Tuesday July 17,
2012
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 171
Thunderstorm Today
Tonight
93
73
• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • 1 section
Big boost in mobile broadband coming BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
C Spire Wireless is about 60 days away from launching a major boost to mobile broadband speeds in Corinth and Alcorn County. The launch of 4G LTE service, which will make browsing the web and e-mail speedier on compatible smart phones and tablets, is scheduled for September.
“Most national carriers don’t have that type of coverage in smaller towns,” said Tim Long, business account executive with C Spire. “Corinth and Alcorn County is going to be a part of the very first build-out for us. We’re tickled that Alcorn County is a part of it.” The service is also launching in other northeast Mississippi counties. While 3G service runs
a bit faster than DSL Internet service, Long said tests are showing the 4G LTE service will run 10 times that speed. “We’re looking at cable Internet speeds on-the-go,” he said. “It’s really exciting for our area.” Long said the company will be well ahead of national carriers in bringing 4G LTE speeds to the region. “It is the new standard of
communication,” he said. “Everybody wants it to work faster; they want it to work cleaner; they want fewer disconnects when they are on the Internet or checking e-mail — this is going to do all of that.” Telepak has been placing fiber optic lines for the service, and the preparations for launch are slightly ahead of schedule, according to Long. The Ridge-
Witnesses report plane entering storm cloud prior to crashing BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
A small plane that crashed last week near New Site killing all three members of a Georgia family on board was spotted entering a storm cloud and then exiting the cloud in an almost vertical descent before plummeting to the ground during a violent thunderstorm. More details of the crash which claimed the lives of Georgia podiatrist Dr. James Joseph Bartley Jr., his wife, Terry Hammond Bartley and daughter, Caroline Victoria Bartley, were released Monday by the National Transportation Safety Board in its preliminary report on the crash investigation. The crash of the family’s Piper Cherokee Lance was first reported around 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 8. The wreckage of the plane was located around two hours later just off County Road 4111 near New Site High School. The report states an eyewitness told investigators the airplane “was observed entering a cloud associated with a ‘really bad thunderstorm’ and subsequently was spotted exiting the cloud in a near vertical descent attitude.”
land-based company is investing about $100 million in the region to launch the network. He said the carrier continues to work to improve coverage and added a new tower in Farmington about six months ago. Long appeared before the Alcorn County Board of Supervisors Monday to entice the board to consider using C Spire’s service.
Rienzi man killed in accident BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
tall before it hit the ground with its nose down. The engine
An afternoon accident claimed the life of a Rienzi man on Saturday. Leroy Rogers, 78, was killed when he apparently lost control of his 2002 Ford pickup and crashed into two parked vehicles six miles west of Corinth. Rogers was headed west on U.S. Highway 72 when his pickup, also carrying a 17 yearold passenger, left the road and smashed into a culvert before rolling over, and colliding with the other two vehicles. Rogers has to be extricated from the vehicle. The 17 yearold passenger received only minor injuries. Neither occupant was wearing a seat belt. According to the Mississippi Highway Patrol, weather played a part in the fatal accident. It appeared the vehicle hydroplaned, causing the driver
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File photo
Investigators comb through the wreckage of a crashed plane searching for clues in the hours following the Sunday, July 8, crash near New Site. Witnesses reported parts were seen separating from the plane and falling to the ground and the engine of the plane was
heard running until the aircraft disappeared from view. The plane collided first with a tree approximately 100-feet
Rienzi wants to turn industrial CT-A receives grant building into community center from arts commission BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Town officials in Rienzi hope to bring a community center to a fading industrial building. Once used by the Wurlitzer company and later by King Manufacturing Company, the building in downtown Rienzi is in declining condition. “We want to put some life to it and bring it back to the community if we can as maybe a community center, recreation area and a park or walking track,” said Mayor Walter Williams. He and other town representatives addressed the Alcorn County Board of Supervisors Monday morning with the
request. The county-owned building has been leased to King Manufacturing. “In about 1987,” said attorney Gene Gifford, “King Manufacturing Company subleased this property to Pierce Foam. They evidently operated for a while and then went by the wayside. Long story short, we’ve had a building that’s sitting there in a state of disrepair. Really, it’s an eyesore. We would just like to see something done with it.” District 3 Supervisor Tim Mitchell said he supports the project and hopes to see the town of Rienzi become the overseer of the property and for the town to determine how
it will be used. Mitchell said King Manufacturing is willing to turn the property back over to the county after the current sublease tenant is given time to vacate. In other business: ■ The board reappointed two county appointees, Thom Rogers and Jane Summers, to the board of directors of Crossroads Arena. ■ The board approved the City of Corinth’s use of seven touch-screen voting machines for the Aug. 21 special election on the Future Fare special tax levy. ■ Deborah Yates presented a fiscal 2013 budget request for continued support of $1,500.
BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Corinth Theatre-Arts has been awarded a $13,800 grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC). The grant is part of $1.5 million the commission will award in 2012-13. It will be used to provide funding for education, production and development of the performing arts for the Alcorn County area, explained Tommy Ledbetter, managing director of CT-A. The theatre company also receives funding for specific projects through the CARE Foundation, the Create Foundation and the Pierce Foundation. Other funding comes from
ticket sales and donations from individuals and corporations. “Every little bit helps,” Ledbetter said, “and it all adds up.” The grants are made possible by continued funding from the Mississippi State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. The grants awarded by the MAC to arts organizations across the state provide funding for the staging of festivals, theatre performances and many other arts activities, explained Malcolm White, executive director of the MAC. “With these funds, the organizations work diligently to Please see CT-A | 2
Alcorn Circuit Court docket scheduled for next week JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Alcorn County Circuit Court is getting ready for a new term beginning July 23. The following are the remainder of the criminal cases on the docket, the first portion of which was published last Thursday: ■ Jeremiah Dodson — Sexual battery
■ Marcell Walls — Armed robbery ■ Travon McMiller — Robbery ■ Carlotta Murrell — Burglary and larceny of a dwelling ■ Michael G. Stinnett — Three indictments for uttering a forged instrument ■ John Colt Jones — Sale of Hydrocodone ■ Carl E. Crump — Conspira-
cy to sell cocaine ■ Karl Crump — Possession of cocaine with intent, possession of marijuana with intent, possession of a controlled substance and two indictments for sale of marijuana ■ Sherry L. Cummings — Possession of methamphetamine ■ Bobby W. Butler — Sale of Hydrocodone ■ Jonathan Ballard — Posses-
Index Stocks........7 Classified......14 Comics...... 11 Wisdom...... 10
Weather........5 Obituaries........ 3 Opinion........4 Sports........8
sion of methamphetamine ■ Rebecca L. Johnson — Three counts of prescription fraud and a second indictment for prescription fraud ■ Lane Bobo — False pretense/bad check ■ Richard Smith — Sale of a controlled substance ■ Richard Smith and Tommy Turner, co-defendants — Sale of Hydrocodone
■ Wendy Gail Massey — Two indictments for sale of a controlled substance ■ Candy D. Coln — Three indictments for possession of two or more precursors with intent ■ Jonathan Lambert — Possession of cocaine with intent ■ James Ward — Sale of Hydrocodone
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On this day in history 150 years ago President Lincoln signs the Second Confiscation Act, which mandates the freedom for any slaves who were owned by individuals who aided or supported the rebellion. The law applied only to those slaves who were able to reach Union lines.