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McNairy County Rockabilly Festival has full lineup

Prentiss County Northeast honors math, science winners

Alcorn County Region IV hosts Teen Op program

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Thursday June 8,

2017

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Daily Corinthian Vol. 121, No. 136

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• Corinth, Mississippi • 14 pages • One section

Truck accident injures teenage girl received a report around 6:45 Tuesday evening of a juvenile female having been run over by a truck on Alcorn County Road 515 (Mitchell Hill Road). “When we arrived, we found the girl had been run over by the truck she was riding in,” said Essary.

Staff reports

A 15-year-old Alcorn County girl sustained severe injuries Tuesday evening after being run over by a pickup truck in Alcorn County. According to Alcorn County Sheriﬀ’s Department Chief Deputy Dusty Essary, the ACSD

The truck was a red Dodge pickup, and there were five female juveniles in the truck. One of the passengers opened the door and fell out on the passenger side and was run over by the truck’s back passenger tire. He declined to provide the victim’s name. The Daily Corinthian has

learned the name of the victim is Kelsie Martin. He said the victim sustained severe injuries. She was transported by EMS to Magnolia Regional Health Center, and then on to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis.

He said the driver of the truck said she was going about 25 miles per hour when the victim was run over. Regarding the accident, Essary said, “Not only is it the law, but it is very important for your safety to buckle your seatbelt.” No charges have been filed.

Mississippi Flash still rocking Grant may solve town’s water woes BY BRANT SAPPINGTON

bsappington@dailycorinthian.com

The Booneville Mississippi Flash is still rocking. Rockabilly pioneer Hayden Thompson, a native of Wheeler, hit the scene in the 1950s as one of the roster of stars on the legendary Sun Records label, and recently released his latest album of new material, “Learning the Game.” A throwback to the classic rockabilly sound that made him a favorite on the circuit that spawned superstars including Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich and more, “Learning the Game” captures Thompson’s unique voice and gift for phrasing with 12 tracks depicting an artist more ready to rock a stage than rest in a rocking chair at the age of 79. “Being my age and to get to cut something like this, it’s kind of nice,” he said from his home in Illinois where he lives with his wife between frequent trips to Europe to perform for the continent’s rabid fans of rockabilly and 1950s Americana. Thompson found a career renaissance when he was discovered by the dedicated fans in Europe where a thriving rockabilly and classic rock

scene exists filled with fans who have rediscovered the music of America’s 50s and welcome the performers from that era with open arms. “In Europe, they still like that stuﬀ from the ’50s and that’s the only thing that keeps me going,” said Thompson. One of the singer’s biggest

fans was the head of Finland’s Bluelight Records, who connected with Thompson to release four albums including an extensive compilation of his classic work and this most recent album of new songs, “Learning the Game.” Please see THOMPSON | 2

Town passes new tourism tax ness 251 to 166 for the post of Ward 4 aldermen. Incumbent Booneville voters have David Bolen did not seek rechosen a new mayor and ap- election. Democratic incumbent Japroved a tax aimed at boosting tourism and recreation in son Michael won in Ward 1 the city. over Republican challenger Joshua WhitBusinessman Chris son 297-220. Lindley will be BoonIncumbent Ward eville’s new mayor 3 Alderman Demowhile Democrat William Scott claimed crat Mark McCoy won 201-109 over Libertarthe post of Ward 4 ian Joel Counce to reAlderman and a pair turn to his seat on the of incumbents were board. returned to oﬃce in Tuesday’s municipal Lindley Tuesday’s referendum on the city’s general election. Lindley, a Democrat, de- tourism tax proposal passed feated Republican Larry Ste- 860 to 465 or 65.91 percent to vens 904 to 472 according to 35.09 percent. The proposal complete but unoﬃcial re- had to receive over 60 percent sults. He will fill the post va- of votes cast to be approved. cated by one-term incumbent The plan will add a 2 percent Derrick Blythe who did not additional tax on restaurants, seek reelection as mayor. hotels and motels in the city William Scott was the win- which will go into a special acner of the other open position count, separate from the city’s on the board of aldermen, defeating Republican John CaviPlease see ELECTION | 2 BY BRANT SAPPINGTON

bsappington@dailycorinthian.com

Corinth is seeking a grant to help solve the town of Burnsville’s water supply woes. The Corinth Board of Aldermen Tuesday evening approved applying for a $1.5 million Economic Development Administration grant to fund the extension of a water line from the Cliﬀord G. Worsham Surface Water Treatment Facility to Burnsville. The treatment plant, which taps the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway as a water source, is located seven miles west of Corinth. Burnsville’s water supply is being stretched by the needs of the Mississippi Silicon factory, which began production late in 2015. The manufacturer is using about 270,000 gallons of water daily. The water treatment plant was conceived as a regional supplier. If funded, this would be the first delivery of water from the plant to another community. The city of Corinth will serve as the grant applicant but

People of the Crossroads Jonathan McGaughy, Suitors Crossing Following in his father’s footsteps, the Rev. Jonathan McGaughy is working for the Lord. For the last 10 years, he has pastored Life Tabernacle Pentecostal Church, a church established by his late father, the Rev. Donald McGaughy. “I knew I was called into the ministry at age 10,” said the young McGaughy. “The calling of the Lord into the ministry is undeniable — I just knew deep down in my heart it was what I was supposed to do with my life.” Also a supervisor at ThyseenKrupp in Middleton, Tenn., McGaughy has been married to his wife, Jennifer, for 27 years. “She works and labors with me faithfully at the church,” he said. “Jennifer plays a very important role in our ministry. We are a team.” The couple have three children, Brooke, Lanie and Isaac, and three grandchildren. Staff photo by Zack Steen

25 years ago

10 years ago

Carroll Little claims his second straight Alcorn County golf championship.

Josh Bates, Will Bradley, Kylene Burcham, Antonio R. Gillespie and Christi Parker are honored with the annual Owen B. Whitehurst Scholarships.

Dr. Erica’s Laser Aesthetic Centers Erica Noyes, MD

have no financial stake in the estimated $3 million project, which would involve 23,500 linear feet of 18-inch pipe. Funding commitments of $500,000 each are being made by the town of Burnsville, the Yellow Creek Port and the Corinth Public Utilities Commission. In other business, the board is setting in motion a zoning change on South Tate Street generally between Turner Creek and the railroad. The change from industrial to commercial zoning will go to the city’s planning commission for discussion. “It has come to my attention that we’ve got an area along Tate street, which is considered to be one of the primary entrances to the downtown, that was left to be I-2, or heavy manufacturing,” said Dave Huwe, director of community development and planning. “That’s the area between Corinth Threatre-Arts and the railroad. On either side of that, you have C-2 general commercial.”

