McNairy County Mayor disappointed over wheel tax vote
Tippah County Blue Mountain College partners with Northeast
Sports County softball, volleyball action
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Wednesday Oct. 7,
2015
75 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 119, No. 240
Partly sunny Today
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 22 pages • Two sections
School lockdown TCS District shuts down all seven campuses On the recommendation of local authorities, Holly placed her seven TCSD campuses on lockdown around 11 a.m. “We received word of a possible threat in regards to a school in Tishomingo County. The authorities were unsure which
BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
IUKA — Tishomingo County School District Superintendent Christie Holly received a call Tuesday morning that turned her normal school day into chaos.
campus, so to be safe we decided to put a lock down all campuses,” said Holly. “We have a crisis management plan in place and we put it to use Tuesday morning. We increased police presence at each campus and informed all administra-
tors and security officers of the situation.” The lockdown, which lasted a little more than one hour, forced school officials to lock all exterior school entrances. Administrators could not allow any person to enter or leave a
Police take suspect into custody apartments located behind Magnolia Regional Health Center. “He was apparently trying to get his girlfriend out of Region IV when employees called us,” said Police Chief Ralph Dance. No weapon was found on the man. The Mississippi Highway Patrol and Alcorn deputies assisted Corinth police in taking the suspect into custody.
BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
Corinth police took a suspect into custody who was wanted in Tishomingo County for threatening a school. The 19-year-old Iuka man was apprehended Tuesday afternoon at Dollar General on U.S. Highway 72 West near Alcorn Drive. According to authorities, the man had just left the Region IV Mental Health
The man was transported to Tishomingo County Tuesday afternoon. Investigator Adam Hall said his department was awaiting word from the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation on how to charge the man. Around 11 a.m. Tuesday morning, Tishomingo deputies informed the Tishomingo County School District of
threats that had been made toward a school. Law enforcement said a man might be headed to a school in Tishomingo County with a weapon. All schools were placed on lockdown and remained there until after the suspect was taken into custody. Once the lockdown was lifted, all schools returned to normal schedule.
City eyes new plan for vacant school BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Corinth Board of Aldermen is looking at a new strategy to encourage redevelopment of the vacant East Corinth school property. With the possibility of Corinth and Kendrick head starts combining at the old school apparently off the table, the board on Tuesday asked City Attorney Wendell Trapp to research the possibility of dividing it into parcels to be sold collectively for single-family residential development with stipulations for lot and home sizes.
The possibility of offering a tax credit will also be explored. “If nothing comes of this building, I think that it’s an eyesore to that neighborhood, especially for it just to sit empty,” said Alderman Andrew Labas, who pitched the idea. “It’s also a safety concern.” The city hopes to see an interested developer demolish the existing building, which was vacated in the fall of 2010 upon completion of the new Corinth Elementary School. Mississippi Action for
Progress had lobbied for the building, but Mayor Tommy Irwin said MAP recently sent a letter to the city indicating it is shifting its focus to the Easom Community Center for a possible head start location. With the goal of replacing outdated Corinth and Kendrick facilities, MAP estimated it would cost $500,000 to $700,000 to renovate and bring the dormant school building up to par with health and safety regulations. MAP proposed occupying a portion of the property initially and expanding in phases.
“If nothing comes of this building, I think that it’s an eyesore to that neighborhood, especially for it just to sit empty. It’s also a safety concern.” Alderman Andrew Labas Who pitched the idea
school building. “Once rumors started, a few parents tried to check out their children, but we could not allow them to do so during the lockdown,” said Holly. “We acted Please see LOCKDOWN | 6A
NEMCC downplays campus threat BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
Northeast Mississippi Community College officials are downplaying the possibility of a threat to their campus. The college’s office of public information issued a statement Tuesday responding to rumors in the community of a possible threat to the college. “No threat has been made toward Northeast Mississippi Community College. College officials have been made aware of a possible threat. Campus Police are investigating. We are taking every precaution in regard to the safety of the campus community. We are operating on a normal schedule,” said the statement released by NEMCC Vice-President for Public Information Tony Finch. In a post on their Twitter account the NEMCC Police Department termed the situation a hoax. The tweet made around 7 a.m. Tuesday stated “No threat Please see NEMCC | 6A
Region IV Mental Health agency honors longtime board member BY ZACK STEEN zsteen@dailycorinthian.com
Eighty-nine-year-old Troy Holiday was honored recently as a pioneer in the mental health business. “Mr. Holiday is a true visionary,” said Charlie Spearman. “More than 45 years ago, Mr. Holiday had a vision that North Mississippi needed an agency to service people with mental illness. Without his determination and hard work, Region IV Mental Health Services would have never got off the ground.” Holiday helped establish Timber Hills Mental Health Services in 1969. Now known as Region IV Mental Health Services, the locally funded organization provides out-patient services to individuals
in need of mental health, mental retardation and alcohol and drug abuse services. The organization has out-patient facilities in Alcorn, DeSoto, Prentiss, Tippah and Tishomingo counties. “Mr. Holiday has served on this board continually since 1972. During that time, he has been an inspiration,” said Spearman, who serves as Region IV executive director. “His guidance and knowledge has been unmatched.” According to Spearman, the agency currently staffs 400 people with a budget of around $25 million. “We have been able to build 79 apartments, a 36-bed rehab facility and two cri-
Staff photo by Zack Steen
Please see HOLIDAY | 2A
Troy Holiday has served as a Region IV Mental Health Services board member since 1972.
25 years ago
10 years ago
Alcorn County supervisors join with other counties in the Northeast Mississippi Planning and Development District to research the formation of a regional landfill. County officials say they believe the effort could be more productive and cost effective than attempting to comply with federal regulations alone.
Alcorn County native Tammy Genovese is named the chief operating officer of the Country Music Association. Genovese would later return home to serve as manager of the Crossroads Arena.
286.6006
HWY 72 E • Corinth MS www.brosenissan.com