041914 daily corinthian e edition

Page 1

Saturday April 19,

2014

50 cents

Daily Corinthian Vol. 118, No. 92

Today

Tonight

76

49

0% chance of rain

• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • 1 section

Event shares Camp’s story BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

Numerous people gathered Friday morning to trace the steps to freedom birthed by Corinth’s contraband camp. Park Ranger Tom Parson talked visitors through the camp’s history, an emerging story in recent years for many Corinthians who had never before heard of a contraband camp and its role in the Civil War. Among those walking through the historic site was Larry Lugar, the sculptor who created the various bronze statues interpreting life in what was a model camp for the freed men, women and children. “I love coming here by myself,” he said. “It’s a place of peace for me.” His Lugar Foundry is based in Eads, Tenn., and he sometimes makes the 90-minute drive to Corinth to sit in the park and have a quiet moment. He finds the camp’s story inspiring with “the fundamental change that occurred here” and “the idea that education can be perpetual,” he said. “It gives me goosebumps.” He worked on the project for

Warmer

Sales tax collections post gains BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

No photographs of the Corinth camp are known to exist, nor writings from those who came to it for freedom. “Everything we know about

Sales tax collections generally rose across northeast Mississippi in the latest reported month. Seven of 11 area municipalities posted gains as collections across the state rose almost 3 percent. Collections in Corinth rose slightly — about half of 1 percent — during the month compared to a year ago. The city received $447,540.65 at midApril, reflecting sales activity in local establishments during the month of February. Corinth has seen positive growth for five consecutive months. The city’s year-to-date total of $3.278 million is up 3 percent, or about $109,000, from the same point a year earlier. The 2 percent tourism tax on food and lodging in the city continued its up-and-down pattern. The tax generated

Please see CAMP | 2A

Please see TAXES | 2A

Staff photo by Jebb Johnston

Larry Lugar (left), creator of the park’s bronze sculptures, speaks with Michael Crutcher, who portrayed Frederick Douglass. about three years and found his first real inspiration in a photograph of a woman taken in a South Carolina contraband camp. Standing proudly with her hands on her hips, she became the model for the

“greeter” at the beginning of the park’s trail. “When I saw that photograph, I was smitten,” he said. Lugar sums up her attitude as: “I’m free. Sorry, it’s not going away.”

Library volunteers join in World Book Night BY KIMBERLY SHELTON kshelton@dailycorinthian.com

Volunteers at the Northeast Regional Library are devoting their time and efforts to improving literacy in Corinth. Librarian Brandon Lowrey, Denise DeBoer, and Marianna Carnes are participating in World Book Night by handing out 60 paperback books to “light” and “non-readers”. The local “givers” hope many will come out and take advantage of the opportunity to get a free book.

The event will take place at 5 p.m. on April 23 at the Corinth Library. Residents will have three book titles to choose from. Lowrey will be handing out “Pontoon: A Novel of Lake Wobegon” by Garrison Keillor. “It’s a fairly humorous story with eccentric characters,” said the Librarian. For her book, DeBoer chose “Young Men and Fire” by Norman Maclean. “It’s about fire jumpers and Maclean’s research of the Mann Gulch fire of 1949 and the 13

men who perished in the fire,” said DeBoer. The third title, handed out by Carnes will be “Hoot” by Carl Hiaasen. “We want to get people interested in reading and encourage them to read for pleasure,” said third year, WBN Volunteer Marianna Carnes. “We also want people to get involved and hopefully, become givers.” World Book Night is a nationwide initiative in which tens of thousands of people personally hand out half-a-million printed

copies on April 23 to those who might otherwise have no access to reading material. “It’s the one night of the year when the entire world comes together, selects a title and reads,” said Lowrey. Since 2011, the annual celebration has taken place in 6,200 towns and cities across the nation inspiring a love for knowledge and the written word. The organization was first launched in the United Kingdom and introduced to the United States in 2012.

“Being a member of the Literacy Council, I am very excited about this event because it opens the door to discovery,” said DeBoer. “I am very proud to be a part of it this year.” World Book Night is about so much more than passing out books and promoting reading. According to the non-profit’s website, “It’s about reaching out to others and touching lives in the simplest of ways–through the sharing of stories.” (For more information visit www.us.worldbooknight.org.)

Trike-a-Thon supports St. Jude Native pens new novel BY ZACK STEEN

BY STEVE BEAVERS

zsteen@dailycorinthian.com

sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com

Wheeler Grove Learning Center hosted their 8th Annual St. Jude Trike-A-Thon on Thursday. The learning center raised more than $2,000 to support the research and treatment of childhood cancer and other deadly diseases while teaching trike and riding-toy safety tips. The annual fundraiser is a week-long program where kids learn riding safety skills while raising funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “We had more than 40 kids from the center bring their tricycles and riding toys to school on Thursday,” said Donna Chase, center director. “The kids practiced the safety rules learned throughout the week during the Trike-A-Thon.” In eight years hosting the event, the center has raised more than $45,000 for St. Jude. For every $5,000 raised, St. Jude donates a plaque to the learning center in honor or in memory of someone who

Best selling Kindle author J.E. “James” Gurley continues to whet the public’s appetite when it comes to literary works. The Corinth native, who is also a retired chef, will be in town April 28 for a book signing of his latest novel “Oracle of Delphi” at the Corinth Library. Gurley, who has published 15 Gurley books, will be at the library from 4-6 p.m. He will also be signing copies of past books on April 29 at KC’s Expresso from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. “Oracle of Delphi” is the first book of the Delphi Chronicles. In the publication, a young country teen comes into his manhood in front of the epic backdrop of warring interstellar species and royal intrigue

Staff photo by Steve Beavers

Jon-Saxton Cutberth was among 41 kids busy pedaling during a trike-a-thon at Wheeler Grove Baptist Church. Cutberth raised $725 for the cause. has battled cancer or deadly diseases. The center dedicated a plaque to Graham Hinton, Drake Massengill and Kristin Jackson – all were students at the learning center. “We are excited to host the program every year because it

is a fun activity we can easily incorporate into our existing enrichment programs,” added Chase. “Not only did we teach our children valuable safety lessons, we taught them how they Please see TRIKE-A-THON | 2A

Index Stocks........8 Classified......14 Comics........ 7 State........ 5

in the trans-planetary teenage fantasia. According to Amazon, “Oracle of Delphi” is a breathtaking and genre-bending coming of age story that tells the tale of Tad, an orphaned young man raised by his uncle in the desert, who ventures into the seat of royal power only to discover that he might have been chosen as royal companion to the Please see GURLEY | 2A

On this day in history 150 years ago

Weather........9 Obituaries........ 6 Opinion........4 Sports...... 12

Bad form! In an un-chivalrous act, Lt. Colonel John S. Mosby, the “Gray Ghost” of the Confederacy, disrupts a wedding ceremony in Leesburg, Vir. and captures several members of the bridal party.

“Clients move for FREE”

Doug Jumper

Ann Hardin

Michael McCreary

Realty & Associates, LLC

662-286-2828

2782 S Harper Rd. • Corinth, MS 38834 • www.jumperrealty.com


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