Tuesday April 8,
2014
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 118, No. 83
P.M. T-storms Today
Tonight
61
41
80% chance of rain
• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • 1 section
Supervisors accept property bid BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Alcorn County Board of Supervisors accepted a bid Monday morning to dispose of the Forrest School Road property that was once planned to be a rubbish site. In a 3-2 vote, the board accepted John Prather’s bid of $1,100 per acre for the approximately 125-acre site. One other bidder, Lester Strickland, offered to buy the land for $101,000. The vote split along the same lines as the recent vote to take bids and sell the property.
Board President Lowell Hinton made the motion to accept the bid; Tim Mitchell seconded; and Dal Nelms joined them in voting “yes.” Gary Ross and Jimmy Tate Waldon cast the “no” votes. The proceeds from the land sale will go into the solid waste fund. Members of the CorinthAlcorn Parks and Recreation Commission gathered separately at the supervisors’ office Monday morning for a bid opening on the clearing and grubbing of 17 acres of land to be used for expansion of Cross-
roads Regional Park. Of the 10 bids, Volunteer Bridge Construction of Crump, Tenn., had the apparent low bid at $38,400. The next-lowest bid was $58,000, and bids were as high as $206,400. This led to some discussion with the contractor of whether the bid was too low. The engineering estimate was $45,000. The decision to award the contract rests with the park commission and does not require action by the city or county. In other business before the supervisors, Veterans Service
Officer Pat Ray presented a framed resolution from the Mississippi Legislature to Herschell Wilbanks in honor of his service to the country, his community and Alcorn County. Wilbanks, 90, is a resident of the Hatchie area. “I think he exemplifies what a true citizen is,” said Supervisor Jimmy Tate Waldon. “I appreciate what he has done for our community.” He was a rifleman and a foot soldier during World War II, serving from Jan. 6, 1944, to Nov. 17, 1945. He was wounded in service, earning two Purple
Hearts, the French Legion of Honor and numerous other commendations. He was assigned to the 35th Infantry Division attached to Patton’s 3rd Army Corps. Wilbanks later worked in agricultural stabilization and conservation and served 12 years on the county school board. The resolution was authored by Sen. Rita Potts Parks. The county engineer reported that property acquisition continues to move forward on the County Road 346 bridge project and the Five Points intersection project.
Newsboys will stop at Crossroads Arena
Biggersville blaze
BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photos by Zack Steen
The Newsboys believe. Their creed is telling people about Jesus. The Christian pop band is slated to share their belief during a second visit to the Crossroads Arena Friday. Corinth is among the stops of 12 to 15 shows planned for the group’s “We Believe” tour which continues into the summer. “We have been busy, busy, busy,” said drummer Duncan Phillips. “The band loves what it does … what’s not to love about playing music in front of a bunch of people every night?” A four-time Grammy nominated band, Newsboys have
been one of the most popular Christian bands for two decades. They have churned out 16 albums and 30 number one radio hits. Restart – the band’s latest album, was released in September of 2013. The single, “We Believe” recently picked up 64 adds at Christian radio. “It has been our strongest single release in the band’s history,” added Phillips. Many of the songs from the Restart production will be performed during the concert. “There will be a great blend and mix,” said Phillips of the show list. “Fans won’t be disapPlease see NEWSBOYS | 3
Bobby and Ruthie Davis watch their Biggersville home burn to the ground Sunday morning. See related photo on page 2.
