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Corinth boys, girls win 4A Cross Country state titles

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• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • One section

Woman killed in 2-vehicle crash

Car hits fire truck in roundabout

BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

A Fulton woman died in a crash involving a vehicle backing out of a driveway just south of Corinth Thursday evening. Sheriff Ben Caldwell said Charlotte Vandergriff, 55, died in the 6:14 p.m. crash on County Road 400 (Salem Road) near the intersection with County Road 405 (Camp Warriner Road). Vandergriff was the driver of a southbound 1991 Honda Accord. The driver of a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe was attempt-

ing to back out of a driveway. Caldwell said the southbound Honda struck the Chevrolet head-on near the center of the roadway. The driver of the Chevrolet was not taken to the hospital. With five passengers among the two vehicles, one other person was transported to the hospital. The sheriﬀ said the crash appears to be an unfortunate accident. “We always encourage people to drive with caution and wear your seat belt,” said Caldwell.

Staff photos by Mark Boehler

The Corinth Police Department responded to a wreck Friday afternoon involving a car and a Corinth Fire Department fire truck. The accident occurred around 1:15 p.m. at the roundabout on Harper Road. No injuries were reported but there was damage to the front passenger side of the car and it appeared the airbag deployed. Two police patrol units responded.

Alcorn School District cuts teaching positions BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com

Staff photo by Jebb Johnston

Cassie Brooks (from left), Ashley Berry and Ann Walker mark strengths and concerns on a Corinth map at Thursday’s meeting.

Residents weigh in on planning process BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

Residents talked about downtown improvements, strong schools, street conditions and other strengths and

weaknesses of Corinth as the comprehensive planning process begins. The consultants spent a full day in the city Thursday with a number of focus group ses-

sions followed by a public meeting to gather input for Envision Corinth 2040. The city’s last comprehenPlease see 2040 | 2

The recent state budget shortfall will force the Alcorn School District to cut some members of its teaching staﬀ prior to the new school year. Superintendent Larry B. Mitchell said the district sent out at least five non-renewal letters to employees that will not be rehired. He said at least three positions of those five would not be replaced by new hires. “These are either positions that we can do away with or positions where the person had only worked for one year, and by law we can depart ways without reason after one year,” he told board members. All eﬀected positions were full time teachers. The district will see a proposed $478,696 cut in Mississippi Adequate Education Program funding for the upcoming 2017-18 school year. The district is projected to receive $15,344,920, more than $1.4 million below full funding. Federal funding will also see cuts, Mitchell said.

Staff cut details will be discussed during the district’s May meeting. Mitchell said new hires would also be voted on at that time. Staff recommendations at all nine campuses, plus special services employees and those paid with federal funds were approved for rehire on Thursday night during a special called board meeting. The rehires were approved one day shy of the April 28 deadline set by the state. Prior to the vote, District 2 board member Ann Little asked to postpone the hiring of part time employees in the district. “I think we need to look at their pay structures and their schedules,” she said. “I see a lot a room where we could make changes and save money.” Little said she believed up to $100,000 could be saved by eliminating just five part time staffers districtwide. The vote died 3-2 after Mitchell said those part timers had already been told they would be rehired. Please see CUTS | 2

Burnsville chamber hosts barbecue cookoff BY L.A. STORY lastory@dailycorinthian.com

BURNSVILLE — Those who like a little friendly competition with their barbecue will want to check out “Smokin’ on the Waterway” this year. Set to take place at the Burnsville

City Hall, located at 38 Gross Avenue in Burnsville, on Friday, May 5, and Saturday, May 6, “Smokin’ on the Waterway” is a BBQ cookoﬀ and this is the second year the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce is hosting the event after last year’s success, according to Burnsville

Chamber of Commerce President and Event Chair Tim Grissom. “We started this last year and had a successful year. We had 10 teams, which is pretty good for an inaugural event,” said Grissom. Please see COOKOFF | 5

25 years ago

10 years ago

The Corinth High School band performs in Disney’s “Surprise Celebration” parade at the Magic Kingdom in Florida.

Biggersville High School senior Echarial Tanesha Gaines wins a $1,000 scholarship in the 2007 ESF Scholarship Essay Competition.

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Dance students perform tonight The Contemporary Arts Center Dance Studio will be presenting “Freeze Frame” at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The dancers will take the stage in the historic Coliseum Civic Center in downtown Corinth. There is no charge for admission. The dancers would like for the community to come enjoy as they make their favorite photo moments come to life through dance.

