Today: 34-page special edition
People
Pray Pottery networks for bigger picture.
Katrina refugee couple opens Highwater Seafood.
Page 1B
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Daily Corinthian
Tuesday Oct. 22,
People
2013
50 cents
Vol. 117, No. 252
Partly sunny Today
Tonight
69
40
0% chance of rain
• Corinth, Mississippi • 34 pages • 3 sections
County wants more state prisoners BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Alcorn County is seeking to add 50 state prisoners to its jail population. Sheriff Charles Rinehart is proposing that 50 county beds be shifted to the Mississippi Department of Corrections in the
new South Harper Road justice complex. The Board of Supervisors on Monday gave approval to pay Ronald Welch, a prisoner rights advocate, for an inspection that is necessary for the plan to move forward. The county currently has beds for 300 MDOC inmates
on the state side of the new complex,plus another 70 in the community work center. The county jail currently has 240 beds for county inmates and any that Corinth or Farmington pay to be housed. The addition of more inmates would bring new revenue to the
jail operations through MDOC payments for the housing of inmates. In other business related to the jail, the county is preparing to donate .04 acres of property to the American Legion where several graves are located for use as a memorial garden. Near
Business owner brings something new to Corinth BY JEBB JOHNSTON Alex Al-Qawwas has given Corinth a taste of something different from the kitchen. Now, he offers a puff of something new. The hookah pipes, sitting on restaurant tables with a drink menu at hand, are tall contraptions with the ornate look of another era. Separated from the main dining space of JT’s Falafel & Kababs at 1012 Highway 72 East, the new hookah lounge shares a room with a bar in an adjacent store space to JT’s. “It’s been there for thousands of years, the hookah,” said Al-Qawwas, who made Corinth home after Hurricane Katrina. “We are just trying to get some clientele that they like to smoke with their meal or after their meal, and, instead of going out and coming back in, they can enjoy both at the same time.” Many hookah establishments are more loungey than this, furnished instead with couches for an after-dinner kind of mood. While researching the idea, he visited one in Memphis and several in Nashville, where the lounges are numerous. With no nicotine in the
Please see PRISONERS | 2A
ACTC seeking canned goods
Hookah Lounge jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
the west entrance of the facility, the property would host a tribute to local law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. It is currently fenced off from the rest of the property. The graves were discovered
mix, hookah smokers savor the flavors imbibed from the vapor of the waterpipes. AlQawwas describes the content he offers as flavored molasses. About 10 different flavors are available; those demonstrated today are fruity. There is no shisha — the flavored tobacco often used with a hookah. “When you smoke that, you smell the apples or you smell the grapes,” he said. When the product is loaded into the top of the device, the actual fruit can also be added to intensify the experience. A hookah session could last about 45 minutes — perhaps longer for those who take a more leisurely approach. The lounge has attracted some business. “A lot of people, they come in just for the bar itself and the atmosphere,” said Al-Qawwas. “Everybody who tried it, they like it.” He thinks some people would prefer the hookah to cigarette smoking. “You don’t feel it’s burning your throat like a cigarette. You don’t feel like it’s giving you a stinky smell from the smoke,” he said. Near the entrance to the
Staff photos by Mark Boehler
Canned food items are needed to fill the bed of the Alcorn Career and Technology Center (ACTC) truck and they are asking for help from the local community. As part of their National Red Ribbon Week Celebration, the faculty and students at the ACTC will be sponsoring the “Pack the Red Pick-Up Day” on Wednesday, Oct.30. Red Ribbon Week is the nation’s oldest and largest drug prevention program, reaching millions of Americans during the last week of October every year, according to Jennifer Koon, CTE Counselor at ACTC. “By wearing red ribbons and participating in community anti-drug events and community service projects, young people pledge to live a drug-free lifestyle, Koon said. “Specifically, ACTC sponsors Red Ribbon Week activities annually to support its students and to pro-
Please see HOOKAH | 2A
Alex Al-Qawwas puts together a hookah pipe in his Corinth lounge.
Please see CANS | 6A
BY JOSEPH MILLER jmiller@dailycorinthian.com
Dr. Shantwania Areonesia Buchanan examines one of her patients, Bailey Durham of Jumpertown, who is expecting twins.
Woman beats odds to become successful physician in region BY JOSEPH MILLER jmiller@dailycorinthian.com
An abandoned girl had to overcome extraordinary circumstances to become a successful physician. Dr. Shantwania Areonesia Buchanan has become well-known and loved in the Crossroads community for her specialty work in Gynecology and Obstetrics. She is loved and adored by her patients and those who meet her are immediately impressed. “She is the best I have ever had,” said patient Bailey Durham of Jumpertown. “I
Index Stocks......8A Classified......7B Comics....13A State......5A
Weather......9A Obituaries......6A Opinion......4A Sports....10A
started coming to see her (Dr. Buchanan) nine months ago. I am pregnant with twins and I am glad I came here. I love her so much and she can relate to us so well and it helps, especially when you are having twins.” Durham is one of many happy patients who has passed through Dr. Buchanan’s office. “I had a fibroid removed by Dr. Buchanan and she was so nice and professional to me and my family,” said former patient Janie Please see BUCHANAN | 3A
On this day in history 150 years ago Gen. Grant arrives on the outskirts of Chattanooga. The next day he meets with Gen. Thomas and confirms orders to reestablish a supply route, known as the “Cracker Line,” and lift the siege of the city. He works on a plan to attack Bragg’s army.
November is DIABETES Awareness Month Diabetes is the leading cause of new blindness among adults under 65! x x x Dr. John Shipp, M.D.
40-45% of Americans with diabetes have some stage of diabetic retinopathy People with diabetes are 25 times more likely to become blind than people without it 90% of vision loss can be avoided with yearly eye exams and control of blood sugar level
Call 662-286-6068 to schedule your diabetic eye examination.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Eye Care Specialists 3302 W. Linden St. Corinth, MS 38834 (662) 286-6068