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Local/State

Across The State

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Teen Op

Associated Press

Furniture maker sold to New York firm PONTOTOC — Shareholders have sold most of a Mississippi furniture maker to a New York private equity firm. Gainline Capital Partners said Wednesday that it has bought out the shareholders of Pontotocbased Southern Motion, which makes reclining furniture in northeast Mississippi. Gainline didn’t say how much it paid, but said CEO Roger Bland and other managers would stay in place and keep a “significant stake” in the business. In a statement, Bland says the deal allows original Southern Motion investors to cash out. Gainline Managing Director Rick Sullivan says his investment firm hopes to support long-term growth at Southern Motion. Southern Motion, founded in 1996, has 1,500 employees in Pontotoc and Baldwyn. Gainline says on its website that it typically makes investments of $10 million to $50 million.

Drugs, shanks seized at Cleveland prison CLEVELAND — The Mississippi Department of Corrections says officers made one of the largest contraband busts of the year at a facility in Cleveland, confiscating items like drugs and cell phones. The MDOC tells local media that during the bust Tuesday, officers at the Bolivar County Correctional Facility found 54 packages of tobacco, 47 cell phones, 83 phone chargers, 27 sets of headphones, four shanks, two knives, pills, tennis shoes, marijuana, cigarettes and cigars. MDOC Commissioner Pelicia Hall says finding such a large amount of contraband is “disturbing,” and ordered that the facility go on lockdown pending an investigation. Bolivar County Regional is one of 15 such facilities in the statewide prison system. It had 294 inmates as of Tuesday morning.

Region IV Mental Health recently hosted its annual Teen Op program at Hopewell Baptist Church in Rienzi, offering area youth a day of learning about careers, how to apply for and interview for jobs, how to manage money and how to make wise choices. Tupelo Christian Preparatory School Baseball Coach Shaune Holliday served as the keynote speaker. Other presentations were provided by local employers, NEMCC and others. The event was sponsored by ACCO Brands, Caterpillar, Diamond Grove, the Boys and Girls Club, Region IV and the Mississippi Tobacco Free Coalition.

Woman charged with fraud faces prison CLARKSDALE — The Mississippi Attorney General’s office says a woman is facing up to eight years in prison if found guilty on fraud charges. Tammie Conner, 49, of Clarksdale appeared Tuesday in Coahoma Circuit Court after she had been charged with workers compensation and wire fraud. A statement from the state attorney says Conner is accused of staging a fall and filing an insurance claim as a result of the alleged incident. If convicted on the charges she faces up to three years in prison for the workers compensation count and up to five years for the wire count with a maximum of $15,000 in fines.

Body of 4th Illinois resident found after crash Associated Press

ABERDEEN — Searchers on Wednesday found the body of an Illinois woman who was missing after a sport utility vehicle carrying four people crashed more than a week ago in Mississippi. The body of Amber Smith, 24, of Streator, Illinois, was found at the Aberdeen Lock and Dam on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, said Carolyn Green, the coroner of Lee County. Smith was ejected during the crash and died of multiple traumas, Green said. A creek had taken the

body about 40 miles from the crash site, she said. Two men and two women had headed to Florida from Illinois on May 26. On May 30, a fisherman found a blue Chevrolet SUV crashed in a creek under an Interstate 22 bridge in the northeast Mississippi city of Tupelo. The bodies of two men and one woman were found that day. Because the two women who were traveling together had similar facial features, authorities had trouble identifying the body of the first woman found.

Green originally publicly identified the body found May 30 as Smith. However, after speaking with relatives of the travelers, Green ordered DNA tests to confirm that the first body was that of the other woman in the SUV, Heather Uhren, 25, of Streator. Green said Uhren’s family provided information about jewelry she was wearing, and the description matched jewelry on the first body. Green said Wednesday that she is waiting for DNA test results from the Mississippi Crime Lab.

start all those years ago. “The purpose of this one was to get a little bit of that Sun Records feel and I really think we did that,” he said. The response to the album has been extremely positive with great reviews from numerous publications. Thompson said he’s had lots of encouraging feedback from listeners and loves that everyone who hears the album seems to find their own special moment in the music. “That’s been the great

thing about this CD is I keep hearing from people that like six or seven different songs,” he said. As for Thompson’s plans, they don’t include slowing down. He’s headed back to Europe for a string of shows this fall and wants all of his old friends in Prentiss County to know he’s still doing what he loves and still loves what he’s doing. “I’m still out there beating the bushes, still doing the thing,” he said with a laugh.

can or other candidates in those races. Lisa Stevens was elected alderman at large, defeating incumbent Harold Eaton, while incumbent Jeﬀ Williams defeated challenger Colette McGee Gardner in the race for alderman ward 2. New terms oﬃcially begin at the start of July. Lindley said he’s grateful for all the support shown to him throughout the race and excited about the city’s future. “I just want to thank everyone for the support I

received campaigning. As I was knocking on doors I thoroughly enjoyed receiving the input and thoughts of the citizens and we’re going to try to take those thoughts and do some positive things to help our city grow,” he said. The mayor-elect said he believes there’s a spirit of optimism in the city right now and he’s looking forward to working with everyone in the community to help move Booneville forward.

THOMPSON CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“I’ve been very fortunate,” said Thompson. His previous work with the label includes a smooth, uptown country album titled simply “Hayden Thompson” and a straight-ahead collection of rockers called “Standing Tall.” The latest release is a deliberate return to the sound created in Sam Phillips’ Sun Studios in Memphis where a young man from Wheeler with big dreams got his

ELECTION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

general fund, to be used to promote tourism and parks and recreation options in the city. The tax will begin being collected Aug1. Overall turnout for the general election was 28.41 percent with 1,390 of the city’s 4,893 registered voters casting ballots. Races for alderman at large and ward 2 aldermen were decided in the Democratic primary since there were no Republi-

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Today in History Today is Thursday, June 8, the 159th day of 2017. There are 206 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History On June 8, 1967, during the six-day Middle East war, 34 American servicemen were killed when Israel attacked the USS Liberty, a Navy intelligence-gathering ship in the Mediterranean Sea. (Israel later said the Liberty had been mistaken for an Egyptian vessel.)