Cattlemen’s association meeting

Andy Berry (left), executive vice president of the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association, recognizes Jimmy McNair, outgoing president of Alcorn County Cattlemen’s Association, for his service. Also honored (but not pictured) was Lowell Hinton, outgoing vice president of the Alcorn County Cattlemen’s Association.

The Alcorn County Cattlemen’s Association held a meeting April 20 at the MSU Extension Service in Corinth. Andy Berry, executive vice president of the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association, was the guest speaker. New officers were also elected for the year. Berry did an outstanding job detailing the benefits of being a member of the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association as well as details about the Beef Checkoff program. The new president of the Alcorn County Cattlemen’s Association is Ricky Barry. Barry is a local cattle producer and a conservation officer with MDWFP. The new vice president is Thomas Shelley, a local cattle producer. The secretary/treasurer is Robert Wolfe, retired county agent. New officers for the association are (from left) Andy Berry (executive vice president of the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association), Robert Wolfe (secretary/treasurer Alcorn County CattleMen’s Association), Thomas Shelley (vice president, Alcorn County Cattlemen’s Association), Ricky Barry (president, Alcorn County Cattlemen’s Association). The meeting was sponsored by Alcorn County Farm Bureau, the Alcorn County Co-Op and Land Bank.

2040 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

sive plan was formulated in 1963. Orion Planning and Design Partner Bob Barber said the city faces “a critical need to update development codes which were based in the 1960s, preWalmart, pre-internet, pre-big box stores, and they really don’t respond to what the community is trying to do.” One of the strong desires the consultants have already gleaned from the

community is “to be more aesthetically pleasing.” Some of the most important statistical measures for the city are favorable, said Joe Fratesi, community development director with the Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development at Mississippi State University. The sales tax diversion reached a record level in 2016, and population is growing — up 3.7 percent at the 2010 census and up 2 percent in the 2015 estimate.

“In Mississippi, to be stable is a positive,” he said. Only 35 percent of the state’s municipalities saw population increases over the last 10 years, and many of those places benefit from circumstances such as being a college town or part of a suburban area. “When you compare yourself to peer communities of similar size and those that do not have those other indicators, you see that Corinth is one of the few ones ris-

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ing,” said Fratesi. McComb, Natchez and Grenada were mentioned as comparably sized cities that are losing population. In employment, he said all sectors have shown an uptick since 2011. In the feedback portion of the meeting, residents named some of the things they love about the city and some they consider “cautions.” Among the loved things are the schools, the downtown rehabilitation and green spaces, the expanded park, the hospital, the hiking and biking trail,

CUTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“I agree ... I think this is something we really need to look at. I think there is room for changes to save money, but I don’t think we should do it this year,” Mitchell advised the board. Little made the motion and the vote was seconded by District 1 board member Ricky Fields. Board members Daniel Cooper, Mary Coleman and Randy Wilbanks voted against the motion. “I’m against anything that prevents anyone from being rehired tonight,” said Cooper. The next meeting is set for May 8 with a possible budget working session also planned next month.

Civil War Interpretive Center, Coliseum Civic Center, Shiloh Ridge, and the Highway 72 and Highway 45 interchange for its development potential. Things making the “cautions” list included street conditions; vacant industrial, commercial and residential properties; inappropriate land use; Highway 72 traﬃc; the flood plains; neighborhood safety; lack of recreation; maintenance of infrastructure; sidewalks; the “eyesore” of the Highway 72 corridor; the East Shiloh Road commercial area; the South

Tate and Highway 72 area as an entry point to downtown; and the lack of sidewalks and curbs in the north residential area. More public meetings will follow at times to be announced later. The process will culminate in a plan that is designed to be put into action. “If you cannot implement it, you are wasting your hour-and-a-half with us tonight,” said Barber. “It’s a moot point. We need an implementation piece that you can achieve as a community. We are very, very conscious of that.”

Ex-officer charged in fatality Associated Press

POINCIANA, Fla. — Sheriff’s officials say they’ve arrested a former Mississippi law enforcement officer accused of fleeing after hitting five children when they got off a school bus Thursday. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a Friday news conference that John Camfield, 48, injured a pregnant woman when he hit her car before being arrested by an off-duty sheriff’s deputy. Judd says Camfield worked for 10 agencies in Mississippi before moving to Florida. He faces multiple charges including DUI with serious bodily injury, leaving the scene of a crash. The school bus had left the area when the children were hit. Officials said they are between 12 and 15 years old. Officials said Jahiem Robertson, 13, died of his injuries Friday morning in an Orlando hospital. Another child, John Mena, also 13, remains in intensive care with orbital fractures. Three other children — Jonte Robinson, 15; Jasmine Robertson, 14; and Rylan Pryce, 12 — suffered minor injuries. It was unclear whether they were related. Judd said Camfield refused to take a breath test after his arrest and was “critiquing” the deputies who were processing his case.

