Friday April 19,
2013
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Daily Corinthian Vol. 117, No. 94
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 20 pages • Two sections
National attention turns to Mini-City Suspect had many run-ins with law
BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Neighbors of the Corinth resident charged with mailing letters with ricin to national and regional leaders describe a quiet man who kept to himself. According to his neighbors, 45-year-old Paul Kevin Curtis moved into his home on Redwood Drive in the housing development known as Mini City in December. The area is just north of the Crossroads Arena near the Alcorn County Vocational-Technical Center. Lacy Ross, 29, who lives across the street from Curtis, said she is the only person in the neighborhood Curtis has talked to since moving in. “He introduced himself to me one time,” said Ross. “He seemed like a real good neighbor. He had good mannerisms and was quiet and respectful.” She said Ross never seemed to have guests until a few days ago when he and a teenage boy sat around a fire pit in Curtis’ yard during the evening. In hindsight, one thing seemed a bit suspicious, she said. “My boyfriend saw him installing a camera looking out his window on Sunday,” Ross said. Ross said the news about her neighbor’s alleged involvement in the ricin plot came as a complete shock. The street where Curtis lived was bustling with activity on Thursday as Corinth Police maintained their watch around the cordoned off house and media from across the country descended on Corinth. The media presence on Redwood Drive included print reporters from the New York
BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
BOONEVILLE — A Corinth man charged with sending poison-laced letters to the president and Sen. Roger Wicker had a history of run-ins with Prentiss County law enforcement. Sheriff Randy Tolar said Paul Kevin Curtis was jailed in the county at least four times in the past and was known for making paranoid and erratic state-
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Corinth police assist at the scene where a man accused of sending letters laced with poison to national and regional leaders lived in a housing development north of Crossroads Arena. Post and New York Daily News, Bloomberg Businessweek and TV news crews from Memphis, Nashville and throughout the region. Curtis was surprised by his arrest and maintains he is innocent, his attorney said Thursday after his first appearance. Curtis wore shackles and a Johnny Cash T-shirt in the federal courtroom. His handcuffs were taken off for the brief hearing, and he said little. He faces two charges on accusations of threatening President Barack Obama and others. He nodded his head and said, “Yes, ma’am” when the judge asked whether he understood the charges and possible penalties. He did not enter a plea on the
two charges. The judge said a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing are scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday. Attorney Christi R. McCoy said Curtis “maintains 100 percent that he did not do this.” “I know Kevin, I know his family,” she said. “This is a huge shock.” McCoy said she has not yet decided whether to seek a hearing to determine if Curtis is mentally competent to stand trial. Curtis, who was arrested Wednesday at his home in Corinth, was being held in the Lafayette County jail in Oxford. An FBI affidavit says Curtis sent three letters with ricin to President Barack Obama, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and a Mississippi judge. The letters read:
“No one wanted to listen to me before. There are still ‘Missing Pieces.’ Maybe I have your attention now even if that means someone must die. This must stop. To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance. I am KC and I approve this message.” The affidavit says Curtis had sent letters to Wicker’s office several times before with the message “this is Kevin Curtis and I approve this message.” In several letters to Wicker and other officials, Curtis said he was writing a novel about black market body parts called “Missing Pieces.” Curtis also had posted language similar to the letters on
Please see PRENTISS | 2A
Wicker once hired suspect Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Sen. Roger Wicker says he once hired the man accused of mailing suspicious letters as an Elvis impersonator. The Mississippi Republican said he hired Paul Kevin Curtis,
Please see RICIN | 2A
Please see WICKER | 2A
Corinth gets $4 million grant for flood control For the Daily Corinthian
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (RMiss.) reported the City of Corinth will be awarded more than $4 million to support a flood control project to protect local businesses. The Economic Development Administration (EDA) on Thursday informed Cochran that the EDA would make disaster relief funding available to Corinth to support the construction of storm water control systems to minimize flood threats to businesses and resi-
Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
A.J. Wilbanks (center), co-owner of Wee-Con-Du-It Electrical, shows some of the inside work going on in the Verandah-Curlee House to Siege and Battle of Corinth Commission Chairwoman Rosemary Williams (right) and Secretary Larry Mangus (left).
Work on historic Curlee House begins BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
The long wait is over and restorations have begun at the historic Verandah-Curlee House in downtown Corinth. Work started on Monday and will require an estimated 150 days to complete. The end date is expected to be Sept. 13, 2013, depending on the number of rain days this summer. “It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here,” said Tom Howorth, president of the
Oxford-based Howorth & Associates Architects, the company that has provided restoration plans for the work. “We’re glad to be getting this phase of the work underway.” Howorth and his associate, Paul Waddell, will help with project supervision. An archaeologist will be provided through the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. The current phase of work will restore the foundation, the plaster walls, the porch and
porch roof, and will improve drainage around the immediate foundation of the home. All of the restored work will be painted the original colors. “This will make the exterior look magnificent. By fall it’s going to look really great,” said Larry Mangus, secretary of the Siege and Battle of Corinth Commission and chairman of the “Friends” of the commission.
Index Stocks......8A Classified......4B Comics......9A State......5A
Weather....10A Obituaries......6A Opinion......4A Sports....11A
Please see CURLEE | 6A
dents. “The Economic Development Administration has determined that it is worthwhile to invest in increasing flood protection for Corinth, particularly its business core. I am pleased with this decision to help Corinth overcome repeated destruction from severe storm runoff and flooding,” said Cochran, who called Corinth Mayor Tommy Irwin to discuss the funding. The EDA will provide $4,090,624 through its FY2012 Please see GRANT | 3A
Group supports more Alzheimer’s research BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
A world without Alzheimer’s disease. The Mississippi Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association hopes to see that one day. More than five million Americans are living with the disease today. An estimated 53,000 Mississippians suffer from the disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. “Caring for someone with the disease is never easy, but the role is made much more difficult and emotional when the caregiver is a family member,”
said Keri Roaten, a facilitator/ ambassador with Alzheimer’s Association, MS. Roaten became her grandmother’s primary caregiver at the age of 15. “What should have been some of he best years of my life were spent maintaining my grandmother’s health, while helplessly watching her forget who I was,” she said. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, one in three senior adults die with the disease or another dementia. Deaths rePlease see RESEARCH | 3A
On this day in history 150 years ago Col. Streight and his force of 1,700 arrive in Eastport by boat. The majority of the force is mounted on mules which turns out to be a terrible mistake. The mules turn out to be ornery and hardheaded and their braying frequently reveals the column’s position.
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