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McNairy County Chamber honors local airport

Booneville High winds topple trees

State Inmates refuse meals in prison protest

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Thursday April 6,

2017

75 cents

Daily Corinthian Vol. 121, No. 82

Breezy, cooler Today

Tonight

20% chance of showers

• Corinth, Mississippi • 14 pages • One section

Stop! City moves forward on sign project BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

The Board of Aldermen on Tuesday agreed to match up to $25,000 in contributions toward new, more attractive stop signs for the downtown area. The CARE Foundation com-

mitted $10,000, and a number of businesses are contributing. First proposed in 2014, the idea is back on the table, now with the intent of private funds covering about half the cost. While providing a more decorative look for downtown street

signage, the city would also bring the stop signs into compliance with newer reflectivity requirements as specified in the Manual on Uniform Traﬃc Control Devices. A survey of the area counted 88 signs, and the city would

‘Lend Me a Tenor’

purchase 100. The proposal viewed by the mayor and aldermen shows a 26-inch decorative post base and 3-inch round fluted street pole with a cap for double-sided street signs, all in powder-coated gloss black. Street names would be in white

BY L.A. STORY

Staff photo by Zack Steen

Cody Daniel as Max, Randy Duke as Henry Saunders and Dan Marsh as Tito Merelli star in “Lend Me a Tenor” with showings Thursday-Sunday at Corinth Theatre-Arts.

Farce comedy hits CT-A stage BY ZACK STEEN Local thespian Dan Marsh has come full circle. The longtime actor played the lead role of Max in “Lend Me a Tenor” more than 20 years ago.

Now Marsh will take on the role of the guy Max impersonates in the weekend showing of the farce comedy at Corinth Theatre-Arts. “My first real speaking role was Max at Northeast when I was

young and just starting to act,” Marsh said. “This time around, I play Tito and that character has proved to be a lot of fun.” Set in the 1930s, “Lend Me

State jobless rate drops BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

Alcorn County unemployment dropped to 4 percent in February as all counties across the state posted decreases from January. The county’s rate was at 5.5 percent in January and 5.3 percent in February 2016. The number unemployed was 640, compared to 850 a year earlier. The month brought 37 firsttime filers for unemployment insurance in the county and 355 continued claims, compared to 47 first claims and 405 continued claims in February 2016. Mississippi’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in February, three-tenths of a percentage

point lower than a month earlier. The February rate is the lowest level of unemployment in the state since May 2001, the Mississippi Department of Employment Security reported. The state rate was 6.1 percent in February 2016. MDEs reports the labor force is at its largest size since October 2012 with more jobs in the state than any time since June 2008. In February, the number of non-farm jobs rose by 1,300 from January and by 800 from a year ago. Rates ranged from 3.1 percent in Rankin County to 16.8 percent in Issaquena County. Across the U.S., unemployment rates were significantly

Please see SIGNS | 2A

Past relics become present attraction lastory@dailycorinthian.com

zsteen@dailycorinthian.com

reflective text. The proposal shows a decorative frame around the 24-inch stop sign. “They look great,” said Ward 1 Alderman Andrew “Bubba”

Please see TENOR | 2

The Corinth Civil War Relic Show and Sale is proof the past has created a popular attraction for the present. Now in its eighth year, the popular show has outgrown it’s original venue at the Crossroads Arena Convention Center and has moved the the main concourse of the Crossroads Arena. The relic show is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. “We’ve grown from about 62 tables to over 100. We have had to turn away people who wanted tables,” said Buddy Ellis, an avid relic hunter and first lieutenant commander of the Col. W.P. Rogers, Camp 321, Sons of Confederate Veterans, the group which sponsors the event. “We will see how it goes this year and see if we need to move it down to the arena’s main floor,” he said. Ellis said the show has a lot to oﬀer history enthusiasts and collectors such as guns, pistols, swords and other items. For lovers of historical reading, there will be authors available selling their books. Al Arnold, author of “Robert E. Lee’s Orderly: A Modern Black Man’s Confederate Journey,” will be on in atten-

“We have got some really good dealers. They have to have good quality stuff or we won’t let them come. This is not a flea market, it is a relic show.” Buddy Ellis dance to sell and talk about his book. “Grady Howell will also be there with his new books with pictures that have never been published before,” said Ellis, regarding Civil War Author and Historian, H. Grady Howell, a veteran of the U.S.A.F., holds a B.A. and M.A. in History and is a Historian Emeritus of the Mississippi Department of Archives & History. Another author expected to be at the show is Randy Bishop of Middleton, Tenn. Ellis mentioned that if anyone has an item they want to sell, or find out what it’s worth, then they can bring it to the Please see RELIC | 5

People of the Crossroads Brian Moore, Iuka

Please see JOBLESS | 2

Originally from Germantown, Tenn., Brian Moore was transplanted to Iuka about two years ago. His wife, Amy Trussell Moore, is an Iuka native whom he met at Northeast Mississippi Community College. The couple have three children, Reese, 11; Meg, 7, and Cate, 3. Moore is the owner of AMC Signs and Lighting and he said he enjoys his work. “I get to be outside and there’s something different every day. I also enjoy all the people I get to meet,” said Moore. He said he worked for a company for 16 years before opening his own business, of which he is now in his second year. Outside of his busy job and family life, Moore said he enjoys hunting and fishing when he gets the opportunity. Staff Photo by L.A. Story

25 years ago

10 years ago

Biggersville’s Jennifer Strickland and Alcorn Central’s Melissa Whitehead sign to continue their basketball careers at Northeast Mississippi Community College.

Kossuth native and acclaimed novelist and screenwriter Thomas Hal Phillips dies at the age of 84.