Saturday, April 29, 2017

Local/Region

Booneville election held Tuesday

Today in History

BY ANGELA STOREY astorey@dailycorinthian.com

Today is Saturday, April 29, the 119th day of 2017. There are 246 days left in the year.

BOONEVILLE — Time is ticking down to voting day for Booneville’s municipal primary election on Tuesday. Voters are reminded all voting will take place at the West Side Park Community Center located oﬀ North Third Street from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters must have an ID (such as a driver’s license). Absentee voting continues with Booneville City Hall being open extended hours Saturday, April 29 from 8 a.m. until noon. This will be the last chance to vote absentee in person. Deadline for absentee voting by mail is Monday, May 1. Voters must choose which party ballot to vote in the primary election. In the May 2 primary, the only Republican race on the ballot is Ward 4 Alderman where Clint

Today’s Highlight in History On April 29, 1992, a jury in Simi Valley, California, acquitted four Los Angeles police officers of almost all state charges in the videotaped beating of motorist Rodney King; the verdicts were followed by several days of rioting in Los Angeles resulting in 55 deaths.

On this date In 1429, Joan of Arc entered the besieged city of Orleans to lead a French victory over the English. In 1798, Joseph Haydn’s oratorio “The Creation” was rehearsed in Vienna, Austria, before an invited audience. In 1817, representatives of the United States and Britain concluded the Rush-Bagot Agreement, which limited the number of naval vessels allowed in the Great Lakes. In 1861, the Maryland House of Delegates voted 53-13 against seceding from the Union. In Montgomery, Alabama, President Jefferson Davis asked the Confederate Congress for the authority to wage war. In 1916, the Easter Rising in Dublin collapsed as Irish nationalists surrendered to British authorities. In 1957, the SM-1, the first military nuclear power plant, was dedicated at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Boren and John Caviness are vying to become the Republican nominee. The remaining candidates are Democratic. In the Democratic primary, two mayoral candidates are seeking to win the Democratic nomination — Chris Lindley and Stan Pounds. The winner of the May Democratic primary then heads to the general election to face Republican mayoral candidate Larry S. Stevens on June 6. Current Mayor Derrick Blythe did not seek a second term as mayor. In the Alderman Ward 1 race, two Democratic candidates — incumbent Jason Michael and Gary Walker will face oﬀ. The winner will meet Republican contender Joshua Whitson in the June general election. In the Alderman Ward 2 race, the two Democratic candidates are Colette McGee Gardner and

incumbent Jeﬀ Williams. There are no other candidate so this race will be decided in the primary. In the Ward 3 Alderman’s race, the Democratic candidates are incumbent Mark McCoy, who is being challenged by Bill Stevenson. The Democratic nominee will face Libertarian candidate Joel Counce in June. Three Democratic candidates are vying to be the Democratic nominee for Alderman Ward 4 — Leigh Ann Michael, Dejis Miller and William Scott. The Democratic nominee will face either Clint Boren or John Caviness as the Republican nominee in the general election. Current Ward 4 alderman David Bolen is not seeking re-election. Five Democratic candidates are vying for Alderman At Large: Mitch Barrett, Harold Eaton (incumbent), Joey Gross, Willie J.

McGee and Lisa Stevens. There are no Republican candidates in this race, so it will be decided in the primary election. A run-oﬀ election will be required if no candidate in a race receives more than 50 percent of the vote. If needed, the runoﬀ will be held May 16. Also on the Democratic ballot is the race for Democratic Executive Committee where voters may vote for six candidates. The six candidates are:current mayor Derrick Blythe, Delois L. Gates, Charles A. Gates, Christine Grove, Brenda Simmons and Mary Ellen Starks. As of Monday, Booneville’s number of registered voters was 4,890. The general election will be held June 6, with the new term beginning July 3. For voting information, please contact Booneville City Hall at 728-6810.