On this date In 1845, Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the United States, died in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1917, during World War I, Maj. Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, arrived in Liverpool, England, while en route to France; also, the 1st Expeditionary Division (later the 1st Infantry Division) was organized at Fort Jay in New York. In 1939, Britain’s King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth, arrived in Washington, D.C., where they were received at the White House by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1942, Bing Crosby recorded “Silent Night” and “Adeste Fideles” (O Come All Ye Faithful) in Los Angeles for Decca Records. In 1953, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that restaurants in the District of Columbia could not refuse to serve blacks. In 1972, during the Vietnam War, an Associated Press photographer took a picture of a screaming 9-year-old girl, Phan Thi Kim Phuc (fahn thee kihm fook), as she ran naked and severely burned from the scene of a South Vietnamese napalm attack. In 1987, Fawn Hall began testifying at the IranContra hearings, describing how, as secretary to National Security aide Oliver L. North, she had helped to shred some documents and spirit away others.

Local/Region

Daily Corinthian • 3

Rockabilly Festival has full lineup (Editor’s note: The following story by Joel Counce first appeared in the Independent Appeal. It is being reprinted with the proper permission.) SELMER, Tenn. — The 9th Annual Rockabilly Highway Revival Festival is oﬀ to a busy start. The annual downtown event keeps on rolling Thursday at 6 p.m. with the Rocking 50s 5K at Crazy K Ranch. “Last year, we did a glow run,” Selmer Parks and Recreation Di-

rector Sybil Dancer said. “We’re not doing that this year, but we will be starting it at the same time we did last year.” Forms can be picked up and dropped oﬀ at the Latta Building at 205 W Court St. The entry fee is $25 Thursday. Friday is the McNairy County Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony and unveiling of the McNairy Trail of Music Legends at 6 p.m. at The Latta. “It’s always free,” Arts in McNairy founder Shawn Pitts said.

“Donations are appreciated.”

Saturday events The Joe Rickman Band of Corinth of takes the stage at 10 a.m. The Dawg Creek Band plays at 11:15 a.m. The Slugburger Eating Contest and McNairy County Trail of Music Legends Marker Reveal begin at 12:45 p.m. The Elam McKnight Band plays at 3:15 p.m. Rockabilly Pageant and Slugout winners will be announced

at 4:45 p.m. McNairy Idol winner Amanda Emmons will perform at 5:15 p.m. Rodell McCord Band is slated to take the stage at 6 p.m. Lane Kristian closes out the entertainment from 7:30 to 9 p.m. followed by fireworks ta 9 p.m. “For that night, we ask people to gather in downtown in the courthouse area for the fireworks,” said McNairy County Chamber CEO Eddie Crittendon.

NEMCC honors math, science students Northeast Mississippi Community College acknowledged the accomplishments and achievements of its faculty, staﬀ, and students during the college’s annual Honors Ceremony on Thursday, April 27. During the 2017 Honors Ceremony, which is sponsored by the college’s Iota Zeta chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, four students were honored for their academic achievements in the area of mathematics and sciences. Northeast Mathematics and Sciences division head Beth Byrd presented Elizabeth Ashley Akers of Booneville, Maggie Ann Eaton of Iuka, Kathryn Elizabeth Lee of Dennis with the division’s Award of Excellence while Landon Tucker Meeks of Tiplersville was named the Mathematics and Sciences Division’s most outstanding student. Northeast’s Honor’s Day serves as a ceremony to recognize the school’s top students in each division — business and engineering technology, fine arts, health sciences, humanities and languages, social, behavioral and applied sciences and mathematics and sciences — along with the Who’s Who Among American Junior Colleges nominees, Higher Education Appreciation Day, Working for Academic Excellence (HEADWAE) recipients, All-Mississippi Academic team members, Scholar’s Bowl team members, the 2017 Northeast Hall of Fame inductees and acknowledgement of the Tremendous Individual Performance (TIP) and Teaching Outstanding Performance (TOP) award winners. Approximately 250 members of the Northeast student body were recognized for their academic achievement during the 2017 version of the event. Phi Theta Kappa Honor Soci-

During its annual Honors Day Ceremony, Northeast Mississippi Community College honored four students for their academic achievements in the area of mathematics and sciences. Joining honorees Elizabeth Ashley Akers of Booneville, Maggie Ann Eaton of Iuka, Kathryn Elizabeth Lee of Dennis and Landon Tucker Meeks of Tiplersville were Northeast president Ricky Ford (from left-right), Tucker, Lee, Eaton, Akers and Northeast Mathematics and Sciences division head Beth Byrd during the Iota Zeta chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society’s Honors Day Ceremony in the Bonner Arnold Coliseum on April 27. ety, headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, is the largest honor society in higher education with 1,285 chapters on college campuses in all 50 of the United States, plus Canada, Germany, the Republic of Palau, Peru, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial possessions. Nearly three million students have been inducted since its founding in 1918, with approximately 131,000 students inducted annually. Phi Theta Kappa seeks to foster the development of leadership and service, to provide an intellectual climate for the exchange of ideas, and to encourage the establishment of schol-

Northeast Mathematics and Sciences division head Beth Byrd presented Elizabeth Ashley Akers of Booneville, Maggie Ann Eaton of Iuka, Kathryn Elizabeth Lee of Dennis with the division’s Award of Excellence while Landon Tucker Meeks of Tiplersville was named the Mathematics and Sciences Division’s most outstanding student. arships for advanced education. Northeast’s Iota Zeta chapter has been recognized as a “Five Star” chapter for 15 straight years, the highest rating given any chapter, has been recognized as an exemplary model as well as a Top 100 chapter nationally and was ranked sixth on the 2015 Phi Theta Kappa Presi-

dent’s List, which lists the Top 25 colleges nationally by their 2015 acceptance rates. Advisors for the chapter during the 2016-17 academic year are Dr. Ray Harris, Andrea Mathis of Booneville and Carla Falkner, Morgan Ricks, both of Tupelo and Dr. Deborah Kehoe of Oxford.

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Corinth, Miss.

