Brian Williamson — Baked and canned goods, honey and eggs ■ Kelly Young — Handcrafted jewelry from repurposed items The vendor application is available at the museum and corinthgreenmarket.com.
On this day in history 150 years ago President Abraham Lincoln formally nominates Ulysses S. Grant for promotion to lieutenant general. Congress had recently revived the rank specifically for Grant who will, once promoted, be placed in command over all of the Union armies.