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Thursday, April 6, 2017

Cooper Tire wins award Associated Press

TUPELO — Cooper Tire was among four tire manufacturers recognized for excellence and improvements in worker health and safety by the Rubber Manufacturers Association, reported the Daily Journal. Cooper’s plant in Tupelo was one of 12 tiremaking facilities — and the only Cooper plant — to win an award. The Tupelo plant, which opened in 1984 and employs about 1,600 people, won an “Improvement” award from RMA. Two categories of awards are given to companies that “demonstrate workplace safety excellence and improvements,” which are measured by the incidence rate for lost workday cases, according to RMA. The “Excellence” category is for facilities that achieve a Days Away Restricted Trans-

fer (DART) rate that is 75 percent better than the average achieved by plants that provided data to RMA. The “Improvement” award is for plants that achieve a Days Away Restricted Transfer (DART) rate that is both 10 percent better than its rate in the previous year and is the same or better than the RMA average incidence rate. Forty-seven plants from RMA member companies supplied data for the annual survey to be eligible for awards. The data supplied to RMA is identical to information provided to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which publishes annual injury and illness information on all industries. RMA’s Safety and Health Improvement Program was created in 1981, and the awards were created from the program.

This sketch — presented to the Corinth Board of Mayor and Aldermen — shows the proposed decorative stop sign topped by street markers.

SIGNS

JOBLESS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

lower in February in 10 states, higher in one state and stable in 39 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Nine states had notable jobless rate

decreases from a year earlier, and 41 states and the District had no significant change. The national unemployment rate, at 4.7 percent, was little changed from January but 0.2 percentage point lower than in February 2016.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Labas, who proposed the project and has contributed $1,000 to the cause. The estimated cost is about $500 per sign. “CARE has graciously said they will be happy to accept donations on behalf of this,” he said. “There

are a number of private businesses throughout downtown who have already contributed and pledged money for this project. If any other businesses would like to contribute, I’d be grateful, and I think downtown would be grateful.” The street signs would be installed in the area generally from Tate Street north to Linden Street

and from Washington Street east to Cass Street. Existing signs that are in good condition may be reused in other places in the city. Contact the Corinth-Alcorn Reaching for Excellence (CARE) Foundation at careforcorinth.com, 284-4858 or P.O. Box 239, Corinth, MS 38835.

Staff photos by Zack Steen

“Lend Me a Tenor” features eight veteran Corinth Theatre-Arts performers.

TENOR CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

a Tenor” focuses on Tito Morelli, the greatest opera singer of his generation. Scheduled to appear for one night only as Otello, the star arrives late and, through a series of mishaps, is given a double dose of tranquilizers and passes out. As the show must go on, excitement ensues as the production crew races around trying

to decide what to do next. A sensation on Broadway and London’s West End, the screwball comedy is guaranteed to leave audiences teary-eyed with laughter according to director Bryan Essary. “It’s a hilarious show,” he said. “It’s got everything ... mistaken identity, wrong place, wrong time and it’s even a little on the naughty side.” Essary is returning to CT-A to director his eighth show. The former Arts in McNairy staﬀer said

he’s most thankful for the show’s veteran cast. “If something goes wrong, the audience will never know,” he said. The cast includes veteran actor Cody Daniel as Max, who fools just about everyone into thinking he’s actually Tito. “Max is a goofball and very unsure about himself, but as the show progresses and he dresses up like someone else, the character really grows into a more confident person,” said Daniel.

CIVIL WAR RELIC SHOW April 8TH & 9TH CROSSROADS ARENA CONVENTION CENTER 2800 S. Harper Rd. • Corinth, MS

ADMISSION: $5.00 Children Under 12: FREE SHOW HOURS: Saturday, April 8TH 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 9TH 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

www.battleofcorinth.com

Sponsored by Col. W.P. Rogers Sons of Confederate Veterans, Camp #321

Cody Daniel as Max and Leah Petty as Maggie Saunders are two of the veteran actors in this weekend’s Corinth Theatre-Arts showing of “Lend Me a Tenor.” The theatre is trying a new approach to their normal sponsor night set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday. “We’re doing a ‘pay what you can night,” said Essary. “Any donation to CT-A, from $1 to $1,000, let’s you see the play.” Other showings include 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night and a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday. Tickets are $6 for students and $12 for adults. “‘Lend Me a Tenor’ is a well-written, funny script, and we’ve got veteran actors and actresses

who know how to sell it,” added the director. “Folks who don’t see this one will surely regret it.”

Cast Henry Saunders, Randy Duke; Max, Cody Daniel; Maggie Saunders, Leah Petty; Tito Merelli, Dan Marsh; Maria Merelli, Jenny Jordan; Diana, Rebekah Hope Fontaine; Julia, Lesley Petty; Bellhop, David Frost II

Crew Producers, Whitney Gooch and Della Miller;

Director, Bryan C. Essary; Assistant director/stage manager, Claire Smith; Assistant to the director, Lavonia Essary; Costumes, Whitney Gooch; Seamstresses, Kristi Smith and Lesley Petty; Set design, Bryan C. Essary; Set construction, Wayne Bennett and Randy Duke; Artistic painting, Della Miller; Set painting, Christe Bennett, Will Pearce, Ava Marsh and Cast; Lighting design, Patrick Hudson; Sound eﬀects, Donnie McGee; Italian consultant, Sarah Lemons

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Today in History Today is Thursday, April 6, the 96th day of 2017. There are 269 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History On April 6, 1917, the United States entered World War I as the House joined the Senate in approving a declaration of war against Germany that was then signed by President Woodrow Wilson.

On this date In 1909, American explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson and four Inuits became the first men to reach the North Pole. In 1954, Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., responding to CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow’s broadside against him on “See It Now,” said in remarks filmed for the program that Murrow had, in the past, “engaged in propaganda for Communist causes.” In 1965, the United States launched Intelsat I, also known as the “Early Bird” communications satellite, into geosynchronous orbit. In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a Nebraska farmer had been entrapped by postal agents into buying mailorder child pornography. The four-year siege of Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb forces began. Five years ago: Five black people were shot, three fatally, in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Jake England and Alvin Watts, who admitted targeting the victims because of race, pleaded guilty to murder, and were sentenced to life in prison without parole. One year ago: A federal judge in Charleston, West Virginia, sentenced former coal executive Don Blankenship to a year in prison for his role in the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine explosion that killed 29 men in America’s deadliest mining disaster in four decades; Blankenship maintained that he had committed no crime.