Part of our punishment When Greg Guirard visited from Louisiana, he insisted on doing a chore before he ate a meal. Never mind he’d driven eight hours to get here. One visit, he cleared privet from the edge of the woods along my drive. Another time, he sanded a cypress board he’d salvaged from the swamp bottom and brought as a gift. Once, he arrived with a small live oak tree from his land on the western edge of the AtchaRheta falaya Basin in St. Martin ParJohnson ish. He planted it in my North Mississippi yard. Columnist I’d never seen a live oak this far north, and I said I suspected it wouldn’t survive the harsh winters. Conventional wisdom has the Live Oak Line about five hours south. “Maybe nobody’s ever tried,” Greg said. The tree has made it eight years, and is over 4 feet tall. When he died of meningitis last week, it was as if a giant tree fell. Plenty heard. Greg was tall, ruggedly handsome, soft-spoken and kind. Think Kris Kristoﬀerson meets James Arness. Everyone fell in love with Greg at first meeting. No exceptions. Men, women, small children. He was mesmerizing, a voracious reader, a Solomon of the Swamp. At age 80, he was still outdoors every day -crawfishing, salvaging ancient cypress sinker logs, taking photographs, giving free tours to anyone who showed a sincere interest in trying to preserve a disappearing way of swamp life. He planted thousands of trees in a quixotic quest to replace the billions of board feet taken from the Basin between 1875 and 1930. Greg knew poets, movie stars, musicians, the documentarian Ken Burns. But his best friends were Roy and Annie Blanchard, who fished as a couple for decades, and Cara and Dean Wilson of the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper, an activist environmental group. Greg was doting godfather to their son, Aramis. Greg was 2 when he moved with his family to the bosky bayou land. He sometimes would leave -- mostly in August, when the repressive heat made travel attractive -- but the Atchafalaya remained his home. He moved to Costa Rica once, not coincidentally the year Richard Nixon was elected, and taught English for several years. He loved Faulkner and Thoreau. Greg helped Hollywood find locations in the labyrinth of swamp. For Robert Duvall’s “The Apostle,” Greg’s job was to scare away snakes before the baptism scenes. He often got speaking parts, including “In the Electric Mist,” with Tommy Lee Jones. “In the credits they call me ‘Old Cajun Fisherman,’” Greg said with a laugh. “I’m about the same age as Tommy Lee Jones. They didn’t call him ‘Old Tommy Lee Jones.’” Greg built his own cypress cabin. Beyond it is the house of his late parents, and, beyond that, his grandparents’ home. It is a timeline of domiciles, vine-covered, slowly going back to earth. Boats are everywhere -- houseboats, pirogues, crawfishing rigs -- and outboards hang from oak boughs. Cypress logs and boards are stacked in countless piles and barns, each piece of wood a prize. Anywhere else, you might say it was a mess, but in this setting it is perfect, meaningful. “Once we have cut down all the big trees, part of our punishment will be to live in a world without any big trees,” Greg wrote in one of his many books, “Inherit the Atchafalaya.” And it feels like punishment to live in a world without Greg. Rheta Grimsley Johnson’s most recent book is “Hank Hung the Moon ... And Warmed Our Cold, Cold Hearts.” Comments are welcomed at rhetagrimsley@aol.com.

Prayer for today Lord God, I pray for a desire to work. May I not be deceived in my convictions, and work for that of which I may afterward be ashamed. Lead me into a clear conception of right and wrong. Help me to see as thou dost see, that I may walk with confidence in thy steps. Amen.

A verse to share To them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever. — Isaiah 56:5

Letters Policy All letters are subject to editing before publication, especially those beyond 600 words in length. Send to: Letters to the editor, Daily Corinthian, P.O. Box 1800, Corinth, Miss. 38835. Letters may also be e-mailed to: letters@daily corinthian.com. Email is the preferred method.

Bill Maher and perpetual adolescence Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse appeared on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” show to promote his new book, “The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming of Age Crisis -- And How To Build a Culture of Self Reliance.” Surely Sasse didn’t expect this routine publicity spot for his book to turn into a media storm. But thanks to Bill Maher’s infamous and irreverent mouth, this is what happened. Maher, of course, makes his living being irreverent. But now he has discovered that even a rich leftwing provocateur has lines he can’t cross. And using the classic word of black denigration — the N-word — is one of them. Now he has apologized — surely not out of any personal remorse but out of career damage control. Whether he will pay a price for his casual exploitation of the pain of others remains to be seen. Regardless, we should ask if there is something to learn here. Maher did Senator Sasse a kind of favor. His behavior was advertisement for the relevance of Sasse’s book. Sasse discusses in this book what he sees as a trend in America toward “perpet-

Star Parker Columnist

ual adolescence” — a deferral of the transition from child to adult. He is not talking about biological adulthood. He is talking about cultur-

al adulthood. It’s about taking responsibility for one’s life and, in an even broader sense, for the challenge of living. We come into this world as egoists. Everything revolves around us. Growing up involves discovering that the world is about more than me, that there are others, and that we are all part of something greater than ourselves. But this is really exactly the opposite frame of mind that our society today supports. Instead, the values our culture tends to celebrate and encourage are those of the perpetual adolescence that Ben Sasse talks about. Everything is about me -- my wants, my claims, my rights. A Gallup poll from last month bears the headline “Americans Hold Record Liberal Views On Most

Moral Issues.” Positive responses are at record highs for the moral acceptability of birth control (91 percent), divorce (73 percent), sex between an unmarried man and woman (69 percent), homosexual relations (63 percent), outof-wedlock birth (62 percent), abortion (43 percent), pornography (36 percent). Despite the overwhelming evidence correlating traditional family life with personal health and prosperity, Americans are increasingly casting aside this vital social institution. Why? Because along with it comes responsibility, caring about others as well as oneself, and caring about the future as well as the present. Taking on the responsibility of marriage and family means transitioning to becoming an adult. This transition also means appreciating and recognizing that there is knowledge I do not have, and that it is important to learn. This builds humility rather than arrogance. Which gets back to Bill Maher. It is no accident that in a 2016 Gallup poll only 32 percent of Americans said they have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of trust in the media. In a society with-

out an appreciation for lifelong learning, where young people arrive at universities feeling they already have enough wisdom, media is going to be about entertainment, not knowledge. So our media stars are provocateurs such as Maher, whose objective is to violate sensibilities, because this builds audience. He doesn’t care about knowledge. He also doesn’t care about respect, and what was once taught as the Golden Rule — to treat others as you wish to be treated. This is adult behavior. So, Bill Maher helped Ben Sasse make his case about “The Vanishing American Adult” by showing how he makes a handsome living in a society that rewards perpetual adolescence. Of course, Bill Maher is far from alone. Increasingly, all our media is about provocation rather than knowledge. Meanwhile, Sen. Ben Sasse has an important message for the nation. If we want a future, we need to grow up. Star Parker is an author and president of CURE, Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Contact her at www.urbancure.org.

War now seems to be endless On May 22, Salman Abedi, 22, waiting at the entrance of the Arianna Grande pop concert in Manchester, blew himself up, killing almost two dozen people, among them parents waiting to pick up their children. Saturday, three Islamic terrorists committed “suicide-by-cop,” using a van to run down pedestrians on London Bridge, and then slashing and stabbing patrons of pubs and diners in the nearby Borough Market. By all accounts, the killers bore no special grudge against those they murdered. They appear not even to have known their victims. Why, then, did they kill these strangers, and themselves? A BBC eyewitness suggests a motive: “They shouted, ‘This is for Allah’, as they stabbed indiscriminately.” The murderers were Muslims. The rationale for their crimes lies in the belief that their bloody deeds would inscribe them in a book of martyrs, and Allah would reward them with instant ascension into the paradise that awaits all good Muslims. Ideas have consequences. And where might these crazed killers have gotten an idea like that? Is there a strain of Islam, the basis of which can be found in the Quran, that would justify what the murderers did at London Bridge?

