6 • Thursday, June 4, 2015 • Daily Corinthian
Tourist bus-truck collision kills 3 Associated Press
TOBYHANNA, Pa. — A charter bus taking Italian tourists to Niagara Falls collided with a tractortrailer Wednesday on an eastern Pennsylvania highway, killing the bus driver and two others on the bus and leaving four people in critical condition, authorities said. The crash occurred shortly after 10 a.m. on Interstate 380 in the Pocono Mountain region as the bus, which departed from the New York metro area, was about a quarter of the way to its destination. The mangled front end of the bus was upright on the highway but wedged into the side of the tractor-trailer, which was sheared in half. The cab of the truck came to rest on its side in the woods next to the road, one of its axles torn off.
“All of a sudden people were screaming.” Johnny Walsh Who lives near the highway
All three of those killed were on the bus, which had 17 passengers, Monroe County Coroner Robert Allen said. Academy Bus identified its driver as one of the three dead. It said the driver had more than a decade of experience with the company, but it declined to provide any other information. More than a dozen people were injured and taken to hospitals, where most were being treated for mild to moderate injuries. Allen said the truck driver didn’t appear to have been severely injured. State police said a sec-
ond tractor-trailer was reported to have been involved, but investigators were trying to determine what happened. The bus appears to have been chartered by Viaggidea, an Italian tour operator whose name is also on the bus. The company operates tours that head from New York to Niagara Falls and Canada and elsewhere around the country. There was no answer late Wednesday at its parent company, Alpitour, in Turin, Italy. A woman who answered the phone at the company’s Viaggidea offices in Milan said she
knew nothing about the crash and referred comment to Alpitour. The tractor-trailer was owned by the Xtra Lease company. The company’s attorney said officials did not yet know who was leasing the vehicle. Johnny Walsh, who lives near the highway, told WCAU-TV that he heard a loud crash and “all of a sudden people were screaming.” Pop singer Gloria Estefan suffered a broken vertebra when a tractortrailer crashed into her tour bus on the same stretch of highway in 1990 while heading to a concert in Syracuse, New York. The crash comes less than a month after Italian businessman Giuseppe Piras died with seven others when a speeding Amtrak train ran off the tracks in Philadelphia.
FOIA backlog soars despite Obama pledge Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Federal agencies are struggling to keep up with the growing number of requests for public information, raising questions in Congress about the Obama administration’s dedication to transparency. The backlog of unfulfilled requests for documents has doubled since President Barack Obama took office in 2009, according to a recent report by the Justice Department. The number of requests also has spiked. “The president has committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government,” said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. “But that’s not the case” in filling requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Chaffetz cited examples of people waiting years for documents only to have their requests denied. In other cases, federal agencies blacked out information that was public elsewhere. One document produced by the Federal Communications Commission blacked out a news release already publicly released, Chaffetz said. Chaffetz’ committee wrapped up two days of hearings on the FOIA
“Logic tells you that when you have less people and you’ve got more demand, you’re going to have problems.” Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland Wednesday, with some Republican members chastising federal officials responsible for disclosing public information. “You’re part of the problem,” said Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga. Officials from the Departments of State, Justice, Homeland Security and Treasury testified, along with an official from the IRS. Several Democrats came to their defense, noting that budget cuts have left fewer workers to process information requests. “Logic tells you that when you have less people and you’ve got more demand, you’re going to have problems,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the committee’s top Democrat. Governmentwide, the backlog of requests went from 77,000 in 2009 to nearly 160,000 in 2014, according to the Justice Department report. The increase coincided with a jump in requests. In 2009, the federal government received almost 558,000 requests for
“CONFESSION” To confess is “to declare openly by way of speaking out freely, such confession being the effect of deep conviction of facts,” (W.E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. p.224). When Jesus asked His disciples, “ Whom do men say that I the son of man am,” it was Peter, who said “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. “(Matthew 16: 17) Peter made this statement out of a deeply held conviction that had come from witnessing the miracles and the teachings of Jesus. Nicodemus said to Jesus, “We know thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him. (John 3:2) His statement, like that of Peter was based on the evidence available, produced conviction, and demanded that a statement (confession) be made. In both, though they are slightly different, there is a truth about the deity of Jesus; he is the divine Son of God. This is the foundation principle of Christianity, therefore Paul said in Romans 10:9, 10,”That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” On the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus, the recorded sermon of Peter draws attention to the fact that “Jesus of Nazareth” was “a man approved of God” (Acts 2:22) and that “God hath made this same Jesus whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ.”(Acts 2:36) It is at this point the text indicates the hearers were “pricked in their heart and asked Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37) The evidence presented had convinced them of the deity of Jesus, and their question indicates their desire to do something about the sin they had committed. Jesus affirmed the necessity of confession when he said, “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven, But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I deny also before my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32,33) In the context of this passage, Jesus is discussing the conflict that would exist between the world and his disciples, and the absolute necessity on their part to confess him in the presence of man, whatever the cost. We can do no less and be pleasing to him. We invite you to study and worship with us at the Danville church of Christ.
