Prentiss County Rienzi man faces multiple charges
McNairy County Grand jury clears Selmer police officer
Hardin County Savannah hosts Bluegrass Festival
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Thursday June 29,
2017
75 cents
Daily Corinthian
Partly sunny Today
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86
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Vol. 121, No. 154
• Corinth, Mississippi • 14 pages • One section
Forestry official: Minimal service changes agency will consolidate from seven districts to four, and about 75 positions are being eliminated across the state. But Alcorn County is retaining its equipment and firefighting personnel. “The only thing that will actually change is landowners in Alcorn County will have a dif-
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Despite a major reorganization following a reduction in funds, the Mississippi Forestry Commission says Alcorn County will see minimal changes to services, including the fighting of wildfires. Effective July 1, the state
ferent phone number to call to get services that we provide,” said Russell Bozeman, assistant state forester, in a phone interview. “The public-facing component of that office is what’s closing. The office itself is not being shut down.” The areas of responsibility across the state are getting
Saler celebration
larger. Alcorn County, previously grouped with Tippah County, will instead be grouped with Tishomingo and Prentiss counties with one area forester. Alcorn County will be part of region 1 in the state’s northern tier. Bozeman believes there was some confusion among em-
ployees about how things would shake out in the reorganization process. “Because of the way we had to deliver the information using state personnel board rules and the processes we had to work through, way more people got Please see FORESTRY | 5
New law hits before 4th of July holiday BY JEBB JOHNSTON
“The new law also applies to unrestrained passengers riding in the cargo area of a pickup truck, which is not permitted.”
jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photo by L.A. Story
Youngsters Wyatt Kassing (from left) of Mount Sterling, Ill., Izzy Peterson of Wayland, Iowa, and Jase Beltz of Canton, Kan., give their sales pitch, providing the positive aspects of their cattle, to a judge as part of the team selling competition. The competition is one of several performed during the ASJA Junior National Show and Event.
Event teaches kids industry, life skills urday at the Crossroads Arena, is the annual Junior National Event. It is in its 34th year, according to Crystal Graves, advisor for the Junior Salers Association’s event, along with Jessica Street. Several states are represented at the show, which is open to the public. The states represented include Georgia, Flori-
BY L.A. STORY lastory@dailycorinthian.com
An investment in youth and agriculture is how one person described the American Salers Junior Association (ASJA) Junior National Show and Event going on now at the Crossroads Arena. The show, which began Monday and continues through Sat-
da, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas, Nebraska, California, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Florida. The event showcases the Saler breed of cattle. As a breed, Saler cattle (pronounced “SaLair”) are native to the AuPlease see SALERS | 2
A new seat belt law will figure into traffic enforcement during the weekend and through Independence Day. Effective Saturday, Mississippi’s seat belt law changes to require not only drivers but also all passengers in a vehicle be restrained. “The new law also applies to unrestrained passengers riding in the cargo area of a pickup truck, which is not permitted,” said Capt. Johnny Poulos of the Mississippi Highway Patrol. The law did not previously require back seat passengers to be buckled. The bill was called “Harlie’s Law” in honor of a deceased crash victim from Marshall County. MHP will step up patrols from 6 p.m. Friday through midnight Tuesday, and safety checkpoints will focus on impaired drivers and seat belt usage. “With the anticipation of heavy traffic flow throughout the state, all available troopers
Capt. Johnny Poulos Mississippi Highway Patrol will be assigned saturation patrols in an effort to maximize visibility and reduce traffic crashes,” said Poulos. The statistics for the holiday in 2016 were not good for the state’s highways, with 131 crashes and six fatalities. The summer’s busiest holiday for travel will bring the lowest Independence Day gas prices since 2005, at an average of $2.21 per gallon, well under the 10-year average of $3.14, according to the pricetracking service GasBuddy.
Reunited: A community is coming home again nity and graduates of all area schools. “Easom High School was the origin, but now it’s all inclusive. It’s heartwarming when everybody gets together — when everybody gets together from all across the country, all walks of life and all types of professions and they come back and share that experience,” said Hill. “It’s for everybody. Dee Dee and I are Corinth High School graduates. It means a lot to me this year. My son is the coordinator of the Sorrell Family Reunion, and the last time I counted, we have people coming from at least 10 different states. We have people coming who have never even been to Mississippi, so we will be attending all events,” said Sorrell. While the event no longer is only Easom graduates, the event pays tribute to the school
BY L.A. STORY lastory@dailycorinthian.com
People from all over the country will descend on Corinth this weekend as the siren call of the biennial Reunion/Homecoming signals the time for a visit home. The Alcorn County Branch of the NAACP will host the biennial Reunion/Homecoming event, which will take place from Friday through Sunday. Event organizers Dee Dee Brown, Pauline Sorrell and J.C. Hill expect this year to be bigger and better than ever. The event, which began as a NAACP event in 1991, is held every other (odd) year. While it began as a reunion for Easom High School graduates (the high school where African American students attended before integration), it is now an event open to the commu-
Staff photo by L.A. Story
Biennial Reunion/Homecoming event organizers Dee Dee Brown (front), J.C. Hill and Pauline Sorrell go over the program book and tickets as they discuss final details of the reunion. The event will begin Friday and activities will continue through Sunday. that started it all. This year’s theme, “Feeling the Sting in 2017,” is a direct historical reference to Easom’s mascot, The
school colors. The Easom High School Class Please see REUNION | 2
25 years ago
10 years ago
Work nears completion on Corinth-Alcorn Habitat for Humanity’s first house as they begin accepting applications for a second home.
Booneville and Prentiss County schools enter into an agreement regarding the transfer of students living in the annexed area of Booneville.
Dr. Erica’s Laser Aesthetic Centers Erica Noyes, MD
Yellow Jackets. The Black and Gold Ball continues to be a steadfast tradition, with black and gold being the Easom
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