Modern Woodmen support Lady Aggies Modern Woodmen of America members in Corinth recently helped raise money for Kossuth Lady Aggie Softball with a special fundraising event on 2-1417. The event, which included selling chocolate covered strawberries, raised $1250. This includes $500 matched by Modern Woodmen through the organization’s Matching Fund Program. The funds will be used to buy new equipment. The Matching Fund Program oﬀers Modern Woodmen members nationwide the chance to show their support for a community cause, organization or individual in need through fundraisers. These fundraising projects contribute more than $10 million to community needs across the country each year.

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Harassment begging in America BY DR. GLENN MOLLETTE Columnist

My wife and I visited New York City a couple of days recently. We were walking through Times Square and masses of people on a Saturday night after a show when someone called out to us for money. “Will you please give me a couple of dollars I am hungry,” came the first plea. I barely heard this out of my right ear, as we were moving forward with the crowds. I hadn’t really noticed this guy as I was trying to watch where we were going, not trip on someone or the sidewalk while trying to enjoy the lights and sounds of Times Square. People begging for money have become a common sight in America. I see it in Cincinnati, Nashville, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Baltimore, Seattle, Portland and well you get the picture...begging is everywhere in America to some extent. Last Saturday night I was more attuned to walking with my wife and trying to enjoy a brief NYC visit. For some reason this beggar in NYC tuned in on me when I did not turn my head and look at him or respond. He moved toward me, got in my face and yelled at me, “You are a (expletive) and I hope that you choke on your food tonight.” I looked at him for just a moment. He was a very angry man obviously from the Middle East. I don’t know if he was from Syria, Yemen or who knows but definitely Middle East. My wife and I moved forward. I wasn’t scared but it’s irritating to be accosted for money when someone is calling my mother the B word. I understand that people get desperate and hungry. I understand poverty is rampant in this nation. I understand people are victims of unfortunate circumstances. I do believe we should help people and I’ve tried throughout my life to always be involved in charitable projects. I don’t feel sorry for people who feel they are entitled to harass, accost and literally try to rob people. What I am seeing more and more in America’s cities is what I’ve seen in Africa, Turkey and other foreign countries, which is harassment, begging and pleading. Our tour group was warned about leaving the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey back in 2005. Our guide told us the people would beg vehemently for anything you have. Do not even make eye contact with them we were told. Sure enough it was a mob who did everything but try to take our wallet and purses. They literally got in our faces and begged, pled and cried for anything we might give them. I’ve seen this same demeanor in other parts of the world. More and more of these people are coming to America and more of them will end up on our streets and prowling our neighborhoods. Taking a carefree, delightful stroll down Michigan Ave in Chicago, a leisurely walk through Times Square or most any major American city has changed. We’ve always had the poor and needy. However, we are now facing a diﬀerent attitude and in reality a frightening mentality that does not mind getting in your face to get some of your money or whatever else they feel possessed to try to take. Finally, everywhere I go in America people are working from every nationality around the world. From hotels, to restaurants, to taxi drivers to vendor people are working and I can’t understand anything they say. They do seem to work hard and seem to be happy to be in America. I am happy for these people if they are legal, but I do wish I could understand what they are saying. If you run into a guy in Times Square calling you a (expletive) and wishing for you to choke on your food please do what I did not have the presence of mind to do. Remember, hindsight is always 20/20. Tell him about all the Internationals working all over America. Tell him he can work a real job to. If he doesn’t want to do that to please do us all a favor and go back to where he came from. Glenn Mollette is a syndicated columnist and author of eleven books. He is read in all fifty states. Visit www.glennmollette.com. Contact him at GMollette@aol.com. Like his facebook page at www.facebook.com/glennmollette

Prayer For Today Lord God, help me to break away from habits that fasten me in the ruts of life. Draw me out to thy broad way, where there are no limits to thy wonderful works, that I may expand my life. Amen.

A Verse To Share For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. — 1 John 5:4

Trump’s top feat is stopping the left President Donald Trump’s biggest achievement in his first 100 days? Easy. He stopped the left. Measure Trump’s first 100 days not just by looking at what he has or has not accomplished. Look at what America would have experienced under the alternative: Hillary Clinton. Under Clinton, the debate would not be on how to replace Obamacare, but how quickly can the left realize its ultimate ambition, a Canadian-style, singlepayer system. Under Clinton, the issue would not be how steep the tax cuts, but how many “rich” people, also known as job creators, would experience yet another growth-restricting tax hike. Under Clinton, the $100 billion-plus annually in new regulations imposed by President Barack Obama — much of it to fight “climate change” — would continue to rise. This has stopped. President Trump signed an executive order that requires an elimination of two regulations for every new regulation proposed by an executive department or agency in 2017, with a zerodollar net increase in the cost of regulations. Under Clinton, newly confirmed conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch would’ve been another Ruth Bader Ginsburg/Sonia Sotomayor/Elena Kagan clone. Four left-wing SCOTUS justices, in the Heller case, ruled that there is not an individual right to keep and bear arms.

