Pickwick TVA campground opens for season.
Shiloh National Park gets field trip grant.
Alcorn County 18-year-old hurt in motorcycle wreck.
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Tuesday March 15,
Daily Corinthian
Partly sunny
2016
75 cents
Vol. 120, No. 64
Today
Tonight
83
51
0% chance of rain
• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • One section
Emotions run high; 2 schools close BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
Emotions were high as Alcorn County school officials voted to close Glendale and Rienzi elementary schools on Monday night. The 3-2 vote came near the end of the Alcorn School Dis-
trict Board of Education meeting inside a crowded, standingroom-only board room. More than 150 concerned parents and community supporters had gathered in hopes school board members would keep the county’s two smallest schools open. Board members gave Super-
intendent Larry B. Mitchell the OK to investigate district savings associated with closing the two schools last month. Although he never made a written plan public, Mitchell said the district would save $700,000 per year with the closure of the two schools.
Board president Carroll Morton said closing schools was not the answer on Monday night. “I don’t think this is the best thing for the district,” he said. “I believe there is an entire grocery list of things that can be done instead.” Morton, who represents the
third district and the campuses of Biggersville and Rienzi, offered the board five alternative ways to save money without closing schools. Cost savings included phasing out middle schools at KosPlease see SCHOOLS | 6
FUMC continues services Man on burglary
spree gets 10 years
BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Fire damage isn’t stopping First United Methodist Church from meeting in the Lord’s house. It will be business as usual for the downtown Corinth church starting today after an early Sunday fire caused heavy smoke damage to the fellowship hall and an area between the dining place and classrooms. “We are going to have church Wednesday night,” said church administrator Chuck Stringer. FUMC will move across the street to Fillmore Street Chapel for Wednesday night services. “If it takes longer than we anticipate, we will use the chapel,” added Stringer as workers with Servpro began cleaning the sanctuary and offices Monday morning. While some workers took on the job of cleaning, electricians were checking the rest of the building. “They will determine when
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Please see FUMC | 6
An early Sunday fire caused damage to First United Methodist Church.
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
BY JEBB JOHNSTON Alcorn County unemployment was nearly unchanged at 6.2 percent in January while the state pointed to continued growth in the labor force and number of jobs. The county’s not-seasonally-adjusted rate compares to 6.3 percent in January and 6.5 percent a year earlier. The breakdown of the labor force shows 1,000 categorized as unemployed, unchanged from a year ago, and 15,120 employed, rising from 14,330 a year earlier. The county had 60 new claims for unemployment insurance benefits, compared
Please see SENTENCES | 6
People of the Crossroads
Unemployment rate highlights job growth jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
A burglary spree from Red Bay, Alabama, to Corinth last fall netted 10 years behind bars for the perpetrator. Daniel Griswold, 49, of Huntsville, Ala., is one of a number of defendants who entered guilty pleas in Alcorn County Circuit Court during the last few weeks. Judge Jim Pounds sentenced Griswold to serve seven years in custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections on one count of burglary of a building and an additional three years on another count in a separate indictment, according to court records. The judge imposed a suspended five-year sentence on one count of felony fleeing. Griswold was also sentenced to five years of probation and must pay restitution in the two Alcorn County indictments as well as a pair of indictments out of Tishomingo County. Arrested last September af-
ter a brief pursuit in the city, he was accused of breaking into a couple of restaurant buildings on Highway 72 in Corinth and several businesses in the Iuka area. He gets credit for five months already served in the county jail. Other sentences handed down: ■ Dustin Martin, burglary of a dwelling — Twenty-year sentence with 14 years suspended, leaving six years to serve, with five years of probation and payment of restitution to be determined ■ Christopher Ellis, 35, possession of methamphetamine and grand larceny — Two years to serve with three years of probation and payment of restitution ■ Brian Nicholas Surratt, burglary of an auto — Seven years house arrest and five years probation
Martha Phelps Morgan, Corinth Staff photo by Zack Steen
For the past three years, Martha Phelps Morgan, 75, has greeted Corinth visitors from around the world. “It’s amazing the amount of people who visit Corinth,” said Morgan, who works at the Crossroads Museum in Corinth. “I love Corinth and love talking to people about Corinth.” Morgan has always been a people person. For many years she owned her own Corinth business, Yesterday’s Dolls. “I have always liked to restore and repair dolls, and I still have a huge doll collection ... and most of the dolls are actually still for sale,” she said. The mother of two sons, two granddaughters and one great-granddaughter, Morgan enjoys spending time with her family and her Tate Baptist Church family.
to 81 a year earlier, and 459 continued claims, compared to 450 a year earlier. Alcorn ranked 10th among the 82 counties as Mississippi’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate dropped 0.1 percent over the month to 6.7 percent. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security touted several positive signs for the month. The number of people working in Mississippi climbed for the 20th month in a row, increasing by 10,200 to 1,212,000 — the highest number of residents with jobs since depth of the Great Recession in 2008. Please see JOBS | 6
25 years ago
10 years ago
Wenasoga and Farmington volunteer fire departments get new trucks. Wenasoga VFD chief J.R. Jones says the new equipment will boost their ability to respond to emergencies.
Sweet Peppers Deli is confirmed for phase 2 of the Corinth Commons shopping center. A spokesman for Sandor Development says the new center should open by July.
Doug Ann Michael Rick Jumper Hardin McCreary Jones
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Roger Audrey Carl Clark McNair Jones
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