Early Sunday morning fire destroys home BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
BIGGERSVILLE — A early morning blaze destroyed a Alcorn County home around 5:30 a.m. Sunday. The 50 year old home at 561A U.S. Highway 45, directly behind Kenny’s BBQ and God’s Church and next door to Biggersville High School, belonged to Bobby and Ruthie Davis. The elderly couple were not home at the time of the fire. A Davis family member was the first to notice the fire and
called 911. He then called the Davises, who were on their way home from an overnight flea market trip. Biggersville Fire & Recuse volunteer firefighter Ashley Rider was one of the first rescuers on the scene. “The house was just about gone when we got here,” Rider said. “The flames were about a foot away from a propane tank, so we worked hard to ensure fire didn’t reach the tank.” Rider said the fire was hot. “The house sets about 50
feet off the back of the God’s Church,” she said. “The flames were so hot, metal siding on the back of the church actually melted.” The Davises said they have no idea what could have started the fire inside the home they have lived in for the past 15 years. Kossuth Volunteer Fire Department and Southwest Volunteer Fire Department also responded to the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation by Biggersville
Symphony orchestra performing Saturday BY KIMBERLY SHELTON kshelton@dailycorinthian.com
Music meets mystery, magic and intrigue as The Corinth Symphony Orchestra proudly presents their latest concert. “Come experience sheer musical wonder as ‘Wands and Wizards’ comes to your shire,” said Conductor Maurice Weatherall. The event will be held at the
Coliseum Civic Center on April 12 at 7:30 p.m. Music from the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Symphonic Suite, Suite from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey; the Complete Harry Potter: a suite of selections from all the Harry Potter movies, “Finlandia” by Sibelius, “From Please see ORCHESTRA | 2
Henry Stephens crowned chili champ at 7th annual Crossroads Cook-Off BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
The Mississippi International Chili Society (ICS) champion was crowned in Corinth on Saturday. Horn Lake native Henry Stephens picked up the top prize at the 7th Annual Crossroads Chili Cook-Off held at the Crossroads Museum and Historic Corinth Depot. Stephens won $500 cash and will advance to the world championship chili Cook-Off held later this year in California. Stephens also placed second in the chili verde category. Locals fared well in the competition. “It’s great to see someone local like Dr. Senf, who has been competing in our cook-off since the first year win,” said Cook-Off chairperson Steve Knight. “The local People’s Choice participation was also amazing this year. The Cook-Off is growing each year and we are starting to see more and more locals wanting to compete.”
The Corinth-Alcorn Animal Shelter had a successful three hour run with the People’s Choice competition. For a $5 donation to the shelter, the general public could sample and vote for their favorite chili. People’s Choice winners were 1st place, Bob Kyle; 2nd place, Trustmark Bank; 3rd place, Fillmore Street Café; 4th place, Mark Boehler/Daily Corinthian. Other local teams who competed included Cash Express, Tess Rouse cooking for The Hole Dozen and Chris Gardner cooking for Diamonds in the Ruff Pitbull Rescue. Salsa winners were 1st place, Kyle; 2nd place, Helen Lewis; 3rd place, James Lewis. Chili verde winners were 1st place, Stephens; 2nd place, William Senf; 3rd place, Bob Hall. ICS Chili winners were 5th place, Georgia Weller; 4th place, JG Carrer; 3rd place, James Lewis; 2nd place, Helen Lewis; 1st place, Stephens. For the fourth year in a row, the cook-off was held in conjunc-
tion with the Green Market at the Crossroads Museum, which opened its sixth season of locally produced goods for sale on the Depot grounds. The two events, along with the Corinth Home & Garden Tour held in the residential area of downtown and the Corinth Home & Garden Show held at the Crossroads Arena, gave people plenty of things to do in Corinth. “Downtown was super crowded,” said Corinth Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Executive Director Christy Burns. “I talked with one lady from Kansas City and she was very pleased with the offering of things to do. The first weekend in April is by far one of the best of the year for Corinth.” The Cook-Off was sponsored by Crossroads Chevrolet Buck GMC, The Dinner Bell, Coca-Cola of Corinth, Gardner’s Supermarket, Roger’s Supermarket, ACE Power Company, WXRZ Supertalk 94.3 FM, the Daily Corinthian and the Corinth Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
Index Stocks........8 Classified......14 Comics........ 9 State........ 5
Weather...... 10 Obituaries........ 6 Opinion........4 Sports...... 12
Staff photo by Zack Steen
Corinth native Dr. William Senf took second place in the chili verde category at Saturday’s Crossroads Chili Cook-Off.
On this day in history 150 years ago Red River Campaign. Outnumbered more than 2 to 1, the Confederates led by Richard Taylor are victorious at the Battle of Mansfield, Louisiana over Banks’ army. The Union defeat marks the end of Banks’ offensive and he begins a retreat.