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On Palm Sunday, an explosion in Tanta, 56 miles north of Cairo, killed 29 and inPatrick jured 71 Copts Buchanan as they prayed at the Mar Columnist Girgis church. A second blast at a church in Alexandria killed 18 and wounded 35. On May 26, masked gunmen stopped two buses carrying Coptic Christians to Saint Samuel the Confessor Monastery in Egypt, and opened fire, killing 26 and wounding 25. “I call on Egyptians to unite in the face of this brutal terrorism,” said Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of al-Azhar, Egypt’s 1,000-year-old center of Islamic learning. Yet, years of such atrocities have eﬀected a nearcomplete cleansing of Christianity from its cradle provinces in the Holy Land. Clearly, from the suicide bombings and shootings of civilians in the Middle East, now across the West, there is a belief among some Muslims that what the killers are doing is moral and meritorious — taking the martyr’s path to salvation. When have the imams of Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, and West ever stood as one to condemn all such acts as against the tenets of Islam? In condemning the London Bridge attack, Prime

Minister Theresa May said that recent atrocities across England were “bound together by the single evil ideology of Islamist extremism.” Correct. There is an extremist school of Islam that needs to be purged from the West, even as this school of fanatics is seeking to purge Christianity from the East. We are at war. And the imams of Islam need to answer the question: “Whose side are you on?” Are honor killings of girls and women caught in adultery justified? Are lashings and executions of Christian converts justified? Do people who hold such beliefs really belong in the United States or in the West during this long war with Islamist extremism? Other questions need answering as well. Is our commitment to diversity broad enough to embrace people with Islamist beliefs? Is our First Amendment freedom of speech and of religion extensive enough to cover the sermons of imams who use mosques to preach in favor of expelling Christians from the Middle East and an eventual takeover of the West for an Islam where Sharia replaces constitutional law? Are such Islamist beliefs not intolerable and perilous for our republic? Clearly, the West is in a civilizational struggle, with the outcome in some doubt. Four years after Pearl

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Harbor, the Japanese empire had ceased to exist. Japan was smoldering ruins, its navy at the bottom of the Pacific. An American proconsul, Douglas MacArthur, was dictating to the Japanese from the Dai-Ichi building. Today we are in the 16th year of a war begun on 9/11. We are mired down in Libya, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Our victory in Afghanistan is being reversed by the Taliban. While the ISIS caliphate is being eradicated in Raqqa and Mosul, its elements are in two dozen countries of the Mideast. Muslim migrants and refugees, ISIS and al-Qaida among them, are moving into Europe. Terrorist attacks in the West grow in number and lethality every year. The new normal. Now, second-generation Muslims within Europe seem to be converting to a violent version of Islam. To fight them, we are being forced to circumscribe our sovereignty and empower police and intelligence agencies of which free men were once taught to be wary. Wars, it is said, are the death of republics. And we now seem to be caught up in an endless war. Patrick J. Buchanan is the author of a new book, “Nixon’s White House Wars: The Battles That Made and Broke a President and Divided America Forever.”

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Daily Corinthian • Thursday, June 8, 2017 • 5

Judge lets state agency shut down payday lender BY JEFF AMY Associated Press

JACKSON — One of Mississippi’s largest payday lenders was eﬀectively forced out of business Wednesday after a judge ruled that state banking regulators could revoke the company’s licenses during its appeal of state penalties. Hinds County Chancery Judge Dewayne Thomas last month had temporarily blocked penalties against All American Check Cashing by the state Department of Banking and Consumer Finance. But he ruled late Tuesday that he wouldn’t reinstate All American’s licenses to cash checks or make loans while the company fights the state agency. The Madison-based company appealed Wednesday to the

Mississippi Supreme Court, arguing that even temporary enforcement of penalties handed down by the state Department of Banking and Consumer Finance “is the equivalent of the death penalty” for the company. “Without a stay of enforcement to preserve the status quo during All American’s appeal, All American will be financially devastated with absolutely no recourse or path to being made whole when the appeal is successful,” lawyer Michael Cory Jr. wrote. Chief Justice William Waller Jr. ordered banking regulators to respond by Friday. For now, the company can’t cash checks or make new loans at its 42 Mississippi stores. All American can still collect payments

on outstanding payday and title loans. Federal and state regulators in 2014 accused All American of a systematic scheme orchestrated by corporate leaders to evade Mississippi’s prohibition against rolling over payday loans by pushing customers to pay only interest and continue the loan. Consumer advocates have long fought that practice, because borrowers continue paying sky-high interest rates. After a monthslong proceeding, the Banking Department revoked the licenses May 11. Banking Commissioner Charlotte Corley also ordered the company to pay civil fines of $1.62 million and pay refunds totaling almost $135,000 to more than 700 customers. All

pany says Corley improperly inflated the number of violations to increase fines, failed to provide enough evidence to revoke licenses, and has no power to order customer refunds. “The underlying case is one of an administrative agency grossly overreaching its statutory authority and violating fundamental substantive and procedural due process rights,” Cory wrote Wednesday. The dispute has been bitter and personal, with the department alleging All American bought Facebook ads claiming a key regulator patronized the extramarital aﬀair-facilitating Ashley Madison website, and claiming that an All Americanproduced video misrepresenting the department’s actions was shown to legislators.

