Thursday Dec. 13,
2012
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 300
2012 Christmas Basket Fund “A Community Tradition”
Basket fund climbs over $8,600 The spirit of giving is alive and well in the Crossroads area as donations continue to arrive daily for the 17th Annual Corinth Rotary Club/Daily Corinthian 2012 Christmas Basket Fund. The civic club and newspaper have set a $20,000 community fundraising goal this year so 1,000 food baskets can be given away to local families at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15 at the Crossroads Arena. The total now stands at $8,630, meaning $11,370 still needs to be raised from the community as there will be no corporate match this year. Recent donations include $100 from John and Marcia Cooper in memory of Tim Cooper; $100 from Diva Nail Please see BASKET | 2
New literacy council leader continues mission BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
After six months on the job, Denise DeBoer continues looking for new ways to spread literacy in the Crossroads area. DeBoer is the student-tutor coordinator of the CorinthAlcorn Literacy Council. She took over the position in July following the retirement of Dorothy Hopkins, who dedicated 21 years to improving the literacy of her fellow Corinthians. “The transition from Dorothy Hopkins to Denise has gone extremely well,” said tutor trainer Cheryl Meints. “Denise really fit in really well.” The new coordinator recently traveled to the Governor’s Job Fair and set up a table with a group of volunteers to share CALC’s mission. She also went to Alabama to meet with that state’s pro-literacy groups to learn new ideas to incorporate into the CALC’s work. “We’ve got plenty of great ideas, and we really want to grow our program so we can Please see LITERACY | 2
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • One section
Coombs named Main Street director BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Taylor Coombs loves Corinth and is ready to get started. Her affection for the city is a major reason the Corinth High School graduate has been named the new Main Street Corinth director. “This is my dream job,” she said. “No one loves Corinth more than me.” Brent Lipford, Main Street Corinth Board of Directors president, believes the board has found the perfect choice. “All the applicants were good and it was tough,” said Lipford. “What set Taylor apart was her heart for the downtown merchants and that she wants to be part of Corinth growing.” A total of 16 individuals were interviewed for the position that became open following the resignation of Montana Hill. Former Main Street Director Susan Joiner had been serving in an interim role. “Susan has been a major plus helping us out while we found a new director,” said Lipford. According to the board president, Joiner is slated to stay around and help train Coombs. Coombs, who graduated from Ole Miss with a Bachelor of Journalism and News Media degree with an emphasis in public rela-
tions and minor in art, has left a lasting impression of Corinth on those she has met over the years. “My college friends always teased me about talking about home,” she said. “She knows the history of Corinth and that was the kind of person we were looking for ... someone who was really connected to the community,” added the board president. Applicants were interviewed in late November with the search committee presenting three finalists who went before the entire board for consideration and final interview, according to Lipford. “Taylor is very driven,” said Lipford. “I think this is the job she really wanted.” A former Main Street volunteer, Coombs was first interested in the job as a college senior. “I always thought it would be a fun job,” said the First Presbyterian Church member. The new director is excited about her new job. She will take over the position on Feb. 1 after fulfilling her commitment as art teacher at CHS. “I really want to get to know the system then hopefully add something that will get all of Corinth involved,” she said. “I have been able to realize that if people see you are passionate
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Corinth’s Taylor Coombs will take over as Main Street Corinth director on Feb. 1. about something, they will get behind you.” Main Street’s mission is the promotion and enhancement of historic downtown Corinth. The organization sponsors
many events throughout the year in addition to Hog Wild and Celebrate Corinth, including the Slugburger Festival in July and the Corinth-Alcorn County Christmas Parade.
CT-A presents classic Christmas tale BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
A Christmas miracle is coming to the Crossroads Playhouse this weekend. The Corinth Theatre-Arts production of the classic Christmas story “Miracle on 34th Street” takes the stage beginning Friday night. The Christmas tradition that is “Miracle on 34th Street” first warmed hearts in 1947 in the form of a best-selling novel by American filmmaker Valentine Davies. The same year the story was made into a multiple Academy Award winning film starring Maureen O’Hara and John Payne. A handful of remakes followed over the years, most recently the 1994 John Hughes adaptation starring Elizabeth Perkins and Richard Attenborough. “Miracle on 34th Street” is the story of Kris Kringle, an old man in a retirement home who gets a job working as Santa Claus at Macy’s. His dedication to helping parents find the perfect gifts for their children spreads goodwill through Macy’s customers and the commercial world of New York City
Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
“Miracle on 34th Street” features (front, from left) Rebekah Petty (Doris Walker), Anna Kate McEllhiney (Susan), (back) Dan Marsh (Fred Gailey) and Dr. Richard Strachan (Kris Kringle). The magic begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Crossroads Playhouse. — until the store’s vocational counselor deems Kris Kringle deluded and dangerous and schemes to have him sent to
Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital. The store Santa ends up in court, and with the help of a daring lawyer and the little girl
who believes him, he sets out to prove he is the real Santa
Gallery hosting Christmas sale
Runners raise funds for St. Jude
BY JEBB JOHNSTON
Please see MIRACLE | 2
BY STEVE BEAVERS
jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Corinth Artist Guild Gallery hopes Christmas shoppers will consider unique locally made gifts to put under the tree and stuff stockings this year. The annual Christmas sale on high-quality art and a variety of hand-made items has begun at the 507 Cruise St. gallery, which will host a Christmas open house on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Santa Claus will be at the gallery during the open Please see GALLERY | 3
sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photo by Jebb Johnston
Gallery volunteer Ray Tinsley arranges some of the knit items by Gayle Moore for the Christmas sale.
Index Stocks........7 Classified......14 Comics...... 12 Wisdom...... 11
Weather........5 Obituaries........ 3 Opinion........4 Sports........8
Team Corinth turned in a heroic effort for the children of St. Jude. The Corinth Heroes, a local running group, eclipsed their goal of raising $40,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during the Memphis Marathon Weekend on Dec. 1. The running team has collected $42,300 thus far. Contributions can still be Please see RUNNERS | 13
On this day in history 150 years ago The Battle of Fredericksburg, Va. Burnsides’ 120,000 men attack 85,000 under Robert E. Lee in a series of suicidal frontal assaults. The 13,000 Federal casualties are more than double those of the Confederates. Lee remarks to Gen. Longstreet, “It is well that war is so terrible – we should grow too fond of it.”
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