Thursday June 18,
2015
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Daily Corinthian
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 18 pages • One section
Vol. 119, No. 142
Culture Club: Staff tries upbeat approach and upbeat approach that will be introduced with four nights of open houses — one for each grade — to launch the school year. “I’ve got 40 teachers that are completely fired up,” said Principal Nathan Hall. Some details are not being
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Corinth Middle School staff wants to create a different kind of culture when students return to the classroom in August. The school will roll out a reform effort based on a positive
publicly revealed before the launch, but the plan is based on the positive behavior interventions concept and was inspired by the Ron Clark Academy and Clark’s “The Essential 55” rules for behavior. The school has created its own “essential 50” behaviors
that Hall said are the things of “good home raising,” such as giving a firm handshake and looking the person in the eye. “We’re really trying to turn the corner from saying, ‘You didn’t do right,’ to saying, ‘We appreciate what you’re doing is right,’” said Hall.
He hopes the approach will help to energize the school. Some of the bullet points of the plan include teaching to the top, having uniform discipline procedures from grades five through eight, clearly comPlease see CULTURE | 6
Delivery date told for new trash carts BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Dates are set for the delivery of new trash carts to Corinth’s residential garbage customers. The afternoon of Monday, July 13, is the date that the manufacturer, Cascade Engineering Company, will begin to deliver the solid waste containers to about 6,054 city customers. The city purchased about 6,400 carts at a cost of $317,565. Distribution is expected to take six working days. Residents just need to be sure to have their garbage out on time on the normal pickup day to be collected in the old cart for the last time.
“What we are asking of our customers is they pull their cart out to the road by 7 o’clock on their collection date and leave the old cart there until the city picks it up,” said Street Commissioner Philip Verdung. Removing the old carts will take longer than delivering the new ones. The vendor will follow the city’s truck routes as it distributes the new carts, leaving them at the curbside at each residence. Once they are delivered, residents can move them to their usual storage spot. The new carts are dark Please see CARTS | 3 Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Corinth High School student Maddie Essary cleans an exhibit at the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center. Essary and Mathis McGee are serving as summer interns at the center for five weeks.
City’s sales, tourism Students serve as park interns taxes continue growth BY STEVE BEAVERS
sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Corinth sales tax and tourism tax collections continued to grow with funds returned to the city in May. Sales tax brought $533,049.24 to the city coffers in May based on sales activity that occurred in local businesses during the month of March — an increase of 3 percent or about $16,000 compared to a year earlier. The 18th consecutive monthly increase pushed the fiscal year total to $4.129 million, an increase of 9 percent from the prior year. Across the state, collections grew 1 percent for the month
compared to a year earlier, and eight of 11 northeast Mississippi municipalities posted gains. Funds returned to the city in June, July, August and September will round out the fiscal year. The 2 percent tourism tax on lodging and restaurant food sales in the city produced $114,706 for the month, an 11 percent increase. The year-todate total of $816,067 is up 12 percent. Other sales tax results from the region (all percentages rounded):
Two Corinth High School students are getting an up-close look at how the National Park Service operates. Maddie Essary and Mathis McGee are summer interns at the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center and Shiloh National Military Park. The pair began work at the Interpretive Center on June 1 as part of the Park Steward program. Their last day in the program, which is paid through the National Park Service Foundation, is scheduled for July 2. “Their goal is to learn how the park operates in every division,” said Supervisory Park Ranger Ashley Berry.
Please see TAXES | 3
Essary and McGee attended the Corinth Area Convention and Visitors Bureau board meeting Wednesday. “I wanted them to see how tourism and the park service work together,” said Berry. The CHS students were selected from among 200 high school sophomores. They were required to submit a resume and undergo an interview process. “It really got my attention when they talked to us about the job at school,” said McGee. “We have done things like greeting visitors to working out in the hot sun.” Most of their time has been spent at the Interpretive Center. They have also been a part
of work at Shiloh for a few days. “It has been fun to see how many people come to the Interpretive Center,” said Essary. “I didn’t know so many people from other countries came here.” Shiloh National Military Park was one of 28 national parks to receive the Park Stewards grant. The program, in its sixth year, gives high school teachers and students the chance to explore the relevance of national parks to their lives and enables them to become civically engaged stewards of their national parks through year-long service-learning projects. “I learned a lot more about Please see INTERNS | 3
Local NAACP branch announces homecoming activities BY KIMBERLY SHELTON kshelton@dailycorinthian.com
Steeped in history, the Alcorn County Branch of the NAACP will hold its 13th Biennial Reunion/Homecoming on July 3– July 5. “We’ve hosted the event every two years since 1991,” said Reunion Coordinator Annie Windom. “It’s a wonderful way for us to reunite with friends and relatives and to invite those who live out of town to come back to Corinth.” After extensive research, by Reunion Coordinators Eleanor Benson and Windom, it was verified from a newspaper clipping that the first reunions were organized by a group of concerned individuals in the 1970s and 1980s.
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The planning committee during the 1980s included Mrs. Aaron (Earnestine) Shannon, Mrs. R.T. (Oneida) Lasley, Mrs. Arthur (Ella) Fowler, Mrs. Henry B. Williams, Mrs. Charlie (Ozella) Betts, Mr. Howell Gilstrap, all of Corinth; Mr. Preston Vanderford of St. Louis, Missouri; and Mr. Ed Beauregard and Mrs. Maude Sexton of Detroit, Michigan. With the passage of time no one continued the event, and that is when the Alcorn County Branch NAACP accepted the responsibility in 1991. Each event has continued to improve and become more and more successful. The Reunion/Homecoming Celebration will kick off on Friday, July 3, with registration
from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Black History Museum, located at 1109 Meigg Street. A Hawaiian Fiesta with entertainment by Deejay Terrell Hughey will follow from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Crossroads Area Convention Center, located at 2800 South Harper Road. The cost to attend the Fiesta is $10 in advance or $12 at the door. A parade will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 4. Line-up time is at 8 a.m. The parade will begin on Davis Street, will continue down Meigg Street and will end at the Crossroads Regional Park with a picnic. The picnic will begin immediately following the parade with deejay-mixed music by James E. Damons and food vendors until 3 p.m. There will also be performances by youth
group dancers and the Partlow Band from Tupelo/ Baldwyn during the picnic. A $10 fee will be charged for each parade entry, with the deadline June 30. A $50 fee will be charged for all vendors and payment must be received by June 30. Reunion/Homecoming registration will be held from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. under the City Park Pavilion next to the walking trail. Registration is free. From 9 p.m. to 1 p.m., the Black and Gold Ball with entertainment by the PC Band will take place at the Hillandale Country Club, located at 13 Oakland School Road. Tickets are
“We’ve hosted the event every two years since 1991. It’s a wonderful way for us to reunite with friends and relatives and to invite those who live out of town to come back to Corinth.” Annie Windom Reunion coordinator
Please see REUNION | 3
25 years ago
10 years ago
Upgrades come to the busy intersection of Harper Road and U.S. Highway 72. Engineer Bob Scott Sr. says the new turn light and traffic signal sensor system will improve traffic flow and safety at the key crossroads.
Kevin Mullins claims the top award in the 36th annual Hillandale Country Club Invitational Tournament. Eric Russell finishes second and Roger Smith places third.
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