Local/Region

Daily Corinthian • 3

Across the Region McNairy County Chamber of Commerce honors county airport SELMER, Tenn. — McNairy County’s Robert Sibley Airport provides a valuable resource to local industries, residents, emergency responders like Hospital Wing, and potential companies. The airport is being honored this month as the McNairy County Chamber of Commerce Industry of the Month. The county airport was built in the 1960s. It was later named in honor of First Lieutenant and Naval pilot Robert Sibley Sr. who was instrumental in seeing it come to fruition. The airport is managed by Chris Tull and staff, and is second to none in the region, according to the chamber. The Robert Sibley Airport has a full-service terminal complete with fuel, flight planning rooms, kitchen, lobby, rental hangers and pilots lounge just to name a few. At 5,002 feet, the airport runway can handle almost any traffic.

Booneville High winds topple trees, cause power outages BOONEVILLE — A toppled tree left residents of one Booneville street stuck in their neighborhood without power early Monday morning. A large tree fell across the road and power lines on Parkwood Garden Lane around 7 a.m. Monday as high winds and heavy rain passed through the area. The tree blocked the roadway and caused an outage to approximately 10 homes on the street. Booneville Street Department crews removed the tree and Prentiss County Electric Power Association workers repaired the power line and the street was passable again by around 8:30 a.m. PCEPA Manager Ronny Rowland said the first power outage from the storm hit around 9:15 p.m. Sunday when a pear tree hit a service line on Osburn Creek Road. Around 3 a.m. Monday a circuit breaker was tripped on Pisgah Road. Lightning also caused a fire at a house on East Clayton Street in Baldwyn around 5:30 a.m. The largest outage of the storm came when a circuit breaker serving around 300 houses along Highway 145 to Frankstown and west to Oak Hill tripped and was reset

around 8 a.m. There were no reports of major damages due to the storm.

film, and is considered a leading authority on the subject of Knight’s insurgency.

Oxford

Columbus

Overby Center discusses ‘Free State of Jones’

Japanese businessman kidnapped in parking lot

OXFORD — A rebellion against the Confederacy by poor white farmers in Jones County loyal to the Union, joined by a few former slaves, led to the establishment of the “Free State of Jones” during the Civil War, and the episode will be the focus of a discussion on Monday, April 10, by two prominent Jones County natives, retired U.S. District Judge Charles Pickering and Jones County Junior College history instructor Wyatt Moulds, and Charles Overby, chairman of the host Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics at Ole Miss. The program, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 6 p.m. in the Overby Center Auditorium. A reception will be held following the event. The uprising in Jones County has been the subject of several books and was dramatized last year in a movie, “The Free State of Jones,” starring Matthew McConaughey in the role of Newton Knight, the leader of a guerrilla operation that succeeded in seizing control of part of the county. The breakaway movement eventually failed, but with the defeat of the Confederacy and the implementation of Reconstruction in the South, Knight continued to led an interracial struggle in the southeast Mississippi county. The review of these events more than a century and a half ago is the latest in a series this year at the Overby Center in connection with the 200th anniversary of Mississippi’s statehood. “We are going to talk about the impact of the Free State of Jones – the movie and the historical event – on the past and the present,” said Overby. Pickering was born in Laurel – one of two seats of government in the colorful county – and attended Jones Junior College before earning a bachelor’s degree at Ole Miss in 1959 and a law degree in 1961. He served as U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Mississippi for 14 years. Moulds has been a member of the faculty at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville since 1982, served as an advisor to Gary Ross, the director of the

COLUMBUS (AP) — A businessman from Japan was briefly kidnapped Monday in Columbus. Police tell local media that Patrick Lavelle Roby got in the victim’s rental car in the parking lot of the Leigh Mall. Columbus Police say Roby tried to tell the victim to drive somewhere, but the victim did not understand him because of a language barrier. Police say Roby then got in the passenger seat and drove the victim to an ATM and forced him to withdraw money. He next forced the victim to rent a hotel room with his credit card. Police say the businessman, who hasn’t been identified, then called 911. Police responded, arrested Roby and freed the uninjured victim. Roby is charged with kidnapping and armed robbery.

Tupelo City creates police advisory board TUPELO (AP) — A Mississippi city that experienced protests last summer after a police shooting has moved to create a police advisory board. The Tupelo City Council voted 5-1 Tuesday to create the board, with leaders telling the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal that the board should help improve the relationship between city police and local residents. “It will be a good thing,” said Police Chief Bart Aguirre. “It opens up lines of communication that maybe weren’t there before.” Ronnie Shumpert was shot and killed by Tupelo Police Officer Tyler Cook in June, sparking protests. A grand jury declined to indict Cook in August. Ward 6 Councilman Mike Bryan cast the lone dissenting vote against the advisory board. “I’m not for the advisory board,” Bryan said. “I feel like it’s driven for the wrong reasons, by the Shumpert shooting.” Tupelo’s board will not have subpoena power or be charged with investigating police misconduct. Regulations governing the board do allow for the possibility that the police chief might share private information

with the board. Members will be required to sign non-disclosure agreements and promise to maintain the confidentiality of any private details about city employees. The ordinance approved by the council calls the advisory board “an effort to strengthen relationships and build trust.” Additionally, the board will “provide an avenue to identify problems and address opportunities for improvement.”

Columbus Drive to church ends in stabbing COLUMBUS (AP) — An argument on a drive to church ended with two people stabbed and one arrested in northeast Mississippi. The Commercial Dispatch reports that Columbus police arrested 27-year-old Jordan Hartzell on Sunday for allegedly stabbing two people. Both made a full recovery. Columbus Assistant Police Chief Fred Shelton says Hartzell was in a car on the way to church with five other people when an argument started. Shelton says Hartzell stabbed two other passengers with a knife and fled the scene. The two victims — one a 22-year-old male friend of Hartzell’s and the other a 15-year-old female relative — were treated at a hospital and released. Hartzell is being held without bail in the Lowndes County Adult Detention Center.