DanvilleTimChurch of Christ Carothers- Minister 481 cr 409 Corinth MS • c/o 471 cr 513, Rienzi MS • 662-287-0312
information. In 2014, the number increased to more than 714,000. At the same time, the number of staff working full time on information requests dropped from a high of 4,400 in 2011 to about 3,800 in 2014. Melanie Ann Pustay, the director of the department’s office of information policy, said the administration has improved training and made some progress. “First, the majority of agencies — 72 out of 100 — were able to maintain low backlogs of fewer than 100 requests,” Pustay said. “Notably, 59 of these agencies had a backlog of less than 20 requests, including 29 that reported having no backlog at all.” Agencies with a backlog of more than 1,000 requests were required to come up with a plan to reduce them, she said. White House spokesman Josh Earnest chided Congress for exempting congressional records from the law. “In the last fiscal year, the administration processed 647,000 FOIA
requests that we received from the public,” Earnest said. “I would note that that is 647,000 more FOIA requests than were processed by the United States Congress.” The IRS set up a special team to handle a surge in information requests in 2013 after the agency disclosed that agents had inappropriately singled out conservative political groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status, said Mary Howard, director of the agency’s disclosure division. In addition to public requests, the IRS team produced more than 1 million pages of documents to investigators from four congressional committees, the agency’s inspector general and the Justice Department — at a cost of about $20 million, Howard said. Chaffetz issued a subpoena for Howard to appear at Wednesday’s hearing after IRS officials said they would rather send Commissioner John Koskinen. Chaffetz said he wanted to hear from the agency’s expert on responding to information requests. The IRS said Koskinen was the most appropriate witness because the hearing covered issues that went beyond the scope of Howard’s office. The other four officials appeared voluntarily.
No theft or embezzlement found from pension trust Associated Press
PASCAGOULA — Jackson County leaders say they haven’t found theft or embezzlement in their investigation of the Singing River Health System’s failing pension plan. Board attorney Billy Guice said in a news release that county leaders are trying to find a solution to the hospital’s pension failure without a tax increase. He also says the cost of defending the lawsuits over the plan is
currently being paid by the hospital system’s liability insurance carrier and not being charged to the trust. Guice also said supervisors were not advised and had no knowledge that health system officials had decided to stop contributing to the pension fund after 2009. Guice said a year before that big decision was made, the Employers’ Retirement Plan and Trust reportedly suffered a 25 percent investment loss.