American says the largest penalty ever previously imposed by the department was about $50,000. Thomas ruled All American could postpone paying $1.62 million in fines while it fought Corley’s action by posting a $500,000 bond, but ruled customer refunds should proceed. The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is suing All American in federal court in Jackson, seeking to force repayment to more customers. All American strenuously disputes the enforcement actions, saying regulators are biased, that examiners in the 2014 raid forced employees to answer questions using threats of jail time, and concocted bogus customer complaints. The com-

Comey: Trump tried to ‘lift the cloud’ of probe Trump taps seasoned law enforcement attorney to head FBI which Trump urged him not to investigate ousted National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s contacts with Russian oﬃcials. But the ex-FBI director also will validate Trump’s assertion that he was not personally a target of the federal counterintelligence investigation into possible campaign collusion with Russia. Comey says he did oﬀer the president that “assurance,” but resisted Trump’s appeals to make that information public. “The FBI and the Department of Justice had been reluctant to make public statements that we did not have an open case on President Trump for a number of reasons, most importantly because it would create a duty to correct, should that change,” Comey says in the prepared remarks. Trump’s personal lawyer said Trump was cheered by the testimony. “The president is pleased that Mr. Comey has finally publicly confirmed his private reports that the president was not under investigation in any Russian probe,” attorney Mark Kasowitz said in a statement. “The presi-

BY JULIE PACE AND ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Fired FBI Director James Comey will testify under oath Thursday that President Donald Trump repeatedly pressed him for his “loyalty” and directly pushed him to “lift the cloud” of investigation shadowing his White House by declaring publicly the president was not the target of the probe into his campaign’s Russia ties. Comey’s detailed and vivid recollections of his one-on-one conversations with Trump were revealed in seven pages of prepared testimony released Wednesday, the day before his muchanticipated appearance before the Senate intelligence committee. His remarks paint a picture of an FBI director so disconcerted by his interactions with the president that he began keeping written memos of their private discussions. He’ll tell lawmakers he believed the president was trying to create a “patronage relationship” with him and describe in detail an Oval Oﬃce meeting in

dent feels completely and totally vindicated. He is eager to continue to move forward with his agenda.” Comey has not spoken publicly since he was abruptly fired by Trump on May 9. His dismissal, four years into a 10year term, fueled claims Trump’s ultimate aim was to quash the investigation and obstruct justice, potentially a federal crime or an impeachable offense. Some legal experts said Comey’s account could bolster such a case. Ryan Goodman, a professor at New York University School of Law, said Trump’s eﬀorts to protect Flynn provide “strong evidence” of obstruction of justice. However, Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, said that while Trump’s dealings with Comey were inappropriate, “We do not indict people for being boorish or clueless.” Comey’s statement came hours after two top intelligence oﬃcials told lawmakers they never felt “pressured” to do anything inappropriate by the president. But Director of National Intelligence Dan

Coats and Adm. Mike Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, angered members of the Senate intelligence committee by staunchly refusing to answer questions about conversations they had with Trump. The ex-FBI director’s testimony recounts his conversations with the apparent precision of a veteran lawman. The first meeting with Trump after the inauguration occurred on Jan. 27, during a private dinner at the White House that Comey came to view as an attempt by the president to “create some sort of patronage relationship.” According to Comey, Trump asked if he wanted to remain as FBI director and declared: “I need loyalty. I expect loyalty.” Comey says he replied that he could offer his honesty, and that when Trump said he wanted “honest loyalty,” Comey paused and said, “You will get that from me.” Comey also describes at length a Feb. 14 meeting in the Oval Office in which he believed Trump asked him to back off an investigation into Flynn.

Earliest fossils of our species found in Morocco of France in Paris. Previously, the oldest known fossils clearly from Homo sapiens were from Ethiopia, at about 195,000 years old. It’s not clear just when or where Homo sapiens came on the scene in Africa. Hublin said he thinks an earlier stage of development preceded the one revealed by his team’s discovery. We evolved from predecessors who had differently shaped skulls and often heavier builds, but were otherwise much more like us than, say, the ape-men that came before them. Our species lived at the same time as some related ones, like Neanderthals, but only we survive. Hublin and others described the new findings in two papers released Wednesday by the journal Nature . The discovery could help illuminate how our species evolved, Chris Stringer and Julia Galway-Witham of the Natural History Museum in London wrote in a Nature commentary.

BY MALCOLM RITTER AP Science Writer

NEW YORK — How long has our species been around? New fossils from Morocco push the evidence back by about 100,000 years. The bones, about 300,000 years old, were unearthed thousands of miles from the previous record-holder, found in fossil-rich eastern Africa. The new discovery reveals people from an early stage of our species’ evolution, with a mix of modern and more primitive traits. “They are not just like us,” said Jean-Jacques Hublin, one of the scientists reporting the find. But they had “basically the face you could meet on the train in New York.” Coupled with other evidence, the Moroccan fossils suggest that Homo sapiens may have reached its modern-day form in more than one place within Africa, said Hublin, of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and the College

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The Moroccan specimens were found between 2007 and 2011 and include a skull, a jaw and teeth, along with stone tools. Combined with other bones that were found there decades ago but not correctly dated, the fossil collection represents at least five people, including young adults, an adolescent and a child of around 8 years old. Analysis shows their brain shape was more elongated than what people have today. “In the last 300,000 years, the main story is the change of the brain,” Hublin said. When these ancient people lived, the site in Morocco was a cave that might have served as a hunting camp, where people butchered and ate gazelles and other prey. They used fire and their tools were made of flint from about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away. So where did the fully modern human body develop? The researchers say evidence suggests

primitive forms of Homo sapiens had already widely spread throughout Africa by around 300,000 years ago. The diﬀerent populations may have exchanged beneficial genetic mutations and behaviors, gradually nudging each other toward a more modern form of the species, Hublin said. In this way, he said in an interview, modern Homo sapiens may have arisen in more than one place. So if there’s a Garden of Eden, he said, it’s the continent as a whole. Some experts who didn’t participate in the research called that idea possible, although not yet demonstrated. But John Shea, an anthropologist at Stony Brook University in New York, said it’s more useful to think of the diﬀerent local populations as a single one, connected the same way a big city is connected by subway stops. “These are parts of a network,” through which ideas and genes flowed, he said.

NOW OPEN

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump surprised Washington on Wednesday with his choice to replace James Comey a day ahead of the ousted FBI director’s blockbuster congressional testimony, tapping a white-collar defense lawyer with strong law enforcement background. Senate Republicans and some Democrats praised the nomination. In an early morning two-sentence tweet, Trump said he intended to nominate Christopher Wray, a high-ranking oﬃcial in George W. Bush’s Justice Department who represented New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the Bridgegate scandal. Trump, in a statement later Wednesday, called Wray “an impeccably qualified individual.” “I know that he will again serve his country as a fierce guardian of the law and model of integrity once the Senate confirms him to lead the FBI,” Trump said. While the choice captured headlines early in the day, it was quickly overwhelmed by the advance release of Comey’s riveting testimony, in which he said Trump sought his loyalty at a January dinner. The former FBI chief also said he told the president three times he was not under investigation in the probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign. The White House and

its allies have been looking for ways to oﬀset that potentially damaging testimony and have been working on strategies aimed at undermining Comey’s credibility. Trump abruptly fired Comey on May 9, roiling Washington and multiple congressional investigations and prompting the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The nomination of Wray — and the Senate confirmation hearings for the 10-year post — promise days more of public discussion about Trump and Russia. Wray said he was honored to be selected. “I look forward to serving the American people with integrity as the leader of what I know firsthand to be an extraordinary group of men and women who have dedicated their careers to protecting this country,” he said. Wray rose to head the Justice Department’s criminal division in the Bush administration and oversaw investigations into corporate fraud, at a time when Comey was deputy attorney general. Wray took charge of a task force of prosecutors and FBI agents created to investigate the Enron scandal. Wray is a traditional choice for the job. Trump had considered current and former politicians, including former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and some FBI agents worried that Trump would try to politicize the bureau.

