Saturday April 12,
2014
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 118, No. 88
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • 1 section
Arsonist sentenced 18 years later BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Johnny Keith Wilbanks was in no hurry to atone for setting fire to a Corinth home. Eighteen years later, he is headed to jail for a crime committed on Wick Street in Corinth in April 1996. “It’s a case where they had absconded and when they were
back in town, the Alcorn County Sheriff’s Department was able to nab them,” said Paul Howell, investigator with the district attorney’s office. Wilbanks was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of arson of a dwelling in January 2003 along with a co-defendant, Harold E. Childers. On March 19, Wilbanks
pleaded guilty before Circuit Judge Paul Funderburk, who imposed a 20-year sentence with five years suspended, leaving 15 years to serve in custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, followed by five years of probation. Funderburk ordered Wilbanks to pay restitution of $30,000 to Gulf Guaranty Insurance
Company jointly with the codefendant. According to the newspaper’s account of the fire at the time, police said burglars tried unsuccessfully to cover their tracks by setting fire to the crime scene — a firstfloor apartment at 1008 Wick Street. Witnesses saw two men leave the scene carrying
power tools. Officers found a torch propped against an interior wall with a visible ignition burn. During his recent appearance in court, Wilbanks also pleaded guilty to attempting to obtain a prescription by fraud for Oxycontin. Funderburk imposed a concurrent five-year sentence on that charge.
Dispatchers: The backbone of safety Final drug defendant sentenced
BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
The job of a 911 Emergency Dispatcher involves more than just answering the phone. Dispatchers – often referred as “the backbone of public safety” – have to possess a long list of skills to make it in their line of work. “Emergency dispatchers do life-saving work which is wonderfully rewarding, but carries enormous responsibility of making split-second decisions during a critical time,” said Alcorn County E911 Director Kim McCreless. “They are the lifeline between the public and emergency responders in the field.” Dispatchers spend usually a 12-hour shift answering multiple emergent and nonemergent lines, sending fire and medical responders and dispatching law enforcement officers. “You have to be very caring and make sacrifices,” added McCreless, a 19-year veteran. “It’s something that gets in your blood.” The local 911 director said only two to three percent of people who apply to a be dispatcher have the ability to do the job. Some can’t handle the stress. “Studies show many 911 and public safety communications personnel leave the job after only a few years,” said McCreless. “They find out it’s a job that is very stressful and
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The 10th and final defendant to be sentenced as part of an alleged north Mississippi drug trafficking operation will serve time behind bars. For Kenneth Scales of Corinth, U.S. District Court Judge Sharion Aycock handed down a sentence of three years and six months in custody Please see SCALES | 2
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Alcorn County 911 dispatcher Annalese Burns covers what goes on during a routine day at the 911 center with Anthony Hutcheson. demanding … most can’t reasonably stay in the job due to strain it puts on their health.” Sherry Bates left her dispatching job only to return. “My other job wasn’t as exciting,” said the 18-year veteran. “I really missed being here and what I did.” “Some of our dispatchers have taken a break only to return,” added McCreless. Annalese Burns has been employed at the 911 office for six years. She and fellow
dispatcher Selina Hastings recently went above the call of the job. After taking a call about a child swallowing some paint thinner, the two dispatchers headed to Regional Medical Center (The Med) in Memphis, Tenn., to check on the family. “They got the child to Magnolia Regional Health Center and didn’t know if she was going to make it,” said Burns. “As soon as Selina and I got off, we picked up some snacks and
Pocket park land given
items for the child’s mom and visited her at the hospital.” The child made a full recovery. “It doesn’t end here,” added McCreless. “Our dispatchers truly care about people.” Calls do not always end on a happy note. “There are some tough ones,” said the director. “At times our dispatchers have fielded calls of people who commit suicide
The Board of Aldermen on Friday accepted the donation of land for a pocket park at the corner of Wick Street and Franklin Street. The board agreed to accept the property donation from Stuart Green and Trey Albright, developers of the “SoCo” area on Wick Street. Main Street Corinth is also involved and
Please see DISPATCHERS | 2
Please see PARK | 3
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Kossuth Winter Guard claims state indoor title BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
KOSSUTH — The Kossuth High School Winter Guard is one-for-one at the Mississippi Indoor Championship. KHS claimed the novice class championship at the Mississippi Indoor Association event on March 31 at Holmes Community College in Goodman. “I wasn’t sure I had made the right decision to join the indoor circuit,” said guard director Dianne Cole, who helped write the early parts of the show. “But I knew I had a great group of girls who worked hard and were dedicated.” The Mississippi Indoor Association is a competitive event for winter guards and indoor percussion units. There were 60 units, including guard and
percussion, at the competition. “The guard started working on the show in January,” said Cole. Without a writer or choreographer when practice began, the squad relied on Cole and its own ideas for its “Hallelujah” show. Kossuth attended a mandatory field day at Horn Lake High School on Jan. 18. “The purpose of the field day was to determine division placement,” said Cole According to Cole, guards are judged in the areas of equipment, movement, design analysis and general effect. Squads are scored by a team of five judges plus a time and penalty person. Please see GUARD | 2
The Kossuth High School Winter Guard won gold in the novice division of the Mississippi Indoor Championship. Members of the guard are captain Maecy Rinehart (in front), Hanna Sanders (first row from left), Brianna Grimes, Emili Gann, Kelsea Michael, Olivia Irvin, Jennie Rencher (back row from left), Taylor Jackson, Katie O’Bannon, Montana Elam and director Dianne Cole.
Index Stocks........8 Classified......14 Comics........ 7 State........ 5
On this day in history 150 years ago
Weather........9 Obituaries........ 6 Opinion........4 Sports...... 12
Confederates under Nathan Bedford Forrest capture Fort Pillow. The excessive number of casualties among black soldiers prompts an investigation into accusations of a massacre. “Remember Fort Pillow” becomes a rallying cry for black troops.
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