Spare us a fifth one. Trump, too, has put the left-wing media on notice. No more Larry Mr. Nice Guy. Elder T h r o u g h WikiLeaks, Columnist we found that John Harwood, a debate moderator, emailed a letter to Hillary Clinton campaign manager John Podesta, bragging about a question he had put to Donald Trump. He also emailed advice on dealing with the challenge posed by Dr. Ben Carson. Staﬀers for newsmen Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer of CNN contacted the Democratic National Committee to seek questions they might put to Republican presidential candidates. President Trump also changed eight years of Obama’s “leading from behind” foreign policy by using our largest non-nuclear bomb on ISIS in Afghanistan and bombing Syria for its use of chemical weapons. Under Obama, we pulled out all the troops from Iraq, despite the objections of his foreign policy and national security and defense teams. One of the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staﬀ, now-retired Army Gen. Ray Odierno, said: “I go back to the work we did in 2007 (through) 2010, and we got into a place that was really good. Violence was low, the economy was growing, politics looked like it was head-

ing in the right direction. ... We thought we had it going exactly in the right direction, but now we watch it fall apart. It’s frustrating. ... I think, maybe, if we had stayed a little more engaged, I think maybe it might have prevented it.” Under Obama, we bombed Libya, a mission that the Obama administration admitted was done for humanitarian reasons. Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi had paid reparations for the terrorist explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. And following the American-led invasion of Iraq, Gadhafi had surrendered his weapons of mass destruction to the U.S. Yet under President Obama, America joined the French and British in bombing Libya to rid the country of Gadhafi. Incredibly, after criticizing President George W. Bush for not thinking through the invasion of Iraq, when Obama was asked what he thought was the “biggest mistake” of his presidency, Obama said, “Probably failing to plan for the day after what I think was the right thing to do in intervening in Libya.” For the most part, President Trump has delivered on his promises, or has attempted to deliver on them. Take immigration. While the wall construction has not begun, nor has Trump been able to figure out a way to get Mexico to pay for it, a psychological wall has already gone up. Border-

crossing apprehensions were down more than 60 percent from January to March, after Trump made it clear the welcome mat for illegal entry has been rolled up. Ultimately, Trump will likely be judged on one thing — the economy. If he manages a 4 percent GDP growth, as promised during the campaign, few will care about his nocturnal tweets. After 100 days of Trump, the earth did not open up and swallow America. His critics can crawl out from under the bed. The stock market has hit record highs; small-business and consumer confidence polls show optimism in levels not seen anywhere from 10 to nearly 40 years, depending upon the poll. Something is happening. When Ronald Reagan died, George Will wrote: “Today Americans gratefully recall that at a turbulent moment in their national epic, Reagan became the great reassurer, the steadying captain of our clipper ship. He calmed the passengers — and the sea.” It’s not too soon to wonder whether someday something similar might be said of President Trump. Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an “Elderado,” visit www.LarryElder.com. Follow Larry on Twitter @larryelder.

Ann Coulter the liberal Because the California National Guard couldn’t be mobilized in time, Ann Coulter had to withdraw from giving a speech at Berkeley. If you take it seriously, that’s the import of UC Berkeley’s decision to do everything it could to keep the conservative provocateur from speaking on campus over safety concerns. “If somebody brings weapons, there’s no way to block oﬀ the site, or to screen them,” the chancellor of the university said of Coulter’s plan to go ahead and speak at an open-air forum after the school canceled a scheduled talk. The administrator made it sound as if Coulter would have been about as safe at Berkeley as she would have been addressing a meeting of MS-13 -- and he might have been right. We have entered a new, much less metaphorical phase of the campus-speech wars. We’re beyond hissing, or disinviting. We’re no longer talking about the heckler’s veto, but the masked-thugswho-will-burn-trash-cansand-assault-you-and-yourentourage veto. Coulter is a rhetorical bomb thrower, which is an