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Tin Man actor charged with DWI Associated Press

SULLIVAN, N.Y. — A man hired to portray the Tin Man in “Wizard of Oz” author L. Frank Baum’s upstate New York hometown was still in his character’s makeup when his mug shot was taken after a drunk-

en driving arrest. State police say troopers responded Sunday to a report of an intoxicated man on private property in the Madison County town of Sullivan, just east of Syracuse. The homeowner says a man had driven to the home

with another person and was asked to leave. Police say the 31-yearold driver, Nicholas Sherman, told troopers he had just left the Yellow Brick Road Casino in the nearby village of Chittenango, where he was hired to portray the

Tin Man character from “The Wizard of Oz” during last weekend’s OzStravaganza event. Troopers say the man’s blood-alcohol content was 0.19 percent, more than twice the legal limit for driving while intoxicated.

Intelligence chiefs quiet about Trump BY DEB RIECHMANN AND ERIC TUCKER Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers verbally sparred with top intelligence chiefs on Wednesday after they staunchly refused to answer questions about conversations they had with President Donald Trump regarding probes into Russian activities during the election. Members of the Senate intelligence committee wanted to know about news reports claiming Trump had asked Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and Adm. Mike Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, to publicly state that there was no evidence of collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign. Trump has consistently pushed back against suggestions that his campaign coordinated with Russia and says the investigations into the matter are a hoax. “In the three-plus years that I have been the director of the National Security Agency, to the best of my recollection, I have never been directed to do anything I believe to be illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate,” Rogers told the committee. “And to the best of my recollection, during that same period of service, I do not recall ever feeling pressured to do so.” Coats, who was con-

firmed as Trump’s national intelligence director in mid-March, said: “In interacting with the president of the United States or anybody in his administration, I have never been pressured. “I’ve never felt pressure to intervene or interfere in any way and shape — with shaping intelligence in a political way, or in relationship to an ongoing investigation.” Those answers didn’t satisfy the senators. Even mild-spoken Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, got testy. He demanded to know what legal basis justified Coats’ refusal to answer questions. “I’m not sure I have a legal basis, but I am more than willing to sit before this committee ... in a closed session and answer your questions,” Coats said. With the frustrated lawmakers gearing up for Thursday’s long-awaited testimony from ousted FBI Director James Comey, the committee on Wednesday afternoon took the unusual step of releasing the written statement Comey plans to deliver. In it, Comey details a series of interactions with Trump that made him uneasy and appear to show the president disregarding the FBI’s traditional independence from the White House. Comey said he was taken aback by specific requests, including one

during a private Oval Oﬃce meeting in February where he said Trump asked him to end a probe into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Trump complained that the probe had created a “cloud” over his presidency. During Wednesday’s hearing, which was about the reauthorization of a federal foreign intelligence collection law, Democrats and Republicans pressed Coats, Rogers and also acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The senators said they were puzzled as to why McCabe would not answer questions about conversations he had with Comey regarding the former FBI director’s meetings with the president. McCabe said it would be inappropriate to discuss issues that might end up being part of the special counsel’s investigation into Russian activities during the election. “I have to be particularly careful about not stepping into the special counsel’s lane,” McCabe said. At the close of the hearing, the Republican committee chairman, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, said that executive branch oﬃcials have the option of briefing the committee or congressional leaders in a classi-

fied setting. “At no time should you be in a position where you come to Congress with no answer,” Burr told the witnesses. “The requirements of our oversight responsibilities and your agencies deserve it.” After the hearing, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the committee, lamented that the witnesses could have laid to rest questions about what the president told them about the Russia probe, but they chose not to answer. To refuse to answer the questions in a public hearing “just won’t be enough,” Warner said. “The American public deserves to know what the president of the United States did and what he asked of the leaders of our intelligence community.” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said it’s standard practice for executive branch oﬃcials, such as the ones who testified, to decline to discuss conversations with the president. She said the White House had not yet received any follow-up requests regarding the testimony of Coats or Rogers. “If it receives one, it will do its best to work with the committee to accommodate the request to the fullest extent possible consistent with these interests,” she said.

Deaths Lillie Ruth Ramsey Johnson

IUKA — A memorial service for Lillie Ruth Ramsey Johnson, 82, is set for 2 p.m. Thursday at Iuka Gospel Chapel. A graveside service follows at Campground Methodist Church Cemetery. Visitation precedes the memorial service at 1 p.m. Mrs. Johnson went to be with her Lord and Savior on Tuesday, June 06, 2017. She was born in Iuka on Nov. 11, 1934. She attended Central Grammar School and graduated from Iuka High School in 1952. After graduating from Northeast Mississippi Junior College in education, she taught school for a few years at Central school. She married Robert William Johnson “Billy” on Jan. 18, 1953. She was a founding member of the Iuka Gospel Church, where she served as the church secretary and treasurer for over 40 years, and she was also a Sunday school teacher. When her children started school, Mrs. Johnson began to sell Tupperware and did so for over 30 years. She enjoyed cooking and sewing, but her favorite pastime was spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Survivors are her husband, Robert W. “Billy” Johnson; her children, Robert R. & Sherry Johnson and Patrice & Gary Wallace; her grandchildren, Cliﬀ (Jessica) Johnson and Crystal (Philip) Crowe; her great-grandchildren, Kaitlyn and Lucas, Jaxson, Addilyn Reese, Rylee, and Danica; a sister, Clarene (Eugene) Reynolds; two brothers, Jim (Donna) and Jack Ramsey; a sister-in-law, Peggy Ramsey; an aunt, Nell Long Landrum; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her mother and father, Clifton and Ruth Ramsey; a granddaughter, Parris Wallace; a brother, Earl Ramsey; and a nephew, Ronnie Ramsey. Cutshall Funeral Home has the arrangements. Memorial contributions may be made to Iuka Gospel Chapel, 442 MS-172, Iuka, MS 38852, or Campground Methodist Church, 39 County Road 256, Iuka, MS 38852. Online guestbook: cutshallfuneralhome.com

Ellen Coughlin

A memorial service for Ellen Coughlin, 39, is set for 12 noon Saturday at Memorial Funeral Home. Visitation will follow the service.

