Don’t forget to vote today! Polls open 7-7 McNairy County School system switching to new Direct Deposit.
Prentiss County Booneville teenager, six others injured in traffic accident.
Tish County Pickwick Lake home burglary suspect arrested.
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Tuesday Aug. 4,
2015
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Daily Corinthian Vol. 119, No. 185
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 18 pages • One section
More time needed to replace Nelms BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
County supervisors are taking some time to think about who will follow Dal Nelms as representative for the Second District. The Board of Supervisors on
Monday acknowledged the resignation letter from the former supervisor and tabled action until the next meeting on naming a replacement. Because it is less than six months from the end of the current term, the law allows the board to appoint a
person to serve until the general election winner takes office in January. “There is no time stated in the statute for appointment of the supervisor,” said Board Attorney Bill Davis. “The attorney general just says it needs
to be done ‘without undue delay.’” The letter from Nelms states, “Please accept this letter as my resignation from the position of supervisor for District 2 of Alcorn County. I have enjoyed working with the board these
past several years but, under the circumstances, I can no longer give the position the adequate attention it deserves.” Following his recent arrest on a grand larceny charge, Please see SUPERVISORS | 2
County will keep inmate workers BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photos by Kimberly Shelton
Alcorn County educators get a VIP tour of Timber Products.
Local teachers tour industries BY KIMBERLY SHELTON kshelton@dailycorinthian.com
It was a day of excitement and educational fun as Alcorn County instructors gathered in the Biggersville High School gym on Monday to take part in the area’s first Industry Tour
for Teachers. Presented by the Advisory Board and Steering Committees of C.A.R.E Community Foundation and the Commission on the Future of Alcorn County, the tour focused on local careers, the necessary
training and education required and the potential pay scale. “Our goal is to help teachers prepare students to enter the job force and be career ready Please see TOUR | 2
The Alcorn County Board of Supervisors has decided to keep the inmates who have been in the now-closed Joint State County Work Program as long as the state keeps its word to cover the inmates’ medical expenses. Despite some uncertainties about the arrangement, the board on Monday voted 4-0 to continue housing the inmates contingent upon getting a written agreement with the Mississippi Department of Corrections either in the form of a contract or memorandum of understanding that medical expenses will be covered by the state rather than the county. The program ended Aug. 1 as MDOC said it would, but MDOC gave counties the option to keep the inmates without continuing to receive a reimbursement from the state. The reimbursement had been averaging about $18,000 to $20,000 monthly, according to Sheriff Charles Rinehart. With the loss of that reim-
bursement, the county will have to cover expenses such as meals for the inmates, projected at $2,387 monthly, and utilities at the facility in which they are housed. If the county looked at replacing the inmates with hired workers, Rinehart said it would cost the county about $2,280 monthly to hire one worker at $8 an hour with benefits. As the inmate workers are distributed, the City of Corinth gets about 10 to 12 out of the current pool of 31, said Rinehart. Supervisors Lowell Hinton and Gary Ross suggested the city be asked to share some of the cost of continuing the program. The inmates are distributed among organizations such as the park, arena, airport and animal shelter while also providing labor for the city and county governments. Airport board chairman Lynn Lamb recently said the airport would have to hire another full-time employee if it loses inmate labor because Please see INMATES | 3
Reception honors new NE president BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Ricky Ford is getting the official welcome. The Alcorn County style. The Alliance, City of Corinth, Alcorn County Board of Supervisors and Corinth Coca-Cola/ Refreshments are combining to host a reception in honor of the new president of Northeast Mississippi Community College. The event, open to the public, will be held Thursday from 4:30-6 p.m. at the Weaver Center inside Refreshments.
“If I had one word to describe President Ford, it would be gentleman.” Kenneth Williams Corinth Coca-Cola president “Ricky has roots in our region and the community is familiar with him,” said Alliance CEO Gary Chandler. “He knows what we face here and we look
forward to growing the relationship with him.” Ford became the 10th NEMCC president, succeeding Dr. Johnny Allen, on July 1. Prior to being named president, the Pine Grove native was head coach of the Lady Tigers basketball team for 30 years before stepping down in 2011. While on the sideline, he guided the Lady Tigers to a 588-226 mark and national championship in 1986. The Hall of Fame head coach Please see FORD | 3
Photo courtesy of Michael H. Miller
Local leaders will welcome new Northeast Mississippi Community College President Ricky Ford with a reception on Thursday at the Weaver Center.
25 years ago
10 years ago
An old hotel comes down to pave the way for progress. The dilapidated hotel at the intersection of U.S. Highway 72 and Business 45 was purchased by Leroy Peters for salvage.
Corinth aldermen approve an $8.5 million upgrade to the city’s wastewater treatment plant. Engineer Adnan Shindala says the upgrades will provide greater capacity to support future growth.
the
Signof
PROGRESS
Doug Ann Michael Rick Jumper Hardin McCreary Jones
Neil Paul
Marea John Wilson Hayes
2782 S Harper Rd www.jumperrealty.com