Starkville Couple arrested on drug charges STARKVILLE — A couple were arrested on drug charges after police stopped them walking through a neighborhood at 3 a.m. According to the Daily Journal, the Starkville Police Department encountered Jessica Clark McDaniel, 30, of Maben, and Jeremy L. Peters, 40, of Starkville, on Saturday, April 1 in the Longmeadow Subdivision. McDaniel was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, Schedule I or II, and felony possession of counterfeit currency. Bond was set at $5,000. She was also charged with shoplifting, no tag and driving while license suspended. Bond on those misdemeanors has not been set. Peters was charged with possession of paraphernalia.

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Opinion

4 • Thursday, April 6, 2017

Mark Boehler, editor

Corinth, Miss.

Minor was a major force The late Chicago newspaperman Mike Royko said -- I paraphrase -- that every columnist has five (maybe it was three) good ideas. It’s what you do with the thousands of other deadlines Rheta that can make a career reJohnson markable. Mississippi muckraker Bill Columnist Minor died last month at age 94. Those alliterative words sound good: Mississippi muckraker. Minor had been covering Mississippi for 70 years, since segregationist Theodore Bilbo’s funeral and Hector was a pup. Unlike so many reporters who parachuted into Mississippi during “the troubles” and then went back to New York or Washington with reputations made, Minor stayed. He was there at the trial following Emmett Till’s murder, there when Ross Barnett stood in the door to block James Meredith at Ole Miss, there after Medgar Evers was shot, there when three missing civil-rights workers were found buried in Neshoba County clay. And he was there a lot of days when nothing dramatic was happening, when subcommittees and committees of the Mississippi Legislature were working their quiet mischief in the halls of Jackson’s “new” capitol. When Cliﬀ Finch was doing wheelies on the mansion grounds or when William Winter was passionately pushing for public kindergartens. When I moved to Jackson in 1979, Minor was a legend, the “dean” of Mississippi journalists. I met his wife, Gloria, first, worked with her at the Mississippi Research and Development Center. After I took a job with the Memphis newspaper, I got to know Bill Minor, who was as nice and welcoming in person as he was hard-hitting in print. If ever I had a question about the state’s history, I knew where to turn. He had answers. That’s what you call “institutional knowledge,” as valuable to the reporting trade as a pen and notebook. While a parade of ambitious young reporters at the local paper were trading “Mississippi experiences” at parties in the 1980s, many of them eager to see the state in the rearview mirror, Minor simply was doing what he did: aﬄicting the comfortable in a place he knew inside-out. The last time I saw Minor was not in Mississippi, but Athens, Georgia, when he took part in the last of the John Popham Seminars. Named for the first Southern correspondent of The New York Times, the annual gathering for 30 years was a Who’s Who of civil-rights reporters who had been in the trenches. They were war buddies keeping in touch. In 1999, some were tired. Some sick. Most were retired. I saw my friend Bill Emerson, for instance, former head of Newsweek’s Atlanta bureau, hobbling up the hotel walkway with his oxygen tank and a bottle of whiskey. I never saw him again. In the past there might have been petty squabbles and jealousies, but now it was a grand reporters’ reunion, a match of wits and oratory and photos of grandchildren. Minor wrote great columns till the end, recalling in an October essay how he received some of the most “vicious and vile” letters of his long career when in 1992 he praised Hillary Clinton’s “engaging personality and brilliant intellect.” She was, at the time, campaigning in Mississippi for her husband. Like almost everyone else, Minor thought Hillary was poised to break the ultimate glass ceiling. This time, he was wrong. Bill Minor did not write to please or appease. He kept at it a long, long time. Rheta Grimsley Johnson’s most recent book is “Hank Hung the Moon ... And Warmed Our Cold, Cold Hearts.” Comments are welcomed at rhetagrimsley@aol.com.

Prayer for today Loving Father, help me to live a simple and noble life. Grant that I may have the blessedness that comes through peace, and escape the misery that comes from cruelty and untruth. Through my life may what I reap show that I have been careful in choosing and cultivating what I have sown. Amen.

A verse to share Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. —Hebrews 9:27-28

Trump is not retreating After less then 75 days in oﬃce, the mainstream media is already writing obituaries for the Trump administration. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry from the absurdity of it all. Even Juan Williams of Fox News writes. “But it is no liberal fantasy to say the odds of a Trump resignation or impeachment before 2020 are looking better by the day.” Words are cheap, and I wonder what kind of odds Williams would actually give this ridiculous proposition were he to put some of his own cash on the table. I prefer to look through the noise and see a president who cannot tolerate losing and as result will incur all costs, and take all action, to ensure that he we will win. This means taking immediate measure of the situation and changing, as necessary. I am reminded of a quote from a U.S. Marine, Major Lloyd Williams, memorialized in a veterans memorial in my hometown in California, just outside Camp Pendleton. When advised by a French Colonel to retreat during a battle in World War I, he said, “Retreat (expletive)! We just

got here!” After a round of golf with Senator Rand Paul, a critic of the health care Star bill that ReParker p u b l i c a n s couldn’t Columnist muster the votes to pass, Trump tweeted: “Anybody (especially Fake News media) who thinks that Repeal and Replace of Obamacare is dead does not know the love and strength in R. Party. ... Talks on Repealing and Replacing ObamaCare are going on, and will continue until such time as a deal is hopefully struck.” Far more important than flailing from left-wing journalists is the sentiment of the American people. And optimism is surging. Pew Research Center has just released a new survey showing that 58 percent “say the economic situation is very or somewhat good.” This is up from 44 percent from same time last year. Says Pew, “The 14-percentage-point rise in overall public opinion about the economy since last year is the largest one-year improvement in public senti-