Rev. Oliver Agnew

Funeral services for the Rev. Oliver McDaﬀey Agnew, 69, of Corinth, are set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church with burial at Corinth National Cemetery. Visitation is Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Patterson Memorial Chapel. The Rev. Agnew died Friday, June 2, 2017, in Tupelo. Born Nov. 29, 1947, he attended Wick Anderson School, Northeast Junior College and Rust College. He served two years in the U.S. Army and was a member of Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church. Survivors include two siblings, Eugenia Parlow and Harry Agnew. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Joyce Billips; his parents, Lizzie Agnew and Oliver Agnew; and siblings Phyllis Agnew, Carolyn Robinson, Michael Agnew, Albert Agnew, Larry Agnew, William Agnew and Howard Agnew. The Rev. Leroy Harris will oﬃciate the service.

Cosby’s accuser stands by her story under cross-examination BY MARYCLAIRE DALE AND MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — The woman who accuses Bill Cosby of drugging and violating her more than a decade ago stood by her story at his sexcrimes trial Wednesday, withstanding hours of often ponderous cross-

examination that didn’t produce the stumbles the TV star might have hoped for. Calm and composed, Andrea Constand brushed oﬀ suggestions she and Cosby had a romantic relationship before the 2004 encounter at his suburban Philadelphia home.

IS THE CHURCH IMPORTANT? It is not uncommon in our time to hear people answer that question negatively, and suggest that a “relationship with Jesus” is really all that matters. Some are “turned off” by the idea of the church and “organized religion”, and have chosen rather to think as an old country song suggests: “Me and Jesus got our own thing goin’, me and Jesus got it all worked out… ” Let’s look at some things the New Testament has to say about the church, and ﬁnd out if it is important. If my study is correct, the ﬁrst use of the word “church “ in the New Testament appears in Matthew 16:18, when Jesus, in response to Peter’s confession that he was the Son of God, said:”Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell (“hades”, or death itself) would not prevail against it.” The word “church” means “called out” and has reference to those who are called out of the world by the gospel message. Not even the death of Jesus could prevent its establishment. In fact, it was his death, burial, and resurrection that made it possible. (Acts 2:22-36) Verse forty one says those who “received the word were baptized”, and verse forty seven says, “the Lord added day by day those who were being saved.” (ASV, 1901) The church is made up of those who are saved. The Lord adds the saved to the church. Consider Paul’s charge to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:28, when he said: ”feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” We cherish our freedom in this country because of the great price paid for it. Would God allow the blood of Jesus to be spilled for that which is not important? Ephesians 1:22, 23 teaches us that the church is his body, and in Colossians 1:18 that he (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church, and that in it, he is the preeminent one. In Ephesians 5 Paul used the relationship of husband and wife to illustrate that of Christ and his church when he said, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. The Lord set his people apart. The emphasis placed on the price paid for the church, and the purpose of God to purchase a people for his own possession, should help us see its importance in the eyes of God. (Titus 2:14)

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And she explained away the numerous phone calls she made to him afterward by saying she was merely returning Cosby’s messages about the women’s basketball squad at Temple University, where he was a powerful member of the board of trustees and she was director of team operations. Constand, 44, left the witness stand after some seven hours of testimony over two days, during which she told the jury that the comedian gave her three blue pills and then penetrated her with his fingers as she lay paralyzed on a couch, unable to tell him to stop. Constand’s mother followed her on the stand and bolstered her daughter’s account. Gianna Constand told the jury that she was distraught to learn what Cosby had done to her daughter. “They were good friends. She viewed him like a father. He is 10 years older than even her own father,” the mother testified, breaking down

on the stand. Gianna Constand said she confronted Cosby by phone during a two-hour call in which she said he “surrendered” to her about the sexual encounter and told her he “was sick.” After that conversation, she said, she bought a recording device in hopes that Cosby would again confess to harming her daughter. But she said he kept their next conversation short. Prosecutors played a recording of the call, in which Cosby oﬀered to pay for Constand’s education. “She could go to school,” he said. “If she wanted to do that, then I would be willing to ... pay for the schooling.” Cosby is charged with aggravated indecent assault. The 79-year-old comedian once dubbed America’s Dad could spend his life in prison if convicted. Cosby’s lawyers have argued that the sexual encounter with Con-

stand was consensual and have cited phone records showing she called the TV star 53 times afterward, including one call that lasted 20 minutes. But Constand said she was returning calls Cosby made to her university-issued cellphone about the basketball team. “She continued to do her job,” Constand’s lawyer, Dolores Troiani, said outside court. “This man was a trustee at Temple. Of course she was calling him back.” Constand’s longawaited showdown with Cosby’s lawyers became bogged down in a painstaking examination of her phone records and police statements, and the defense couldn’t budge her oﬀ her account of molestation and broken trust. Constand was direct and polite under crossexamination, even when Agrusa’s questioning grew pointed and accusatory. Cosby kept still, looking down at the defense table through most of the morning. During one exchange, Cosby lawyer Angela Agrusa suggested that Constand once enjoyed a romantic dinner at Cosby’s home before the alleged assault. “You were sitting by the fire. The room was dark. There was a nice mood ...,” Agrusa began, paraphrasing Constand’s 2005 statement to police. “I don’t know what that means,” Constand said. “The lights were dim and the fire was going,” the lawyer continued. “I don’t really remember how dim the lights were, but I did have to eat my dinner,” Constand said.

Agrusa also questioned why Constand allowed herself to be alone with Cosby after the comedian had made advances on two occasions — touching her thigh one time, and trying to open her pants another time. “So you knew — you were alone at his home — that Mr. Cosby was interested in you romantically?” Agrusa asked. “No, ma’am, he never said a word to me,” Constand said. She testified she let Cosby know she wasn’t interested in his advances. Constand said she was going to confront Cosby about the assault during an event he was hosting at his home for high school students. At the same time, Constand said, she was bringing Cosby a gift from a mutual acquaintance. Agrusa seized on the seeming contradiction: “You were going to confront the man you say assaulted you and you’re bringing him bath salts?” The defense lawyer sought to show that Constand changed her mind about the date of the alleged assault. But Constand perhaps blunted the attack by saying she got confused and initially thought the episode happened in March 2004. “I was mistaken,” she said, unflustered. Some 60 women have come forward to say Cosby sexually violated them, all but destroying his nice-guy image, but the statute of limitations for prosecution had run out in nearly every case. Constand’s case is the only one in which Cosby has been charged.

Daily Corinthian • Thursday, June 8, 2017 • 7

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