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entirely different thing than being a real bomb thrower. Coulter has never tried to Rich shout down a Lowry speaker she doesn’t like. National She hasn’t Review thrown rocks at cops. She isn’t an arsonist. She oﬀers up provocations that she gamely defends in almost any setting with arguments that people are free to accept, or reject, or attempt to correct. In other words, in the Berkeley context, she’s the liberal. She believes in the eﬃcacy of reason and in the free exchanges of ideas. Her enemies do not. Indeed, the budding fascism that progressives feared in the Trump years is upon us, although not in the form they expected. It is represented by the black-clad shock troops of the “anti-fa” movement who are violent, intolerant and easily could be mistaken for the street fighters of the extreme right in 1930s Europe. That they call themselves anti-fascist speaks to a colossal lack of self-awareness.

It is incumbent on all responsible progressives to reject this movement, and — just as important — the broader eﬀort to suppress controversial speech. This is why former Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean’s comments about hate speech not being protected by the First Amendment were so alarming. In Dean’s defense, he had no idea what he was talking about, but he was effectively making himself the respectable voice of the rock throwers. Dean’s view was that “Berkeley is within its rights to make the decision that it puts their campus in danger if they have her there.” This justification, advanced by the school itself, is profoundly wrongheaded. It is an inherently discriminatory standard, since the Berkeley College Republicans aren’t given to smashing windows and throwing things when an extreme lefty shows up on campus, which is a neardaily occurrence. It would deny Coulter something she has a right to do (speak her mind on the campus of a public university) in reaction to agitators doing things they don’t have

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a right to do (destroy property, among other acts of mayhem). It would suppress an intellectual threat, i.e., a dissenting viewpoint, and reward a physical threat. This is perverse. For now there is a consensus in favor of free speech in the country that is especially entrenched in the judiciary. The anti-fa and other agitators aren’t going to change that anytime soon. But they could eﬀectively make it too burdensome for certain speakers to show up on campus, and over time more Democrats like Dean could rationalize this fact by arguing that so-called hate speech doesn’t deserve First Amendment protection. So, it isn’t enough for schools like UC Berkeley to say that they value free speech, yet do nothing to punish disrupters and throw up their hands at the task of providing security for controversial speakers. If everyone else gets safe space at UC Berkeley, Coulter deserves one. If the anti-fa are willing to attack free speech through illegal force, the authorities should be willing to defend it by lawful force. Heck, if necessary, call out the National Guard.

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Daily Corinthian • Saturday, April 29, 2017 • 5

Deaths Rick Biddle

FLORENCE, Ala. — Funeral services for Frederick Adams “Rick” Biddle, 66, are scheduled for 1 p.m., Saturday at Cutshall Funeral Home Chapel in Iuka. Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. until service time at the funeral home Saturday. Mr. Biddle died Thursday, April 27, 2017, at his residence in Florence, Ala. He was born Dec. 2, 1950, the son of Florence, Ala., broadcasting pioneer Richard “Dick” Biddle and Ruth Adams Biddle. He attended Georgia Military Academy in College Park, Ga., and Bradshaw High School in Florence, Ala. He also attended the University of North Alabama, where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity, and later endowed the Richard B. Biddle Scholarship Fund. Mr. Biddle was a lifelong television Biddle and radio broadcaster. He spent his early career working for his father at WOWL radio and later WOWL TV stations. During the 1970s, he spent time employed as operations manager and sales manager at TV stations in West Palm Beach, Fort Pierce, and Tequesta, Fla. He later returned to his hometown of Florence, Ala, to help his father run WOWL until it was sold in the mid-1990s. Following the sale of WOWL TV in Florence, Ala., he started Biddle & Sons Communications in Iuka, which is comprised of WOWL Fun 91.9 and WADI 95.3 The Bee radio stations. Mr. Biddle was a member of the National Association of Broadcasters, and was published in Broadcasting Magazine. He was known for his abundant generosity and hospitable nature. He was a wonderful chef, and loved to cook for and feed his friends and family. He was a lover of animals, and was especially fond of his beloved schnauzers. His true passion was boating and life on the water. He held a U. S. Coast Guard Captain’s License, and treasured his time spent on the Tennessee River and Gulf of Mexico with his friends and family. He was also a huge Alabama football fan, and spent many Saturdays cheering on the Crimson Tide. He loved to travel, and his grandchildren always loved going on trips with their “Bunk and Nena.” He was a lover of all music, and was a lifelong classic car enthusiast and collector. Of all the joys in his life, Rick’s greatest treasure was time spent in the company of his precious grandchildren, and his best friend and constant companion, his beloved Anita. “The ship will be protected now, lost no more, tossed about no longer, safe in a harbor to forever call home.” Survivors are his wife of 30 years, Dianne Cutshall Biddle of Iuka; two sons, Beau Biddle (Linda) of Germantown, Md., and Brian Biddle (Tammy) of Iuka; three stepsons, Bo Murphy (Joley) and Brett Brewster (Tonya), both of Iuka, and Max Brewster of Washington, D.C.; and five grandchildren, Johnathan Murphy of Oxford, Wheeler Brewster, of Iuka, Nellie Biddle of Starkville, and Everett Brewster and Lilah Grace Murphy, both of Iuka. He was preceded in death by his parents, Richard “Dick” and Ruth Adams Biddle; and a sister, Holly Biddle. Memorial donations may be made to the animal shelter of the donor’s choice. An online guestbook can be accessed at www.cutshallfuneralhome.com. The Rev. Kerry Powell will oﬃciate the service.