ment about economic conditions in the history of this survey.” It’s also the first time since 2007 that positive sentiment about the economy was greater than negative sentiment. And this surge of optimism about the economy is bipartisan. Sixty-one percent of Republicans and 60 percent of Democrats say economic conditions are “very or somewhat good,” with the figure for Independents standing at 54 percent. The stock market, the ultimate bellwether of sentiment, is surging. The Dow Jones Industrial Average stands 25 percent higher today than where it was in February 2016. Of course, we have a new team in place in Washington and it is reasonable to expect some mistakes. The point is not mistakes, but the focus and commitment to move on. What is unique today is the combination of a president who will not settle for less than delivering on what he promised and a core group of committed Republicans in Congress who will not settle for less than getting America back on track to its founding

principle of freedom. The Senate will confirm the nomination of a great conservative judge, Neil Gorsuch, to the Supreme Court, and Democrats will pay the price for their opposition. Lessons from this first exercise on health care will have been learned, and Republicans will move forward on tax reform with greater wisdom and will succeed. And health care will be re-addressed and fixed. We have no choice. As President Trump said when the Republican bill was pulled, Obamacare is imploding. According to the Cato Institute, premiums on silver plans have doubled since Obamacare was passed and insurance companies are pulling out of the market, with “roughly one-third of U.S. counties ... having just one insurer oﬀering Obamacare plans.” After one setback early in the game, who thinks Republicans will retreat? Retreat, (expletive)! Trump just got here! Star Parker is an author and president of CURE, Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Contact her at www.urbancure. org.

Legislature concludes session Legislators completed the last day of the 2017 legislative session on Wednesday, March 29, after working through the weekend to finalize the state budget. Several pieces of notable legislation were passed this session covering topics ranging from campaign finance reform to protection for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. New campaign finance reform legislation clarifies situations in which campaign funds would not be appropriate for use, namely personal expenses. It also transfers more authority to the Mississippi Ethics Commission to deal with these types of situations. A Capitol Complex Improvement District has been created in order to improve infrastructure and the appearance of the area surrounding the State Capitol by using a percentage of the sales tax collected in

Reece Terry

Mark Boehler

publisher rterry@dailycorinthian.com

editor editor@dailycorinthian.com

Willie Walker

Roger Delgado

circulation manager circdirector@dailycorinthian.com

press foreman

Jackson. A new sexual assault protection order will give victims of sex‘Bubba’ ual assault Carpenter an added measure of 1st District protection Representative from their offenders. Another piece of legislation clarifies the “habitual cruel and inhuman treatment” divorce statute to specify that this includes any type of domestic violence, threatened or attempted. Penalties for crimes committed against law enforcement oﬃcers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians were doubled with the passage of the Back the Badge Act. Death penalty options were expanded to include gas chamber, electrocution and a firing squad if lethal injection is

blocked or appealed by a higher court. Anti-bullying legislation will require schools to implement policies and procedures to prevent bullying and suicide. The Rivers McGraw Act, named in honor of a college student who took his life after being released from an arrest for substance abuse, will create a mental health diversion pilot program for people in similar situations to access treatment and counseling. A number of budget cuts presented legislators with a challenge when crafting the state budget. This year, the governor has cut the budget four times, resulting in approximately $155 million worth of cuts, and drawn another $50 million from the state’s rainy day fund. This resulted in budget cuts for most state agencies; however, the Department of Finance and Administration, the De-

World Wide Web: www.dailycorinthian.com To Sound Off: E-mail: email: news@dailycorinthian.com Circulation 287-6111 Classified Adv. 287-6147

partment of Public Safety, the Department of Child Protective Services and the Department of Corrections did not receive cuts. While a special session was already being considered, it will now be necessary in order to come to an agreement on budgets for the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT), State Aid roads and the attorney general’s oﬃce. House members made multiple bipartisan attempts throughout the session to create adequate funding for roads and bridges, with all eﬀorts being stopped by the Senate. All 121 present House members voted to recommit the Senate’s proposed budget for transportation and infrastructure in order to have further discussion that would lead to a better solution during special session.

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Daily Corinthian â€˘ Thursday, April 6, 2017 â€˘ 5

Tropical mystery offers creepy chills BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER The Bookworm Sez

â€œMangrove Lightning: A Doc Ford Novelâ€? by Randy Wayne White c.2017, Putnam $27.00 / $36.00 Canada 329 pages A storm is coming. You feel it in the air, and you can smell it as thunder grumbles in the distance. It was in the forecast, it was on todayâ€™s radar, but in the new novel â€œMangrove Lightningâ€? by Randy Wayne White, itâ€™s been coming for generations. Gracie Barlow had never seen a bigger woman. Strong as two men, she was, with a head

like a pumpkin, a horrid odor, and a powerful slap, the woman was terrifying. And yet â€“ Gracie knew that â€œMr. Birdâ€? was worse: on his orders, the seventeen-year-old had been chained, naked and choking, to a wall inside a bricked-up cubicle. For sure, Gracieâ€™s boyfriend was dead. Just after a fight with her mother and Gracie stomped out of the house, there was Slaten. It was destiny, and she was in love; he told her wonderful things and gave her amazing drugs. He was older, an artist, and it was his idea to go to Chino Hole in search of bamboo that he said was the best

in Florida for tattooing. And then he was caught by that woman, and so was Gracie. Gracie knew Slaten was dead. She knew she was next. Known around Florida for his fishing knowledge, retired guide Tootsie Barlow was afraid. His family, he believed, had been cursed since 1925, due to their involvement in the Marco Island War, which pitted neighbor against neighbor and ended in the disappearance of a deputy and his family, possibly to the bottom of Chino Hole. Having recently lost two of his kin to suspicious accidents, Tootsie asked biologist-cum-detective

