Thursday June 26,
2014
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Daily Corinthian Vol. 118, No. 150
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • 1 section
Con artist targets Corinth stores BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Corinth police believe a roving criminal is targeting local stores with one of the oldest schemes in the book. “Over the past few years, this man has come into town two or three times a year,” said Detective Capt. Ralph Dance. “He goes into convenience stores, grocery stores, and he’s quickchanging them. He’s a master at it. He’ll hit two or three stores and then he’s gone.” But, eventually, he resurfaces. In the last couple of weeks, one store was hit for more than $500 and another for more than $600. It begins with the man selecting a small item to purchase and presenting a $100 bill. Then, “he will confuse the clerk into giving back change after change,” said Dance. The man has an accomplice who positions himself so that other people in line cannot see what is happening at the checkout counter. The two men usually seek out smaller stores, and
the scheme often targets younger clerks who may appear to be inexperienced, said Dance. The perpetrator engages the clerk in a series of money exchanges without the clerk realizing what is happening. “The next thing you know, you’ve given back darn near everything in the register,” said Dance. The detectives division has been examining store surveillance footage of the suspect. He is described as an older black male with gray hair, possibly 55 to 60 years old, and he appears to walk with a limp. The accomplice is also a black male. The police department believes the men are probably not local residents. Dance said store managers should have an eye out for customers trying to confuse store clerks and to advise clerks on how to avoid falling prey to the quick-change artist. To report information about this case, contact Corinth PD at 286-3377 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-773-tips or crimestoppersms.com.
This snapshot of surveillance footage shows the man at the checkout of a Corinth store.
Forrest Memorial Park Despite state takeover, cemetery under scrutiny BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
Forrest Memorial Park cemetery remains at the center of criticism two and half years after the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office was placed in control. In recent weeks, area citizens have questioned the state’s lack of yard maintenance at the cemetery located just inside the city limits off U.S. Highway 45. “We have not spent one dime of the tax payers money on the upkeep of the cemetery grass,” said Jeremy Martin, Secretary of State’s office North Mississippi representative. “The state has the money, but we are prohibited by law from being able to spend it on the property. We are allowed to make just a little extra money on burials to cover the cemetery being mowed.” Martin said after paying a company to dig the graves, the office clears roughly $300 per burial which they place in a maintenance fund. “It takes a lot of money to mow and weed-eat around the thousands of graves and markers on the property,” said Martin. “The people that cut the grass do it at a loss.” Martin admitted that his of-
fice is often harshly criticized for allowing the grass to get “out of control” on the property. “I want everyone to understand, we mow it when we get enough money to hire someone to mow it,” he said. “Everyone knows how fast grass grows in Mississippi during the summer months, so I hope everyone can understand how much of a struggle it is for us to keep it maintained.” Martin said the state did employ the longtime Forrest Memorial Park caretaker. Part of his duties included mowing the property. In April, the state was unable to continue to pay the caretaker and he was released from his job. “The park is going to look real good one week, then bad the next two weeks and then real good again,” said Martin. The representative said his office is trying to do the best they can to help put people’s minds at ease. “People who purchased plots at Forrest Memorial still own those plots,” he said. “Only people who paid for vaults, markers or opening and closing costs if not paid through an insurance company are victims and have lost their money.”
Forrest Memorial Park and Oaklawn Cemetery in Booneville were placed in receivership under the control of the state in Nov. 2011 after an investigation had uncovered a deficiency of more than $500,000 in pre-need trust accounts at the two cemeteries. The previous owner, Wayne Hight, pleaded guilty to four counts of misapplying or converting pre-need burial funds. He was sentenced to jail time and was ordered to pay restitution to the victims. Since taking over Forrest Memorial, the state’s office has organized hundreds of client files, built an online database of those files and completed an inventory of the cemetery. “We probed the entire cemetery and found 76 bodies that had never been marked,” said Martin. “We have since marked those graves.” Martin said they retrieved and returned almost 200 bronze grave markers that were severely burned in a fire. “One of the hardest things we’ve worked on is trying to get liens removed from the property. When we first got here, there were three very Please see CEMETERY | 2
Area becomes certified Excel By 5 community BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
After more than two years of hard work, Corinth and Alcorn County received the Certified Early Childhood Community endorsement this week from Mississippi’s Excel By 5 organization. “We are so proud for Corinth and Alcorn County on becoming Mississippi’s newest Excel By 5 communities,” said Nadine Coleman, Excel By 5 president.
“They’ve established a strong community coalition, performed community-wide needs assessments and are closing gaps to improve health care, child care and parent support.” Local Certification Manager Susan O’Connell and her team of 16 community leaders and concerned citizens have worked towards the certification since May 2012. Please see EXCEL | 2
Vietnam vet gets closure after 48 years of waiting BY KIMBERLY SHELTON kshelton@dailycorinthian.com
After reaching out to the Daily Corinthian for help, Vietnam veteran Chuck Dean was finally able to pay his respects to the late Bobby Hudson after 48 years, six months and two days of waiting. Hudson was killed Dec. 10, 1966, in Cuchi, Vietnam, after a Viet Cong booby trap (today called an IED) exploded while he was helping another service
member relocate a military tent. “Bobby was a very accomplished war dog handler. He handled scout dogs and the sentry dog for the 38th Scout Dog Platoon,” said Dean. “It took a lot of focus for him to handle both kinds of dogs because of the complexity of the training that goes into each kind.” Please see VETERAN | 2
Corinth, Walnut honored at annual MML conference BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Mississippi Municipal League recognized Corinth and Walnut with municipal excellence awards on Wednesday during the MML’s annual conference in Biloxi. Corinth’s wastewater treatment facility upgrade won the award for public works in the population more than 10,000
category. “The Corinth Wastewater Treatment Facility has undergone major renovations that will not only meet new, tighter environmental standards but will position the city to accept new residential and industrial customers for many years to come,” said the MML. “Because Please see MML | 2
Corinth elected leaders and representatives of Cook Coggin Engineers pose for photos during Wednesday’s award presentation in Biloxi.
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2015 Hwy 72 E. Corinth, MS. 38834 • 662-594-1877
On this day in history 150 years ago General Jubal Early, with 14,000 Confederates, begins marching down, or north, through the Shenandoah Valley toward Winchester. The outnumbered Union troops in the Valley flee before his force or head west into the mountains.
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