Pamela Finger

BROADVIEW, Ill. — Funeral services for Pamela Ann Finger, 45, are scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Mason St. Luke Baptist Church. Burial will follow at Wade Chapel Cemetery in Ramer, Tenn. Ms. Finger died Sunday, April 23, 2017, in Broadview, Ill. She was a 1997 graduate of Rust College and Finger worked in the Chicago Public School system. She was aﬃliated with Mason St. Luke Baptist Church in Corinth. Survivors are her parents, Daniel and Brenda Finger. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Raymond Dilworth, General Finger and Mabel Finger. Patterson Memorial Chapel has the arrangements. The Rev. Rickey Griggs will oﬃciate the service.

Sunday at the funeral home. Mr. Walker died Thursday, April 27, 2017, at his residence. He was employed many years with Firestone and worked as a millwright for Kimberly Clark until his retirement. He was of the Baptist faith. Survivors are his wife, Diane Smith Walker; two daughters, Leigh Ellen Baker (Mark) and Amy Carole Williams; a son, David Laurence Walker; his sister, Dr. Jerri Walker of Bolton, MA.; two granddaughters, Taylor Elaine Baker and Savannah Grace Williams. He was preceded in death by his parents, Oaire Agnew and Ruthie Honeycutt Walker and a brother, Paul Wayne Walker. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. The Rev. Rod Stansky will oﬃciate the service.

Pork barbecue affinity hard to break for Mid-Southerner My first memories of pulled pork slow-smoked taste in the city of BBQ began in Corinth at the inter- BBQ — and is less touristy than section of Shiloh Road and what I the downtown, well-known Renstill call Highway 45, now some- dezvous and much better than the chain Corky’s. My favorites are, of how known as Polk Street. There is currently a mini-mart in course, the pulled pork sandwich, the old box-shaped building sur- along with the pork nachos, laden with melted cheese and a rounded by glass on three heaping of jalapeño pepsides. When I was a child, pers, a perfect complement the building housed Coleto the smoky meat. man’s BBQ. On a recent trip to AusThat restaurant offered tin, Texas, I visited Stubb’s the most savory slivers of BBQ for a Southern Gosslow-smoked pig meat, slapped onto a white bread Stacy pel brunch. Now I’ve been bun and slathered with Jones to Texas many times, and I know that the regional dismayonnaise-based coleslaw The tinction there automatically and a sweet, slightly vinDowntowner implies beef brisket when egary tasting sauce. I still the three letters B-B-Q are remember sitting there in a booth by the window on Satur- mentioned. However, prior to our arrival at days, sometimes before, sometimes after my parents’ weekly the downtown establishment, I jaunt to stock up on groceries at looked at the restaurant’s menu on the food app Yelp to take stock of Roger’s Supermarket. These box-shaped BBQ joints the offerings. The pork BBQ sandpeppered the South, with their wich had garnered more favorable red and yellow marquees advertis- reviews than the brisket or some of ing their fare. Few of these sorts the other meats, including chicken abound anymore, but apparently and sausage. I began salivating Hernando and Senatobia, Mis- over the notion of a pork BBQ sissippi still retain a Coleman’s sandwich with a side of coleslaw BBQ where a regular-sized pork and collard greens—which I hoped sandwich may still be obtained had been cooked with some sort of for $3.59, according to the online BBQ meat. After getting seated, we were dimenu. I have since grown more ad- rected to the brunch buffet, which vanced on my BBQ samplings. included standard breakfast items While living in Memphis a few such as fresh-baked biscuits, garlic years ago, I grew enamored of cheese grits, buttermilk pancakes Neely’s BBQ, with their mile-high with hot maple syrup, home-fried sandwich, so messy that it often potatoes, and crispy pan-fried required a fork, not the regular bacon. Other selections included two hands. After the Neely couple, spinach enchiladas, cornmealalso the subject of the eponymous battered fried catfish, and miTV show, broke up, and their res- gas—scrambled eggs tossed with taurant business dissolved, I dis- onions, peppers, corn tortillas, covered Central BBQ in midtown cheese, and chorizo sausage. At the end of the buffet, a server Memphis on Central Avenue. Central has perhaps the best offered beef brisket, Czech-style

