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Saturday Aug. 3,
2013
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Daily Corinthian
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Vol. 117, No. 184
• Corinth, Mississippi • 18 pages • 1 section
Officers make Spice arrest Drug unit confiscates 87 packs of synthetic marijuana, 1,000 pipes, $2,700 BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
A Corinth man has been charged with selling the synthetic drug Spice. Officers with the Alcorn County Narcotics Unit arrested Nagi Musaid Alkafi, 59, of 753 Highway 45, Corinth, with the sale of the Synthetic Marijuana out of a back room of the 45 Truck Stop near Biggersville. Officers confiscated 87 packs of Spice being sold for anywhere from $30-$40, 27 $100 bills and more than a thousand pipes at the business.The pipes, which came in all sorts and sizes, were being sold from $11 to $80 each. “This is the biggest arrest we have made as far as Spice wise,” said investigator Darrell Hopkins. A search warrant was issued at 9:30 a.m. Friday for the truck stop. Alkafi remained in custody at the Alcorn County Justice Complex as of Friday afternoon on a $15,000 bond. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Spice refers to a wide variety of herbal mixtures that produce experiences similar to marijuana (cannabis) and that are marketed as “safe,” legal alterna-
tives to that drug. Sold under many names, including K2, fake weed, Yucatan Fire, Skunk, Moon Rocks, and others – and labeled “not for human consumption” — these products contain dried, shredded plant material and chemical additives that are responsible for their psychoactive (mind-altering) effects. “An informant had purchased several times from Alkafi,” said Hopkins. “He asked for the actual drug and this is what he sold him.” The truck stop is owned by Alkafi’s son. The 59-year-old runs the business and lives in the back. “We want to encourage individuals to continue to contact us if they know of any illegal activity,” said Hopkins. “We also want them to be patient because some chases take longer to work than others.” Alcorn County Sheriff’s Deputies Mike Billingsley, Lucas Wooten and David Derrick and investigator Jason Willis all assisted in the case, as well as Constable Roger Voyles. The investigation is ongoing with the unit working in conjunction with the District Attorney’s Office.
Driver injured in crash BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Investigator Jason Willis goes through thousands of pipes confiscated during a Spice arrest.
A Corinth man was hospitalized as the result of a two-vehicle crash on U.S. 72 on Friday. Brandon S. Gray, 23, was transported via ambulance to Magnolia Regional Health Center for injuries sustained in the wreck. Corinth Police received the call about the crash at ■ See related 8:09 a.m. photo, Page 2. on Friday, according to Deputy Chief Scotty Harville. Gray was the driver of a white 1997 Chevrolet S-10 that pulled out of the Shell Station to head west on U.S. 72 when it was struck by an semi truck while crossing the eastbound inside lane. The driver of the semi, Everette D. Hill, of Como, was not hurt. Corinth PD Officer James Butler conducted the accident investigation.
Tennessee offers Hatchie River flowing again tax-free holiday BY JEBB JOHNSTON
jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
BY JEFF YORK For the Daily Corinthian
SELMER, Tenn. — Shoppers in Tennessee will be able to save a little extra money this weekend with the annual tax-free weekend that will run through Sunday. The good news is the taxfree savings are good for everyone and not just those with school-age children. Tennessee’s Department of Revenue requirements state “If an item is tax exempt, anyone may make the purchase tax-free.” Tax-free items are basically all school supplies less than $100, most clothing less than $100 and computers that sell for $1,500 or less. Ansley Goodman, owner of The Loft on Court Avenue in Selmer, said she is looking forward to her first experience with the tax-free weekend. She opened her clothing shop last October. “I am excited about this weekend because I’ve read other retailers say this is their second biggest sales weekend of the year (behind Thanksgiving weekend),” said Goodman. “I’m going to give my customers an extra 10 percent off to give them additional savings this weekend.”
During the weekend, school supplies with a purchase price of $100 or less per item are exempt from sales tax. School supplies are items that a student uses in the classroom, such as pencils and pens, paper, notebooks, erasers and glue. Computers, laptops and tablets with a purchase price of $1,500 or less qualify. For purposes of this exemption, a computer is defined as a central processing unit (CPU), along with various other components including monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables to connect components and preloaded software. While the CPU may be purchased separately, other items must be part of a bundled computer package in order to be eligible. Software beyond what is preloaded with the computer package is not exempt from tax. The exemption includes order and layaway purchases. Kindles and Nooks qualify as long as they are computer equivalents, if they are just readers, they do not qualify for the tax discount. This will be the eighth annual Tennessee Sales Tax Please see TAX-FREE | 2
The Hatchie River is flowing again after workers unplugged two major drifts that caused flooding along the river. The Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District just completed cleanup of the two drifts that had brought the water to a standstill. “The tributaries — Brush Creek and Bridge Creek — instead of flowing into the Hatchie, they were flowing backwards, going out on the landowners,” said Joe Duncan, who serves on the board of the Hatchie Drainage District. Logs had fallen into the river, and drifts formed.
self to carry the taxes on.” Other landowners also had substantial losses. The Hatchie flows north from Mississippi into southwest Tennessee, where it ultimately empties into the Mississippi River. Part of the challenge for those who want to keep it flowing in northeast Mississippi is the flatness of the land. “It is so flat that it doesn’t take anything to stop that river up,” said Duncan. “When one hunter cuts a tree or a tree falls in, that’s the beginning of a drift right there. So we’re going to try to do a little better job of policing it on down the line.” Please see RIVER | 2
Budget requests highlight agenda BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Several budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year are on Monday’s agenda of the Alcorn County Board of Supervisors. The board will have a regular meeting at 9 a.m. Monday at the supervisors’ office on Fulton Drive. Outside agencies that will submit budget proposals include: Northeast Mississippi Business Incubation System (Ray McClellan), SAFE (Deborah Yates), Corinth Area Arts
Index Stocks........8 Classified...... 16 Comics........ 7 State........ 5
“One of them was right at the forks of Hatchie and one was just a little bit below the forks of Hatchie, where the Little Hatchie and the Big Hatchie come together,” he said. “One was about a 1,300-foot drift. It had everything from every beer bottle and every chunk that had fallen off into the Hatchie River and also an old refrigerator.” Landowners faced standing water on their property. For Nicky Grimes, it meant a loss of thousands of dollars in hardwood timber. “We’re some happy people down there to get some drainage moving,” he said. As it was, “it’s just a dead weight for your-
Weather........9 Obituaries........ 6 Opinion........4 Sports......14
Council (Barbara Trapp and Rosemary Williams), Veterans Service Office (Pat Ray) and the Jacinto Foundation. Other items of business: ■ Financial report and payment of claims, July 15 - Aug. 5 ■ FAA grant agreement for 2013 project — Bill Odom ■ Amend resolution for Goose Pond cleanup to include bridge work — Sandy Mitchell ■ Presentation by Roger Voyles and Chuck Hinds ■ Presentation by David Derrick — DARE
Tax equalization Jail Warden Doug Mullins ■ Juvenile Detention Center report — Shelly Hopkins ■ Airport audit report ■ Proof of publication — 2011 audit ■ Notification from Mississippi Public Service Commission concerning application of Corinth gas system ■ Tax assessor certification notification ■ Receipt of letter from ■ ■
Please see BUDGET | 2
On this day in history 150 years ago In the wake of the New York City draft riots, Gov. Horatio Seymour asks President Lincoln to suspend conscription in New York state. At least 120 were killed and 2,000 injured in the protests. The president refuses.