Saturday May 11,
2013
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 117, No. 113
A.M. T-storms Today
Tonight
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 18 pages • One section
Driver gets 15 years for vehicle death Shane Parker struck and killed John D. Calvery, who was picking up trash BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
An Alcorn County man will serve 15 years on a charge of leaving the scene of an automobile accident that resulted in death. In Tishomingo County Circuit Court on Thursday, Judge
Thomas Gardner III sentenced Robert Shane Parker, 40, to 20 years in custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections with five years suspended, leaving 15 to serve, followed by five years of post-release supervision, according to court records.
Parker pleaded guilty to the charge during the November term of Alcorn County Circuit Court. He had been indicted on a charge of culpable negligence manslaughter. The charge stemmed from the death of 85-year-old John D. Calvery, a resident of County
Road 180, who was struck by a 1997 Jeep Cherokee while picking up trash along the road about a mile off Farmington Road on the morning of April 7, 2011. The Jeep rolled and came to rest in a field off Road 180. A stretch of roadway was later named in honor of Calvery
by the Alcorn County Board of Supervisors. The indictment noted Parker’s prior convictions for burglary and larceny of a dwelling in 1997, uttering a forged prescription in 2005 and conspiracy to sell a controlled substance (Oxycodone) in 2005.
Corinth seeking 12 youth workers BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The City of Corinth is seeking some young workers for the summer. The city is receiving a $35,000 grant for the 2013 Urban Youth Corps Program, which will provide eight to 12 jobs for people between the ages of 16 and 25. The Federal Highway Administration funds are channeled through the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Applications are available now at the Community Development and Planning Department located upstairs at City Hall. The application deadline is Friday, May 17. The city has participated in the program several times in
the past, and it is returning after a break of a few years. “The mayor has such a spirit for developing our youth, and this is the perfect way to do so,” said Projects Coordinator Kim Ratliff. “Not only will this provide some youth with an opportunity for employment and to obtain some on-the-job training, but this will provide a venue for accomplishing some needed work in the community.” The program is set to run from the first week of June through the end of July. The pay rate will be at or slightly above the minimum wage. Participants can expect to be involved in several work activities. Please see YOUTH | 2
Submitted photo
Dancers from the Turning Pointe Dance Academy will perform at tonight’s Corinth Symphony Orchestra spring concert, beginning at 7 at the Coliseum Civic Center.
2013 Relay for Life Corinth Symphony Orchestra selling luminaries presents ‘An Evening in Italy’ BY BOBBY J. SMITH
bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
ny.” Conducted by CSO maestro Maurice Weatherall, the show will also include a performance by the dancers from the Turning Pointe Dance Academy. Concert organizers are hoping for a record crowd for the spring concert, said Lee Ann Story Sikora, president of the Corinth Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors. And they’re willing to throw in an extra performance if the show sells out. “If we sell out this concert, I’ll get up and sing an a cappella song,” Sikora said. “I’ll get up there and sing a country
song in front of everybody.” The program also includes the overture to the Siege of Corinth by Giacchino Rossini and America the Beautiful by Alfred Reed. “The program doesn’t look long, but with Mendelssohn there are several movements, so it’s lengthy,” Sikora pointed out. “What may look like a short program is a normalsized concert, as far as length.” Sikora said the concert will be a nice way to get away for a romantic evening — and an opportunity for people to take
CT-A preparing for superb season finale
Counselor retiring after 40 years
BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
The Corinth Symphony Orchestra is taking the community out for “An Evening in Italy” tonight at the Coliseum Civic Center. Tickets are still available for the concert and can be purchased at the door. Regular tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students or senior adults age 55 and up. As always, active military gets in free. The theme for the concert is Italian composers and their compositions, including Mendelssohn’s “Italian Sympho-
BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Corinth Theatre-Arts will have fun with nuns as it closes the 2012-13 season with its upcoming production of “Nunsense — The Mega-Musical Version.” The play wraps up the season's theme of “Let the Arts Transport You” by taking the audience to the convent and school of Mt. St. Helen’s, Hoboken, New Jersey. “The silliness of this musical borders on the madcap antics of Inspector Clouseau of the Pink Panther movies or perhaps envisions a play if Mel Brooks decided to do a musical about singing and dancing nuns,” said CT-A Artistic Director Cris Skinner, who directs the play. “The nuns are trying to raise money after a catastrophic series of events has
resulted in the burial of 52 of their convent. We wrestled with the serious subject of death in ‘Whose Life Is It Anyway?’ but in ‘Nunsense’ death is handled with humor as the nuns struggle with being under-staffed, under-funded and under-appreciated.” Everyone in the audience will be able to relate to one of the characters, Skinner said, and the songs are diverse and border on nearly every genre. The production promises to end the 2012-13 season on a high note. As a Main Stage production, “Nunsense” is appropriate for all ages, but some of the situations and language are more appropriate for those over 13 years of age. “Nunsense: The Mega-Musical
Please see ORCHESTRA | 2
Please see LIGHTS | 2
BY JEFF YORK For the Daily Corinthian
MICHIE, Tenn. — Don’t let it ever be said that dreams cannot come true because one little girl from Guys has lived her dream of being a teacher for 40 years. Mary Greer is about to retire from Michie School after spending 27 years at the school with most of that time spent as the guidance counselor. She began her teaching career in Greenfield after graduating from the University of Tennessee — Martin. “I’ve always wanted to be a guidance counselor to help children,” said Greer. “You
Please see ‘NUNSENSE’ | 2
Index Stocks........8 Classified...... 15 Comics........ 7 State........ 5
With the 2013 Relay for Life of Alcorn County event less than a month away, fundraising teams are selling luminaries, Sky Lanterns and Torches of Hope to honor those whose lives have been touched by cancer — and to raise money for the American Cancer Society’s fight against the disease. “It’s a great way to show your support for someone going through cancer now or a survivor, and a good way to remember somebody who lost the battle,” said Lori Moore, event chairperson and team captain for BancorpSouth. Luminaries are $10; Sky Lan-
terns are $25; and the Torches of Hope are $100. Luminaries and Sky Lanterns will be available all the way up to the event, but orders for Torches of Hope must be received by May 24 to allow time for the plaques to be engraved. Order forms are available from Relay for Life team members — including BancorpSouth on Highway 72 — and online at www.relayforlife.org. In the main Relay for Life event, starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 31, at Crossroads Regional Park, local teams will take turns walking or running around the track in a show of
Weather........9 Obituaries........ 6 Opinion........4 Sports...... 12
Please see GREER | 2
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Mary Greer will retire this year after 40 years in the education field.
On this day in history 150 years ago Vicksburg Campaign. Gen. Pemberton learns that Grant is advancing on Jackson from the southwest and dispatches troops from the state capital to create roadblocks to halt the Union columns.