Tishomingo County Man identified in Valley Grove shooting.
Hardin County Dog rescued from 45-foot cave.
Region Corinth Coke memorabilia on display.
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Tuesday June 21,
2016
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Daily Corinthian Vol. 120, No.149
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 18 pages • One section
Court overturns Towles conviction BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Mississippi Court of Appeals reversed the aggravated assault conviction of a woman who claimed self-defense in the June 2012 shooting of her boyfriend. Amy Denise Towles, 47, has been serving a five-year sentence in connection with the shooting of William
Clay Wells. In a decision handed down last week, the court reversed the conviction and sent the case back to Alcorn County Circuit Court for new trial proceedings. According to the court’s written opinion, Towles and Wells had “a tumultuous, off-and-on dating relationship for four years” until the 2012 shooting, which occurred at
Towle’s apartment at her mother’s home and farm. In July 2014, a jury found her guilty of aggravated assault, and Circuit Judge Thomas Gardner III imposed a 20-year sentence with 15 years suspended, leaving five years to serve, followed by five years of probation. The Court of Appeals found that the circuit court erred in refusing to
give the defendant’s proposed selfdefense jury instruction and that the state’s acknowledgment of improper “send a message” arguments to the jury also supports reversible error. Towles claims the .22-caliber rifle she was holding accidentally discharged when Wells came toward Please see CONVICTION | 2
Towles
Woman charged in husband’s death BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
A Corinth woman has been charged in the fatal stabbing of her husband. Gail Robinson, 54, was arrested Monday for manslaughter in the death of Bobby Pruitt, 50, of Corinth. An altercation between the
married couple Saturday morning around 1 a.m. at their home in the Oakdale Trailer Park resulted in Pruitt’s death. Robinson stabbed Pruitt once in the chest during the altercation. “It appears it was a domestic dispute that just escalated,” Please see STABBING | 2
KHS takes 2nd straight livestock championship Staff photo by Zack Steen
Jay Daniel Baker was critically injured when his mobile home exploded near the Kossuth area.
BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Man hurt in mobile home blast BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
A man was critically injured Sunday morning when his mobile home exploded in rural Alcorn County. Jay Daniel Baker was airlifted from the scene follow-
ing the explosion around 5:30 a.m. on County Road 632 off Highway 2 near the Pleasant Hill Methodist Church in the Kossuth area. Baker was the only one inside the mobile home when it exploded.
Junior Auxiliary holding annual Camp Hollywood Transformed into a lush jungle complete with palm trees, flowers and a menagerie of animals, the Convention Center at the Crossroads Arena will serve as the perfect venue for Junior Auxiliary of Corinth’s Camp Hollywood 2016. Observed every summer, Camp Hollywood is geared toward special needs elementary students in the city and county. It provides a week long arts based camp of instruction, games, music, and fun as well as respite for their caretakers. This years camp, held from 9 to 11 a.m. Monday–Thursday will feature wholesome entertainment for approximately 15 boys and girls ages 4–11.
KOSSUTH — Kossuth High School knows its livestock. Back-to-back state championships in the state livestock judging competition is proof. The Aggies’ senior team earned its second straight FFA Livestock Judging title and a berth to the national event in Indianapolis in October. “What makes this feat all the more impressive is once you
“It was an eerie scene,” said Sheriff Ben Caldwell. “The mobile home was completely destroyed – it looked like a tornado had come through.” Caldwell said there was no Please see BLAST | 2
win a state championship you cannot compete in that competition again,” said KHS Chapter Advisor Brad Gillmore. “This year’s team was made up of a completely new set of members.” The state contest involved junior and senior FFA members from across the state placing classes of beef cattle, goats, pigs and sheep. Participants also Please see FFA | 2
People of NEA Eunell Skinner Handy, Burnsville
In addition to music and games, activities will include a jungle-theme afternoon snack, arts and crafts, recreational dance, and story time. “We pick a different theme each year and decided to go with a ‘Jungle’ theme for our 2016 camp since both ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Tarzan’ will be coming out this summer,” said Camp Hollywood co-chair woman Claire Windsor. Staffed by JA members and other volunteers, the camp boasts a wealth of supervision. “You don’t have to be a Junior Auxiliary of Corinth member to help,” said Windsor. “We are Please see CAMP | 2
Photo by Opal Lovelace
For those needing help researching family trees in the Tishomingo County area, Eunell Skinner Handy is the one to call. “I have found members of my family I didn’t even know I had,” said the Burnsville native, who recently discovered she had an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War. An employee through Experience Works, she works as a library assistant at the Iuka Public Library. She can also often be found at the John Marshall Stone Research Library inside the Old Tishomingo County Courthouse Museum. “I thoroughly enjoy working with families who are trying to locate members of their family tree,” she said. A member of Harmony Hill Baptist Church in Burnsville, she has three grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren.
25 years ago
10 years ago
Autry Davis, Myrtle Mae Simmons and Veta Simmons star in Corinth Theatre-Arts production of the play “Harvey”.
The Glen Volunteer Fire Department will see more quickly in emergencies thanks to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant providing funds for a new thermal imaging camera.
Doug Ann Michael Rick Jumper Hardin McCreary Jones
Neil Paul
Marea John & Alexis Wilson Brenda Rudd Hayes
Roger Audrey Carl Clark McNair Jones
2782 S Harper Rd
www.jumperrealty.com