Doc Ford to find the truth: was it a curse or just plain bad luck? Because Ford was embroiled in the resolution of a British blackmail scheme, his friend, Tomlinson, stepped in to see what could be learned. Surely, there was something going on near Chino Hole: Tomlinson felt the area roil with evil â€“ which he couldâ€™ve attributed to weed, until he saw a massive womanâ€Ś Gone are the days when Doc Ford was just a marine biologist who happened to solve mysteries in his beloved Florida . Gone is the perpetuallyunder-the-influence sidekick who thrives oďŹ€ the

grid. No, the new Ford is more James Bond-ish, with access to Ăźber-hightech equipment, alibis, and rich women, while the new Tomlinson is a man of responsibility â€“ neither of which make â€œMangrove Lightningâ€? any lesser but that do make it very diďŹ€erent. Indeed, author Randy Wayne White seems also to be edging this novel into the paranormal, in a story based loosely on historical events that make a great tale even without the presence of eerie voices and maniacal killers. The addition of those two facets serves to stir up this novel, though, sometimes to the point of

silly and other times to heart-pounding. Even so, I donâ€™t believe Iâ€™d take this book to bed. Itâ€™s exciting and creepy enough to cause bad dreams because this ainâ€™t your motherâ€™s cozy mystery. Remember that, as youâ€™re reading â€œMangrove Lightning,â€? or things could get a little stormy.

Repeal effort fails, now Obamacare needs fixing BY TRUDY LIEBERMAN Rural Health News Service

The failure of the Republican-led eďŹ€ort to repeal and replace Obamacare represents a big victory for all kinds of citizens and interest groups that analyzed the proposed legislation and said no dice. The day before House Speaker Paul Ryan decided not to take a vote on the American Health Care Act, a Quinnipiac Poll found that only 17 percent of American voters approved of the GOPâ€™s legislation while 56 percent did not. You can hardly call that a vote of support for what the bill was trying to do. Too many people would be hurt, and the public along with editorial writers in newspapers across the country, got that message: The GOP plan would cause real pain. Members of Congress heard it loud and clear, and many responded to what they heard. Older Americans would have had to pay more, sometimes thousands of dollars more to get health insurance. In 32 states,

millions of Americans with incomes slightly above the poverty line who had gained coverage under their stateâ€™s Medicaid expansion program would have lost their coverage. Others already on Medicaid or joining in the future would also have been aďŹ€ected. The proposal called for cutting back the federal governmentâ€™s commitment to fund healthcare for the poor by changing the way it would pay for its share of program. That would have left the states, which jointly fund Medicaid, strapped for funds to cover everyone needing medical treatment as well as middle class families who required help paying for long-term care. Medicaid pays for about half of all nursing home stays. The AďŹ€ordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, had mandated that every insurance policy sold in the individual market where people without employer or government coverage must shop had to include 10 essential benefits. Under the Republicansâ€™ plan,

that mandate â€“ that all plans include things like prescription drug coverage, emergency room services, maternity care and mental health treatment â€“ would have disappeared. Dropping any of the essential benefits would have helped some insurance companies whose individual policies provided only bare bones coverage until 2010 when the ACA required essential benefits to be included. Insurers would have been able to sell skimpy and cheaper coverage to those willing to gamble. Now, even though the â€œrepeal and replace,â€? effort failed, we are left with a health law that needs repairs of its own. â€œMany of the criticisms of the ACA are, in fact, valid,â€? says RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of the National Nurses United, the largest union and professional organization of registered nurses. â€œFor all the improvements under the ACA - primarily the expansion of Medicaid and crackdown on some insurance

abuses - the ACA still left 28 million without health coverage - and millions more struggling with unpayable bills and escalating out-of-pocket costs.â€? DeMoroâ€™s assessment hits home to many readers of this column who have complained about higher and higher premiums, sky-high deductibles and coinsurance, and lack of choice. Many have limited choice of doctors, hospitals and other providers in insurersâ€™ restrictive networks. Even worse, in some parts of the country thereâ€™s only one insurer to buy from. Those problems stem from the underlying premise of Obamacare itself. The ACA was built on top of the existing private insurance system, which means that it will work only if insurers find it to be good business. As the years went on and sick people with pre-existing conditions flocked to buy coverage, which the law guaranteed they could do, insurers found that Obamacare was not good business. They left the market or made con-

show. He said there will be many other attractions to the event such as the band, Lost Cause. The band is expected to play on Saturday. Lost Cause has performed for over 20 years

sumers pay more out of pocket or through higher premiums. The ACA did not provide for any serious cost containment, and the GOP plan didnâ€™t call for any either. Medical inflation continues as doctors, hospitals and drug companies raise their prices, and new expensive medical technology comes on the market before there is good evidence that it works. One consulting actuary put it this way, â€œMedical inflation will continue until doctors decide they have enough money and donâ€™t raise their fees.â€? Itâ€™s not clear that the countryâ€™s divisive politics will allow for any fix of the ACAâ€™s problems, let alone put any teeth into cost control measures. There could be renewed interest in a public option that could allow people to choose governmentsponsored insurance rather than a policy from a commercial carrier. Or maybe there would be a

move to let people in their 50s or early 60s buy into Medicare, which could spark the beginning of a movement toward Medicare for All. Iâ€™m not betting on any of this right now, but as the failure of the GOPâ€™s â€œrepeal and replaceâ€? shows, the public is demanding a seat at the table. How would you fix the AďŹ€ordable Care Act? Write to Trudy at trudy. Lieberman@gmail.com.

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The Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, had mandated that every insurance policy sold in the individual market where people without employer or government coverage must shop had to include 10 essential benefits.

â€” preserving history through music with their unique interpretations of antebellum and War Between the States songs, all performed in Confederate costume. â€œWeâ€™re also supposed to have an antique horsedrawn hearse,â€? said Ellis.

The event sponsor said they will be having daily door prizes for the show, as well. Overall, Ellis emphasized the quality of the show. â€œWe have got some really good dealers. They have to have good quality stuďŹ€ or we wonâ€™t let them come. This is not

a flea market, it is a relic show. We have worked hard to build a reputation and weâ€™ve turned people away who didnâ€™t meet the standards,â€? said Ellis. Admission for the show is $5 per person general admission, but admission is free for children 12 and under.

