Wednesday July 25,
2012
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 178
Partly sunny Today
Tonight
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 22 pages • 2 sections
City wants new face on arena board BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Corinth Board of Aldermen on Tuesday voted to appoint Joe Franks to the seat currently held by Bill Strickland on the Crossroads Arena Board of Directors.
The position is jointly appointed by the city and county, and the Alcorn County Board of Supervisors has not yet acted on the appointment. Tuesday morning’s special meeting was scheduled to pass a resolution necessary for
the Future Fare election, but the board appointment was brought up by Alderman Chip Wood, who made the motion to appoint Franks. The motion was seconded by Alderman Andrew Labas and passed in a 5-0 vote. Alderman at Large Mike
Hopkins was serving as mayor pro tem and did not cast a vote. Strickland, whose term expires in August, is the longtime chairman of the arena board. Wood said he believes Franks will be a good addition to the board.
“His background is in the entertainment industry,” said Wood. “He’s got some knowledge of that. He has been very successful with Slugburger festivals in the past.” Please see ARENA | 3A
Governments work on budgets clude a 2 percent decrease to various departments. Tax Assessor Kenneth Brawner reported that preliminary numbers indicate the general county mill will rise from last year’s $169,462,403 to $170,251,426. He said one bright spot that helped that happen is the expiration of some industry property tax exemptions. Also, the land roll had an increase. What the county refers to as a “small mill” — those that fund the general county and other agencies — is projected to generate an additional $609 per mill in fiscal 2013. The city and county governments will benefit from the two school districts planning to hold their ad valorem tax levy at no change for the new year. The Board of Aldermen hasn’t had a budget work session yet but has been receiving requests from outside agencies.
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Local governments are beginning to take a close look at the numbers as they get ready to prepare fiscal 2013 budgets. The city and county must adopt budgets by Sept. 15 for the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. The Alcorn County Board of Supervisors held its first budget work session Tuesday morning to review budget requests and to get up to speed on the county’s finances. Board President Lowell Hinton said the session came a little earlier than they have in past years for the benefit of the three new supervisors. “We wanted to get an early start to try to get a handle on the budget,” he said. “We hope to have a better understanding of our budget and how it’s formed and of everybody’s budget requests.” The preliminary numbers circulated at the meeting in-
Bus tour explores former sheriff’s legendary status Submitted photo
One of the cards for Shiloh battlefield features Andrew Jackson Smith, a former slave who was wounded in the battle.
Shiloh, Corinth trading cards encourage children to learn about Civil War history BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Shiloh National Military Park and the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center are now offering 10 free trading cards featuring the people and stories of the area’s Civil War history. “These trading cards tell less-
er-known stories of the Civil War, but collectively the cards describe the struggles we have endured as a nation to strive for freedom and equality” said Superintendent John Bundy. The cards are another way to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the War Between
the States. Throughout the National Park Service there are approximately 550 cards available. Each site will offer five different cards. Kids will earn each trading card by participating in a rangPlease see CARDS | 5A
state line in the 1960s that inspired numerous songs, books and the original, classic movie triology “Walking Tall,” “Walking Tall, II,” and “Walking Tall, Final Chapter.” The first movie was based on the book by the late W.R. Morris, “The Twelth of August,” named after the day Pusser’s wife was shot and killed. “I used to be a huge Buford Pusser fan. I was always curious how close the movies were to reality,” he said. Elam said he began researching the sheriff’s story
BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
A tour of sites related to the life of legendary McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser aims to let participants draw their own conclusions about his legacy. Mike Elam, moderator of an Internet group focused on researching the story of Pusser and other sensational figures, will host the bus tour during Labor Day weekend. Elam said he’s long been interested in the colorful history surrounding Pusser and his campaign against crime along the Mississippi-Tennesse
Please see SHERIFF | 3A
Crossroads Poetry Project invites participation of all ages BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Friday night is poetry night at KC’s Espresso. Starting at 6 p.m. the Crossroads Poetry Project’s monthly Poetry Reading is a chance for the community to read or listen to poetry in a historic downtown setting.
“We meet one night each month for people to read their poetry or anybody else’s,” said Milton Wallis, the group’s vice president. “We get together and have a good time with poetry.” Poetry lovers of all ages are invited to read or listen at any of the group’s regular readings. Poetry can be original or the
work of an established poet. The only requirement: Keep it clean. “It’s all family-oriented,” Wallis pointed out. “We don’t get vulgar.” Musicians are also invited to play instruments and perform songs. Wallis said the Crossroads
Index Stocks...... 7A Classified......5B Comics......3B Wisdom......2B
Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports......8A
area is home to some “wonderfully talented” people. “There is so much talent in Corinth — people wouldn’t believe,” he said. Wallis also announced the beginning of the group’s new season, which begins in August. On the first of the month, local poets of all ages can submit
their work to the Crossroads Poetry Project’s annual Poetry Writing Contest. The contest is open to Alcorn County residents of all ages. It will be organized into categories by grade for students of area schools with a separate Please see POETRY | 5A
On this day in history 150 years ago President Lincoln orders the Executive Department, excepting the Departments of War and the Navy, be placed in mourning, and all business be suspended. The order is a mark of respect for former President Martin Van Buren, who died on July 24.
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