Tuesday Aug. 27,
2013
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Daily Corinthian Vol. 117, No. 204
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • One sections
Officials: Alleged rapist in custody Police arrest 25-year-old following Sunday assault at Beechwood Circle BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
A second rape in Corinth early Sunday led to an arrest on the scene, and police are investigating whether the man committed the prior rape at Crossroads Regional Park. Garnett Hughes, 25, was arrested at a Beechwood Circle address about 4:40 Sunday morning. On
Man dies in custody
Monday afternoon, the Corinth Police Department charged him with armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, and burglary with intent to commit assault. Hughes has a Belzoni address but apparently has been in Corinth for several months. Bond is set at $1 million and Hughes is in custody at the Alcorn County Jail. “We believe this subject may be
in fact the one that committed the rape at the city park,” said Detective Capt. Ralph Dance. “We are in the process of connecting the dots. The similarities in the crimes are pretty overwhelming.” In this case, Dance said 911 received a call from a child who said there was a man in the house and he was hurting her mother. Police were on the scene in one or two minutes
and surrounded the house. Officers could hear a woman inside yelling and saying she had to get her clothes on. Dance said she was able to get away from the man and come to the door, where officers pulled her outside as the man was diving out a back window. Officers apprehended him as he tried Please see RAPIST | 3A
Students visit with ‘Helpers’
BY BRANT SAPPINGTON Authorities are awaiting autopsy results for a Corinth inmate who died Saturday after collapsing at the Prentiss County jail. Marterious Jerrod Swinney, 28, of Corinth was talking on the telephone in the jail around 11:15 a.m. Saturday when he collapsed, said Prentiss County Sheriff Randy Tolar. He was immediately transported by ambulance to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Booneville where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy was scheduled for Monday in Jackson where Swinney’s remains were transported by Coroner Greg Sparks. No results were available at press time. Swinney had been booked into the jail around 10 a.m. Friday and was being held for the First District Drug Court. Tolar said the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation was immediately notified regarding the situation.
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Crossroads Regional Park is working on a plan to meet the demand for tennis courts. Six old tennis courts would see upgrades in the short term while officials look to a “new park” being funded further down the road. As part of a request for a 5 percent budget increase, the park has outlined a fix for the ailing courts at a cost of $175,000. “All of you know we have a tennis courts shortage right now. I’m sure you’ve heard it,” said Park Director Todd Witt. The only public tennis facilities in Alcorn County, the courts host tennis practice and matches for the tennis teams of Alcorn Central High School and Kossuth High School. The park recently had a contractor examine drill borings to evaluate the foundaPlease see COURTS | 2A
Bus crash badly injures educator BY BRANT SAPPINGTON
bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
City Park makes plans to upgrade tennis courts
Hughes
bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Farmington Fire Rescue’s Jeremy Childers talks with Alcorn Central Elementary School first grader Aidan Anderson about the many different types of equipment used by firemen.
Week introduces children to community servants BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Alcorn Central Elementary School first graders were introduced to those there to help. Visits by local firemen and policemen were part of Com-
munity Helpers Week at the school last Friday. First graders got a chance to ask the community servants questions along with see some of the equipment used by policemen and firemen.
“These visits help us get involved with the community and lets them know we are here to help,” said Alcorn County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Please see HELPERS | 2A
A Tishomingo County teacher was severely injured Monday when the vehicle she was driving slammed into the rear of a stopped Prentiss County school bus as it picked up a child. Twenty students were aboard the bus which was stopped on Mississippi Highway 365 near the Mississippi Highway 30 intersection around 7 a.m. when the collision occurred. Mississippi Highway Patrol Troop F Spokesperson Trooper Ray Hall said two children aboard the bus were transported by ambulance to North Mississippi Medical Center – Iuka with minor injuries. The driver of the bus was not injured. Hall said Kacey L. Phifer, 36, was southbound on Highway 365 in a 2010 Buick Lacrosse when she apparently hit the stopped bus in the rear. Phifer, a teacher at Tishomingo Elementary School, was airlifted from the scene to the Regional Medical Center (The Med) in Memphis, Tenn. where she was listed in critical but stable condition, said Hall. A child in her vehicle received minor injuries in the crash. The crash remains under investigation by the Mississippi Highway Patrol.
Boys & Girls Club receives donation for school program BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Members of the Boys & Girls Club have a familiar item as incentive. The club received a donation of 13 basketballs from Car Mart. The balls will be used to drive youngsters to work harder in the after school program. “I think it will help get their attention on things going on at the club and not what is happening on the street,” said Car Mart General Manager Bart Sandoval. The Boys & Girls Club offers an educational enrichment program that stresses educational enrichment activities, help with homework, and tutoring. Basketball is a big draw for mem-
bers at the unit. “Kids at the club love basketballs,” said club unit director Christy Grice. “This will be a good way to entice them to do their homework and other things they are asked to do around the club.” At the Corinth Unit, individualized tutoring is provided on a regular basis. Educational values are also taught through games, projects, and contests. “Those who best follow the rules will be able to take home a basketball for their own,” added Grice. “Donations like this allows the club to spend money in other places to best serve the children.”
Index Stocks......8A Classified....14A Comics......9A State......5A
Weather....10A Obituaries......6A Opinion......4A Sports....12A
Please see CLUB | 3A
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Car Mart General Manager Bart Sandoval passes off one of the 13 basketballs donated to the Boys & Girls Club to unit director Christy Grice.
On this day in history 150 years ago Gen. William T. Sherman writes a confidential letter to Grant’s chief-of-staff concerning Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace, whose reputation was ruined by his late arrival during the Battle of Shiloh. Sherman wonders if there is a way they “might save his honor and be of use to the service?”
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123 Alcorn Dr. • Corinth, MS 38834 662-286-2866