Tuesday Sept. 17,
2013
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 117, No. 222
Partly sunny Today
Tonight
87
67
20% chance of rain
• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • One section
Man faces murder, firearms charges BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Corinth Police Department has charged a man with attempted murder in an Aug. 28 shooting. Frederick Patterson, 49, of Mitchell Street, was picked up Sunday night and subsequently charged with attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Bond was set at $75,000. Patterson was not charged initially because of the injuries he sustained in the fight with the victim. He was expected to undergo surgery but that did not happen, and he is now in good enough health to face the criminal charges, said Detective Capt. Ralph Dance. Patterson was on probation
with the Mississippi Department of Corrections at the time of the shooting, which happened at 800 Pierce Street. Officers responding to a call of a shooting arrived there on the evening of Aug. 28 to find one man on the ground bleeding from the head and another wounded man on the porch with gunshot wounds to the chest and back.
Dance said it appears Patterson was at the Pierce Street address talking to the victim’s girlfriend and became angry with Young at some point. Patterson told Young he was going to shoot him, and Young tackled Patterson in front of the residence. Patterson shot Young twice during the struggle. Young managed to knock
Patterson unconscious during the fight. The shooting victim, Randy Young, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Attempted murder is a new charge in Mississippi as approved by the Mississippi Legislature during the 2013 session. Please see CHARGES | 2A
Corinth man drowns while on vacation
Let the fair fun begin
BY MARK BOEHLER editor@dailycorinthian.com
CAPE SAN BLAS, Florida -- A Corinth man is believed to be the victim of an accidental drowning Monday morning while swimming on vacation in the Gulf of Mexico. The victim was identified as Tom Timms, a paramedic for both Magnolia Regional Health Center Emergency Management Services and the Corinth-based Air Evac Life Team. He was on vacation in Florida with his wife, Rebecca. They were staying in a a beachside condo in Cape San Blas, a remote area of FlorPlease see DEATH | 2A
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Petting zoo owner Donnie Richardson will have such animals as a camel, antelope and zebra among many others during the opening night of the Alcorn County Fair.
Expanded petting zoo makes return to county event BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
It’s time for some fun at the fair. Kids of all ages will have plenty to get excited about as the Alcorn County Fair opens its gates for a third straight year at the Crossroads Arena today. “Everything is falling into place and we are ready to get going,” said fair committee chairman Chris Porterfield on Monday as set up for the event was
in full swing. Activity begins early with canned goods registration starting at 9 a.m. Winners from the photo contest are also slated to be posted at the same time. Quilt and canned goods judging is slated to take place later during the day. One of the highlights on tonight’s agenda is the petting zoo, sponsored by Alcorn County Soil & Water, Farm Bureau, Corinth Animal Care Center and
BY JEBB JOHNSTON Some loud rumbles will be heard in Corinth and Alcorn County for the next few days. In conjunction with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms, the
Northeast Mississippi Law Enforcement Training Center is conducting a training session for officers on explosive crime scenes. As part of the training, some explosions will be set off today and Thursday at a remote location. Police Chief David Lancaster
BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
wants residents to be aware that these explosions may be audible in the city. On a previous occasion when the ATF helped detonate some old Civil War-era explosives, residents report-
County supervisors are still seeking resolution of problems with tankless water heaters at the Alcorn County Justice Center. The Board of Supervisors voted on Monday to send a letter to Rinnai, the manufacturer of the wall-mounted units, seeking replacement parts for 11 water heaters that are out of service or leaking at no cost to the county. A consulting engineer told representatives of the county two months ago that the units are being examined to determine the cause. “I don’t think there has been any clear consensus at this point as to what the cause of the problem is,” said Attorney Bill Davis. “I think I’ve heard everything from an installation defect to a defect in the product to hard water.” Jail officials say the problem units leak when they are not running. A contract for preventive maintenance is in the works. In other business: ■ The county is getting ready to sell land-
Please see TRAINING | 2A
Please see HEATER | 3A
the Corinth-Alcorn County Bank Association. “The petting zoo is a big hit everywhere we go,” said owner Donnie Richardson. Richardson brought 50 USDA approved animals to the fair last year. This year he has added four to five new exotic animals. Please see FAIR | 3A
Police participate in explosives crime training jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
County seeks cause in jail heater problem
Restaurant offers Songwriters Concert Series BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
COUNCE, Tenn. – A little music and some food. The Broken Spoke on Highway 57 at Pickwick is treating its friends, customers and the general public to both with its Songwriters Concert Series every Wednesday. Northwest Alabama’s Maxwell Russell is slated to take the stage at 8 p.m. this Wednesday. Local songwriters are encouraged to attend the event 5 p.m. event. There is no cover charge and a limited menu will be offered. “Songwriters who show at that time will have the opportunity to perform for the crowd,” said Broken Spoke owner Diana Barker. Russell, an Alabama native,
“Songwriters who show at that time will have the opportunity to perform for the crowd.” Diana Barker Broken Spoke owner grew up in Colbert County and has been playing the guitar since he was a youngster. He got started in the business at the age of 26, playing original music at gigs. Influenced by old-school Delta music, slide, boogie along with swing and rock and roll, the Alabama native plays mainly throughout the southeast. In 2006, he entered and won first place in a blues band competition in Birmingham, Ala., and was sent to Memphis,
Tenn. for the International Blues Band competition. He has three albums of original music with his band The Shakedown Kings and a solo Delta blues album using only his unique collection of acoustic guitars and featuring his scorching slide work on his 1929 National resonator guitar. The album, titled Once It Gets in Your Bones, was released in 2010 and his album Alabama Moon, released in 2006, fea-
Index Stocks......8A Classified....14A Comics......9A State......5A
Weather....10A Obituaries......6A Opinion......4A Sports....12A
Please see SERIES | 3A
Submitted photo
Songwriter Maxwell Russell will be the featured entertainment at the Broken Spoke on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. There is no cover charge. Local songwriters are encouraged to attend and take the stage from 5-7 p.m.
On this day in history 150 years ago General Bragg’s efforts to isolate and destroy the separated corps of Rosecrans’ army fail and the Union begins to concentrate in North Georgia. Bragg blames his senior officers and they blame him. The Southern reinforcements from Virginia begin to arrive to bolster Bragg’s army.