Inside today: Hog Wild Coloring Contest insert Thursday Sept. 27,
2012
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Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 233
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • One section
Mayor pushing local sales tax option BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Mayor Tommy Irwin is supporting a push for an optional local sales tax as a means to fund needed infrastructure improvements in Corinth. The Mississippi Municipal League, an advocacy group for the state’s cities, is encouraging legislators to consider a bill in the next session called the Citizens for Economic Development Act to establish the optional sales tax. A resolution in support of the concept will
likely be on the next agenda of the Corinth Board of Aldermen. Irwin, who serves on the legislative committee of the MML, said it is the group’s top legislative priority for fiscal 2013. “It’s so needed,” he said. “What’s happened over the years, not only in Corinth but in a lot of other places, there’s just not enough income coming into cities to fix this massive infrastructure problem. The conditions of the streets aren’t going to fix themselves.”
The suggested bill would require a vote with 60 percent approval by citizens. Cities could impose an additional sales tax of up to 1 percent on goods currently taxed at 7 percent. The tax is collected for a specific time period and for specific projects. Irwin speculated that Corinth might pursue a half-percent tax over a period of five years, generating around $10 million. Future Fare, the proposed ad valorem tax increase for infrastructure projects recently
rejected by city voters, would have generated about $5 million over five years. “We’ve got those projects still ready to go,” said Irwin. The mayor said grant opportunities are dwindling and there is nowhere to turn other than the taxpayer. “The national government and state government are not going to rebuild these communities,” he said. Legislators have resisted similar efforts in the past, but Irwin believes the tide may
Davis Bridge hosts living history day
Poetry project hosts reading
BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
The group Crossroads Poetry Project will hold its monthly poetry reading beginning at 6 p.m. Friday at KC’s Espresso in downtown Corinth. “We’re going to be out there to read poetry on Friday night, and anybody and everybody is welcome,” said Milton Wallis, the group’s vice president. Anyone who is interested in poetry is invited to come read or listen during the reading. Musicians are also invited to play instruments and perform songs at the Poetry Reading. “We’ve got some wonderful talent,” Wallis said. “And we welcome anyone of any age.” Wallis said the monthly poetry readings have received a great response from the public and he is happy about the turnout. Crossroads Poetry Project are deep into other projects of the current season. Members of the group regularly read poetry for area students, and the group sponsors an annual poetry writing contest that is open to students and residents of the Corinth area. The deadline for this season’s Please see POETRY | 2A
be turning in favor of the municipalities since many of them face pressing infrastructure needs with little or no means to pay for them. “Corinth didn’t get this way overnight,” said Irwin. “There’s been a long, long process of many years that basically there’s not been any money spent on Corinth. This tax increase on sales tax would allow us to really fix our community up well and mean a lot for the children and people that’s going to be coming after us.”
Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
Alcorn Central Seniors speak with a representative from Mississippi Valley State University.
Alcorn County seniors chart their future BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Seniors in the Alcorn County School District spent Wednesday morning getting acquainted with some of the options that await them after graduation at the 2012 College and Career Fair. “This was a great opportunity for our students to learn about many of the options that are available to them after high school,” said Alcorn Vocational Counselor Jennifer Koon. “I believe there was something for everyone today.” Representatives of almost 40 organizations — colleges, workplaces and the armed forces — participated in this year’s College and Career Fair. Jason Mattox, director of Northeast at Corinth, said the school’s info table prompted a
great response from the students. “We’ve had many great questions, and lots of high school students seem really excited about the possibility of coming to Northeast,” Mattox said. Superintendent Gina Rogers Smith said she was impressed by the number of workplaces and colleges that participated in the fair. For the high school seniors who attended, the College and Career Fair was a welcome portal to information that will help them make important decisions. “It’s a great experience for seniors to get a chance to come out and talk to colleges, different companies and the military,” said John Childress, a senior at Alcorn Central. “If you have questions, everybody is willing to answer them the best they can.”
Alcorn Central senior Adam Price said the fair was a great way to learn about what opportunities are available. “It helped me see what’s out there so I can start planning what I’m going to do out of high school,” said Price. College and Career Fair organizers wish to thank Patrick Poindexter and the MSU Extension staff for the use of the facility; Refreshments Inc. for providing drinks for the participants; and Joyce Smith of Educational Talent Search for assisting with the fair. Extra tables were provided by the Mississippi National Guard. “Mrs. Koon and the Career Center worked so diligently to make this happen,” said Superintendent Smith. “It’s very impressive.”
In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Davis Bridge, Tennessee State Parks will host a living history day on Saturday. “This is the first one we’ve done, and we’d like to get people out to support it because we want to make it a yearly event,” said Davis Bridge Park Ranger Justin King. Living History Day activities will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the battlefield. The day’s activities will begin with a presentation of the United States and Tennessee flags by the Bolivar National Guard Honor Guard. At 9 a.m. cannons will fire, and after a moment of silence an interpretive hike will begin. The hike will be led by National Park Service Ranger Tom Parson from the the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center. Parson will meet with tour participants at Metamora Ridge, on the western side of the battlefield. “We’re going to walk down the slope and follow the route the Union soldiers took as they charged the Confederates, down to the river, stopping every hundred yards to talk about the details of the fight. We’ll end up at the bridge site at the Hatchie River,” explained Parson. Parson and tour participants will be accompanied by about a dozen living history Please see DAVIS | 2A
Kossuth water tower gets new look, much-needed repairs BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
The Kossuth water tank is getting a facelift. Kossuth Water Association President Danny “Shorty” Mincey said the $194,000 project is in the process of some much needed work. “It needed a bunch of repairs,” said Mincey. “Right now they are sandblasting it down and then they will paint it after that.” The work is the first done on the tank — located on County Road 604 — in about seven or eight years. The association plans to pay for the project through a loan and possibly grant funds. Cook Coggin engineers have already fixed a leak problem.
Workers on the project have put a big blanket around the bottom of the tower to catch all the paint and sandblasting, according to Mincey. The water association is about a year away from completing a $4 million project to improve water quality for its customers. The project -- funded by loans and grants from USDA Rural Development -- has kept the water association busy with several upgrades. Some of the improvements include the construction of a new elevated storage tank in the Wheeler Grove area along with a pair of new groundwater supply wells and four production wells. Chemical buildings have also been constructed as part of the project.
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
The Kossuth water tank is undergoing some needed repairs. The tank — on County Road 604 — is being sandblasted and painted. A leak was also repaired on the tank.
Index Stocks........7 Classified......14 Comics...... 12 Wisdom...... 11
Weather........5 Obituaries........ 3 Opinion........4 Sports........8
On this day in history 150 years ago Gen. Sherman in Memphis is fed up with guerrillas firing on unarmed merchant boats on the Mississippi River. He vows to expel 10 families from Memphis each time a boat is attacked.