pork sausage, and hand-carved chicken. All of these items sound fairly scrumptious, but when one’s taste buds are set on Memphisstyle pulled pork, well, what can one do? It is a situation that makes it diﬃcult to ascribe to the adage “When in Rome…” Recently I read about some venues as far away as New York City trying to mimic Texas BBQ. I say, keep those pizza ovens aflame in New York City! Let the Texans smoke the beef! The food particular to each area is better there because it’s part of the culture, and the natives know how to do it. Now my friend, fellow Southerner, and writer Jimmy Carl Harris, from Birmingham, Alabama, once suggested that “BBQ beef is an aberration.” While I don’t despise the beef brisket that Texas BBQers produce, I do much prefer what passes for BBQ in my native Mid-South vicinity. Therefore, we’ll quietly keep allowing those who hail from the state where everything must be come in gargantuan proportions to believe that they’re eating the top BBQ in the nation—along with the myth that they truly reside in the Deep South, although we all know they’re not. Around here, we’ll just go on devouring our pig meat, with its sweet sauce and mayo coleslaw— until we die from clogged arteries and high blood pressure, after which someone pries it from our sticky, greasy hands. (Daily Corinthian columnist Stacy Jones teaches English at McNairy Central High School and UT Martin and has served on the board of directors at Corinth Theatre-Arts. She enjoys being a downtown Corinth resident.)

COOKOFF CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Thus far, for this year’s event, the event chair said they had confirmed over 14 teams already and he said the event is picking up momentum. This year, there will also be a new competitive event added which is just for fun and open to the public — a Chicken Wing Contest. “There are almost no rules for the chicken wing contest,” said

Grissom. “You can grill them, smoke them, bake them, deep fry them ... any way you want as long as you cook them onsite and turn them in at 8 p.m.” Contestants are required to turn in eight fully cooked wings in the supplied container at 8 p.m. Wings will be blind judged. Judging is based on appearance and taste. The entry fee is $10. Entry pot split 60/40 for first and sec-

ond place winners with 100 percent payout of the entry pot. Each of the two days of the event, the Chamber of Commerce will be selling barbecue plates which will consist of meat, beans, slaw and bread for $8 per plate beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday and then again beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday. There will be a cook’s meeting at 6 p.m. Friday to go over the contest rules and there will be live music kicking oﬀ with the band “Last Ditch Effort,” which should begin around 7 p.m. Grissom encourages everyone to bring a lawn chair or a blanket, buy a barbecue plate and stay and enjoy the music. For the kids, he said there would be bounce houses and other treats. The evening should wind down by 10:30 and “quiet time” will start at about 11 p.m. Saturday morning, there will be an antique

car cruise-in beginning between 8 and 8:30 a.m. and the Chamber will begin selling barbecue plates again at 11 a.m. While the BBQ Cook Off is not KCBS sanctioned, he said they still follow KCBS rules. Rules and entry forms for the Cook Off can be found on the Burnsville Chamber of Commerce website. Judging for the Cook Off will begin at noon Saturday. “Right now is a good time Burnsville. We have new industry and more prospects meeting weekly,” said Grissom. “This is a way to have some fun ... it’s looking pretty good for Burnsville these days.” (For more information about the Smokin’ on the Waterway BBQ Cook Off, please contact Tim Grissom — 662-279-0234, Lindsay Nixon — 662872-9028 or Burnsville City Hall — 662-4279526.)

Where’s My Paperrrrr?

Hoile Walker

CHEROKEE, Ala. — Funeral services for Hoile Dwayne Walker, 75, are scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at Cutshall Funeral Home in Iuka. Visitation will be from 1 p.m. until service time

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6 • Saturday, April 29, 2017 • Daily Corinthian

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