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PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE FOR INITIAL HEARING The Town of Rienzi is considering applying to the Mississippi Development Authority for a Small Cities Community Development Block Grant of up to $450,000 for a Public Facility/Gas Improvements project. The State of Mississippi has been allocated approximately $23.3 million that will be made available to cities, towns, and counties on a competitive basis to undertake eligible community development activities. These funds must be used to benefit low-and moderate-income persons. The activities for which these funds may be used are in the areas of public facilities and economic development. More specific details regarding eligible activities, program requirements, and the rating system will be provided at a public hearing which will be held at the Town Hall at 84 S. Front Street, Rienzi, Mississippi on April 21, 2017 at 10:00 A.M. The purpose of this hearing will be to obtain citizen input into the development of the application.

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The location for this hearing is accessible to persons with disabilities. If a translator is needed for non-English speaking persons, please contact Mayor Walter Williams at (662) 462-8457 at least (3) days prior to the meeting in an effort to accommodate this request. The Town of Rienzi does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admissions or access to or treatment of employment in its programs or activities. All comments are welcome and must be submitted in writing. For those unable to attend this meeting, written comments will be considered until the close of business on 4/28/17. Written comments should be mailed to the Town of Rienzi, Mayor Walter Williams, and P.O. Box 53, Rienzi, MS 38865-0053.

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6 • Thursday, April 6, 2017 • Daily Corinthian

Deaths Jane Childs

A graveside service for Sarah Jane Childs, 61, is scheduled for 4 p.m. Friday at Henry Cemetery. Ms. Childs died Tuesday, April 4, 2017, at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. She was born Dec. 10, 1955, to the late Jasper and Margie Latch Childs. She was of the Baptist faith, she worked for UPS before moving back to Corinth to help take care of her parents. Survivors are her uncle Ray Latch and caregivers, Nila and Denny Gilliland. She was preceded in death by her parents. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital. Memorial Funeral Home has the arrangements. Bro. Jimmy Lancaster will oﬃciate the service.

Peter ‘Blue’ Whelan Hayes, Sr.

IUKA — Funeral services for Peter “Blue” Whelan Hayes, Sr., 85, formerly of Carthage, are scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at St. James the Less Catholic Church in Corinth with burial at St. Anne Catholic Cemetery in Carthage. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Cutshall Funeral Home in Iuka — A rosary is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Visitation will continue from 10 a.m. until Mass on Friday at St. James the Less Catholic Church in Corinth. Mr. Hayes died Wednesday, April 4, 2017, at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo. He was the third child born to Marguerite Catherine Whelan Hayes and Thomas Staford Hayes, Sr. in Sulphur Springs. He graduated from Camden High School in 1950 and then served four years in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He married Clara Rose Bennett at St. Anne Catholic Church in Leake County on Nov. 22, 1956. He attended Southeastern Louisiana College while working for Illinois Centeral Railroad. In 1960, he moved to Carthage and sold insurance. He later sold automobiles in Jackson until his retirement in 1999. After which, he married Bess Young and moved to Iuka where he was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church. Survivors are his daughter, Anna Maria Hayes Sherman (Michael) of Starkville; his sibling, Charles Harrison Hayes (Bobbie); his grandchildren, Bennet Thomas Hayes, Marguerite Hayes Sherman Duke (John), Weslea Loring Hayes, and Thomas George Sherman; and two great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas Stanford Hayes, Sr. and Marguerite Catherine Whelan Hayes; his first wife, Clara Rose Bennett Hayes; his son, Peter Whelan Hayes, Jr.; his granddaughter, Anna Claire Sherman; his second wife, Bessie “Bess” Mae Whitner Young Hayes; his siblings, Thomas Stanford Hayes, Jr. (Alice Lee), Sister Thomasita (Lena Mae) Hayes, Allie Hamel Hayes, Marguerite Catherine Hayes Jarrell (Dean), and Benjamin Muse Hayes (Rita). Memorial donations may be made to St. Mary Catholic Church in Iuka at 205 Eastport Street, Iuka, MS 38852 or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. Father Mario Solorzano will oﬃciate the services.

Audit finds explicit material on school-issued computers Associated Press

JACKSON — A review by the Mississippi auditor’s oﬃce found pornography and other explicit material on computers that some public schools issued to middle school and high school students. Auditor Stacey Pickering recommended that the state Department of Education require all school districts to monitor school-issued laptops or

tablets when the electronic devices are oﬀ campus. The auditor’s oﬃce reviewed 150 devices issued to students in nine of the 144 school districts. The report did not name the districts, schools or students that were part of the review. All nine districts take steps to filter what students might see on the devices, but not all are following their own policies, the report said.

WORK Since the days of Adam and Eve, mankind has had to work. God told Adam that because of his sin he would have to earn his living and eat his bread by the sweat of his face. (Genesis 3:17 - 19) Work is a biblical concept. Work is good for folks physically because it helps us stay fit. Work is good for us mentally because it helps keep our minds active. Work is good for us emotionally because it keeps us from dwelling on bad things and worrying more than we ought. Work is good for us spiritually because we are obeying a divine law when we work. Here are some things the Bible has to say about work. 1. We are to work to provide for ourselves and our families. Paul wrote to Timothy, “But if any provide not for his own, and especially those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.(unbeliever) (I Timothy 5:8). Certainly as husbands and fathers we have the responsibility to work and provide for our loved ones. 2. We are to work to provide for those who cannot provide for themselves. James identified “pure” and “undefiled” religion as visiting or caring for the “fatherless and widows in their affliction.” (James 1:27) Paul also wrote regarding the new life we have in Christ, “Let him that stole steal no more; but rather let him labor with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that has need.”(Ephesians 4:28) In both the Old Testament and the New, God made provision for those who are not able to care for themselves. 3. Work helps keep us from being “busybodies”. In 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul wrote of “those who walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.” (3: 12 ) He goes on to exhort, “that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.” (3:13) Work occupies body and soul and keeps me out of things that are none of my business! When folks work all day as they ought, they are less likely to stay out all night causing trouble. 4. If we are not willing to work, we should not eat. (II Thessalonians 3:10) The exceptions to that are clear in scripture, as already noted. Would not a good many of our social ills be remedied if we still believed and practiced that principle. In this country, we need to get back to work. We invite you to study and worship with us at the Danville church of Christ.