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Deaths Alma Phillips
Funeral services for Alma Phillips, 95, are set for 1 p.m. Saturday, June 6 at West Corinth Tabernacle Pentecostal Church with Bro. Merl Dixon and Bro. Jessie Hisaw officiating. Burial will follow in Forrest Memorial Park. Mrs. Phillips passed away on June 1, 2015 at her residence in the Farmington community. She was born December 28, 1919 in Alcorn County to the late George W. and Lizzie Weston Keele. She married Elvie Clyde Phillips on December 23, 1939 and was married 64 years until his passing in 2004. She was a licensed minister with the United Pentecostal Church International for over 60 years. In 1956 she was the founding pastor of the Burnsville Pentecostal Church. She provided nursing home services at various nursing homes for over 40 years. Phillips Mrs. Phillips attended Kendrick Full Gospel Church and most recently at West Corinth Tabernacle Pentecostal Church. Along with her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband, Elvie Clyde Phillips; son-in-laws, Leroy “Lee” Lambert and Bill Tennyson; her sister, Velma Rhodes; and her brother and his wife, Clyde and Mary Keele. Mrs. Phillips is survived by her five children, Jean (Ray) Settlemires, Virginia “Jennie” Lambert, Joyce (Larry) Wigginton, Teresa Tennyson all of Corinth and Rev. Ronnie (Judy) Phillips of Cookeville, Tenn.; grandchildren, Aleasa Helsinger, Kirk (Lisa) Wigginton, Pamela (Danny) Duke, Shane (Tammy) Wigginton, Greg (Jan) Lambert, Jeffrey (Tonya) Settlemires, Teena (Barry) Hatfield, Jennifer (Matt) Davidson, Kerry (Bridget) Phillips, Patina (Ken) Warren, Dale (Rhonda) Tennyson, Billy (Sheron) Tennyson and Teresa Shelton; 36 great-grandchildren; 12 greatgreat-grandchildren; and a host of other family and friends. Pallbearers will be Kirk Wigginton, Shane Wigginton, Kerry Phillips, Justin Duke, Greg Lambert, Dale Tennyson and Danny Duke. Honorary pallbearers will be the Sharing Hearts volunteers. Visitation will be Friday night from 5-8 p.m. and from 11 a.m. until service time on Saturday at West Corinth Tabernacle Pentecostal Church. Condolences may be left at www.mcpetersfuneraldirectors.com. McPeters Inc. Funeral Directors is in charge of arrangements.
Chris Robinson
Chris Robinson died Wednesday, May 27, 2015. Arrangements are incomplete with Memorial Funeral Home.
Vera Lee Elliott
Funeral services for Vera Lee Anderson Elliott, 62, are set for 1 p.m. Friday at St. James Church of God In Christ with burial in Rienzi Cemetery. Mrs. Elliott died Friday, May 29, 2015 at JacksonMadison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tenn. Born July 12, 1952, she graduated Danville Illinois High School and attended Illinois State University. She was employed as a teacher at Danville Elementary and was a member of St. James Church of God In Christ. Survivors include her husband, Charles Elliott of Corinth; two sons, Emanual (Areka) Elliott of Rienzi and Everett (LaJuana) Elliott of Corinth; two brothers, James Anderson of Champaign, Ill. and Timothy Anderson of Danville, Ill.; and a granddaughter, Alayna Elliott of Rienzi. She was preceded in death by her father, Charlie Anderson; mother, Emma Johnican; and grandson, Everette Elliott II. Bishop Barry Elliott and Elder Anthony Fox will officiate. Visitation is 6-8 p.m. tonight at Grayson Funeral Home.
Inmate set for execution in slayings 31 years ago Associated Press
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — The execution of a 67-year-old man who was convicted of killing four men more than three decades ago was set to proceed Wednesday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a last-day appeal to halt the lethal injection. Lester Bower Jr. would be the oldest prisoner executed in the most active death penalty state since the punishment was reinstated in 1982. He was convicted of October 1983 fatal shootings of four men at an airplane hangar on a ranch near Sherman. Prosecutors say he killed the four after stealing an airplane that he had been trying to buy from one of his victims. “I do have remorse,” Bower, who has maintained his innocence, told The Associated Press two weeks ago from death row. “I’m remorseful for putting my family and my wife and my friends through this. “If this is going to bring some closure to them (the victim’s family), then good. But if they think by this they’re executing the person that killed their loved one, then that’s going to come up a little bit
short.” Bower would be the eighth inmate given a lethal dose of pentobarbital this year in Texas, which carries out capital punishment more than any other state. His attorneys told the high court that jurors didn’t have the opportunity in their punishment deliberations to fully consider that Bower had no previous criminal record. Attorneys also contended that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals used an incorrect legal standard when it denied an appeal for Bower a decade ago. Stephen Hoffman, an assistant Texas attorney general, responded that 30 years of litigation was enough and justice already had been delayed “for the four families of the men that Bower slaughtered in cold blood.” The Supreme Court declined in March to review Bower’s case — although three justices, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor, said they would have thrown out his death sentence. But about three hours before he was to be taken to the death chamber, the Supreme Court denied his renewed late appeal.