112511 Daily Corinthian E-Edition by Daily Corinthian

Friday Nov. 25,

2011

50 cents

Daily Corinthian Vol. 115, No. 281

Church members, friends deliver holiday meals BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

Staff photos by Mark Boehler

Volunteers box meals Thanksgiving morning in the Corinth Middle School cafeteria to be delivered throughout Alcorn County, above. Volunteers Bill and Shelly Phillips and their children — Will Phillips, Lexi Steed and Abby Prestage — make plans Thanksgiving morning to deliver 24 meals to the Rienzi area.

BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

Staff photo by Jebb Johnston

An excavator with a mulching attachment takes down vegetation along the Elam Creek banks just south of Waldron Street Wednesday morning. The city has contracted with Mike Pittman Construction for creek cleanup. The contractor also finished the work on Elam Creek south of Harper Road that was be-

gun by another contractor, Asplundh, and left unfinished. In the Linden and Waldron

area near Elam Creek, some smaller drainage channels have also been given attention. A channel near Elam Creek was cleared out during the summer. “It wasn’t probably over 3 or 5 feet at the widest,” said Bynum. “I went ahead and opened it all the way to Elam Creek. You couldn’t even see the bottom of the creek from the bank up here. This has helped contribute to keeping the flooding from getting into Refreshments and Bell Gas and Corinth Gas & Water. When we complete Elam Creek around the east side of Gas & Water, that’s going to help relieve some of the pressure there.” Rip rap was placed to stabilize the banks of the channel. A ditch running alongside

A pair of area churches will be mixing humor with heart this holiday season as they present unique dinner theater productions focusing on the blessings of the Christmas season. Jesus Name Community Church in Walnut and Pleasant Hill United Pentecostal Church will each be present-

Holiday parade set for Dec. 3

ing dinner theater productions sharing the story and spirit of the holiday season with a good dose of laughter and fun. Pleasant Hill will present its fourth annual Christmas Dinner Theater production, titled “Return to Cricket County” at 7 p.m. each night from Dec. 9, 10, and 11. The church’s pastor, Rev. Dewayne Kirk, said they’re excited about the pro-

duction and about the way the community has responded to their efforts. He said the dinner theater has grown enormously since their first year and space is already almost full for this year’s production. Return to Cricket County is a hillbilly comedy filled with laughter, music and Christmas cheer and is a sequel to last year’s dinner the-

Index Classified......5B Comics......4B Wisdom......3B Weather......5A

Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports....10A Religion......2B

Registration time is almost over for those who want to participate in the upcoming Christmas parade. Main Street Corinth will continue accepting entry applications until Wednesday. The parade is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3. It will follow its traditional route, beginning in the area of First Baptist Church and the Corinth Library on Fillmore Street. The theme for the 2011 Christmas parade is “1800’s Christmas,” with participants choosing from a wide variety of options from this colorful era that also ties in with Corinth’s founding and Civil War history. As of Wednesday, there were approximately 75 entries for the parade. Rosemary Williams — community volunteer, preservation advocate and proprietor of Waits Jewelry and Fine Gifts — will serve as grand marshall. During the parade a local Boy Scouts group will collect canned goods for the AMEN Food Pantry on the corner of Main Street and Fillmore Street. Parade participants and spectators are encouraged to bring canned goods to contribute to this effort. “We encourage people to hurry up and turn in their applications to The Alliance office. Since it’s closed this week for Thanksgiving, that leaves only three days left to register next week,” said John Orman, president of the Main Street board. For more information contact Main Street Corinth Director Montana Hill at 287-1550.

Corinth young business group extends growth BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com

ater production at the church. Church members have been busy for months preparing the program and they’re looking forward to sharing their efforts with the community. There’s no charge to attend, but Kirk emphasized seating is very limited. The dinner tables have already been booked for

Six months into its existence, the Corinth Area Young Professionals group is growing up. When the group formed in May as a way to foster connections among young professionals in the area, Alliance Community Development Director Andrea Rose said she hoped the program would grow and become a resource for the community. Now the CAYP is looking to the new year with plans to continue its mission of networking and good times while expanding its role in the community. “After the first of the year we’re starting a committee that will plan the charitable arm of the organization and how to give back to the community,” Rose said. Since its inception the group has been under the direction of its sponsor, The Alliance, but soon the Young Professionals themselves will form committees to decide how the group recruits new members and plans upcoming events. The group meets one Thursday each month for networking, food and fun. The Young Professionals

Please see THEATERS | 3A

Please see GROUP | 2A

Please see CLEANUP | 2A

Dinner theaters: Churches mix humor with heart BY BRANT SAPPINGTON

BY BOBBY J. SMITH

Progress continues on ditch bank cleanup

bsappington@dailycorinthian.com

Tonight

bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com

Please see MEALS | 3A

Corinth’s creek banks are currently getting trimmed. The city contracted with Mike Pittman Construction for creek bank cleanup that has been in progress for the last several weeks and will continue. On Wednesday, an excavator equipped with a mulching head was in operation between Waldron Street and the Norfolk Southern railroad alongside the Corinth Gas & Water Department, taking down vegetation on the Elam Creek bank. After finishing up that area, Street Commissioner Jim Bynum said the work will move to Phillips Creek from Droke Road north towards Shiloh Road and then to Bridge Creek in the wastewater treatment plant area.

Today

• Corinth, Mississippi • 22 pages • 2 sections

Give thanks, help others A group of Corinthians spent their Thanksgiving morning giving others a reason to be thankful. The annual delivery of Thanksgiving meals by members of First Presbyterian Church and friends brought a big crowd to the cafeteria of Corinth Middle School, where an assembly line of workers packed up turkey, dressing and other Thanksgiving staples for people who needed help getting a meal. By the box loads, people loaded meals into their vehicles to deliver to their assigned areas in the 23rd year of the Thanksgiving project. Stacy Brooks, participating for the 11th time, was headed out to make deliveries on South Corinth streets such as Cass, Mitchell and Dorsey. “It’s a great way to give back to my community and help people that may not be as privileged,” she said. She had 34 meals to be delivered to 13 different homes. Participants delivered a total of 1,000 meals. The event has been a family tradition for Ben Albarracin, a Corinth alderman who has worked on the project since he was a youth. “It wakes you up,” he said of the event. “You see that there are people in Corinth and Alcorn County that can’t get ahead.” When making deliveries, he has found that some people are as grateful for the visit as the food. “All they wanted was somebody to come and see them and sit down and talk for a few minutes, and it made their day,” he said. And the need is evident, year after year. “It makes you wonder,” said Albarracin, “if this is something that people need on Thanksgiv-

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On this day in history 150 years ago Confederate Secretary of War Judah Benjamin was angered over the activities of pro-Union “traitors” in East Tennessee who had been engaged in burning bridges. By Tom Parson, NPS Ranger