DanvilleTimChurch of Christ Carothers – Minister 481 cr 409 Corinth MS • c/o 471 cr 513, Rienzi MS • 662-287-0312

Across The State Associated Press

Jackson Mississippi gets $13 million in grants to fix roads JACKSON — Mississippi will get $13 million in federal money to repair roads damaged by storms and flooding in 2016. Members of Mississippi’s congressional delegation announced the grants Wednesday. The Federal Highway Administration will give $7.9 million to the Mississippi Department of Transportation to repair roads, embankments, bridges and drainage structures in 21 counties damaged by March 2016 storms. A second $5.1 million grant will be used for repairs required after flooding in August 2016 in Amite, Pike and Wilkinson counties. The emergency grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation can be used to repair or rebuild highways funded with federal aid that are damaged in disasters.

McComb Road worker dies from electrocution MCCOMB — A road construction worker has died after being electrocuted in southwest Mississippi. Pike County Coroner Percy Pittman tells the Enterprise-Journal

that Tony James Jr. died Tuesday while working from a bucket truck. James may have come into contact with live power lines. County Road Manager Mike Duncan says James was working for Magco, a contractor based in Laurel that was hired by the county to replace a culvert. Heavy rains washed out the old culvert in March 2016, closing parts of the road. Magco did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Pittman says James was taken by helicopter to Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Biloxi Developers appeal rejections of casinos BILOXI — Developers are appealing denials of two casino sites on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Jacobs Entertainment wants to build a casino in Diamondhead, while RW Development seeks to build one in Biloxi. The Mississippi Gaming Commission on March 16 rejected both sites. Such approval is a key step in getting a casino licensed in Mississippi. In its appeal, Jacobs says Gaming Commission Executive Director Allen Godfrey and the three commissioners didn’t explain their

denials and didn’t allow the applicant to make its case in person to the commission. The Sun Herald reports both appeals say no evidence was presented to show the sites are too far from the water to allow a casino. Both allege the Gaming Commission illegally went behind closed doors to discuss the applications.

Brandon 73-year-old man arrested in moonshine bust BRANDON — A 73-year-old man faces charges after a moonshine operation was busted in central Mississippi. Alcoholic Beverage Control agents searched Henry Sample’s home in the Jackson suburb of Rankin County on March 30 and found an illegal distillery located in a shed behind it. WLBT-TV reports Sample faces a felony charge for manufacturing or distilling alcohol and the unlawful possession of a still. Agents seized about 43 gallons of moonshine, five barrels illicit distillery consisting of 250 gallons corn mash; a 110 gallon cooker, two copper condensers, raw materials consisting of corn and sugar and a stolen handgun. Sample was being held at the Rankin County jail on $3,000 bond.

Inmates refuse meals in prison protest BY JEFF AMY Associated Press

JACKSON — Some inmates at a southeast Mississippi prison have been refusing meals since Monday in what the wife of one prisoner says is a hunger strike over conditions there. Mississippi Department of Corrections spokeswoman Grace Simmons Fisher said Wednesday that 11 inmates at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Leakesville were refusing meals. Wendy Houston wrote in an email that her husband, Derrick Houston, and other inmates in a maximum security unit in the prison’s Area II are protesting. She says more than 11 inmates are involved. Derrick Houston is one of more than 3,000 inmates held at the prison. Houston is 14 years into a 21-year sentence on Lau-

derdale County convictions of armed robbery, aggravated assault and escaping jail. Fisher said inmates began refusing food Monday after being encouraged by an inmate caught with contraband. Fisher said the prison system doesn’t describe such a protest as a hunger strike until inmates have refused meals for 21 days. She said meals are still being delivered and inmates are not being force-fed. The Clarion-Ledger initially reported the story. The prison has been locked down for weeks, with inmate movements restricted, in part because the prison system is conducting a statewide crackdown on contraband. “We cannot assume that an incident is isolated, especially in dealing with gang aﬃliations,” Fisher wrote in an email. “Preventing any harm to

staﬀ or inmates greatly outweighs the temporary loss of privileges for individual inmates. It is a matter of safety first for everyone involved.” Wendy Houston wrote that prisoners have been denied their customary hour a day of exercise time during the lockdown, but Fisher said that is untrue. Houston also listed a number of other complaints, including excessive heat, broken toilets, dark cells, a lack of educational and recreational programs, arbitrary discipline and uneven medical care. “Their only motive is to seek justice to better their living conditions in confinement,” Houston wrote. It’s hard to verify claims about what’s going on inside Mississippi state prisons because the Department of Corrections, as a matter of policy, refuses to allow reporters

to visit. Some inmates at the privately-run East Mississippi Correctional Facility near Meridian are currently pursuing a lawsuit making similar allegations about poor conditions, and other inmates at the now-closed Walnut Grove Correctional Facility sued successfully, with a federal judge finding juveniles were abused. State Rep. Roun McNeal, a Leakesville Republican, described conditions at South Mississippi Correctional Institution as “really difficult.” “Staffing is difficult,” McNeal wrote in an email. “Contraband — particularly cell phones — makes life more dangerous for staff and residents. Area II is a very large general population facility. Maybe as large as any general population area in the country. I don’t envy anyone working there, nor anyone living there.”

Trump removes Bannon from National Security Council BY VIVIAN SALAMA Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has removed chief strategist Steve Bannon from the National Security Council, reversing an earlier, controversial decision to

give Bannon access to the group’s high-level meetings. A new memorandum about the council’s composition was published Wednesday in the Federal Register. The memo no longer lists the chief strat-

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