Tuesday Dec. 31,
2013
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 117, No. 310
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48
28
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • 1 section
Alabama fugitive located in Corinth BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
A trip to Corinth to spend time with family ended in arrest for a man wanted for attempted murder in Alabama. Timothy Dennis Blasingame, 39, of County Road 372, Hillsboro, Ala., was arrested at a Corinth hotel Saturday afternoon
after the police department received information that the man would be in Corinth. He waived extradition and was picked up by Alabama law enforcement. He had apparently been in Texas and came to Corinth to see family, said Officer Spence Spencer. A warrant issued June 18 for
his arrest in Lawrence County, Ala., states that Blasingame attempted to run over a sheriff’s deputy with his truck while fleeing a scene. Another warrant was issued for his arrest for attempted assault for attempting to strike another deputy with his truck. A stack of additional warrants includes charges of strik-
ing an unoccupied vehicle while eluding police; attempting to elude a police officer; possession of burglar’s tools; theft of property, second degree; and failure to appear on DUI charges. Stolen items included a Hemi head motor and scrap metal. Officers found Blasingame’s name on a hotel registry in the
city and set up surveillance. Upon going to the hotel room, officers encountered Blasingame’s wife, mother-in-law and a young child. Blasingame had gone out to get food, and officers arrested him outside the hotel when he returned. The man was caught off guard and taken into custody without incident, officers said.
Library becomes victim of vandals BY KIMBERLY SHELTON kshelton@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photo by Jebb Johnston
Detective Capt. Ralph Dance shows a bundle of methampetamine as he and Officer Spence Spencer discuss the weekend drug arrest.
3 arrested in large meth bust BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
A large stash of methamphetamine passing through the city came to a halt Sunday when police stopped a careless driver. Inside the vehicle, police found two chunks of meth, both wrapped in black electrical tape. Weighing 167 grams, it has an estimated street value of $16,700 and was apparently headed to Lee County. “I haven’t seen this much in a long time,” said Detective Capt. Ralph Dance. Charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute are Shannon Scott, 24, of 301 Hamilton Avenue,
2013 Christmas Basket Fund “A Community Tradition”
Basket fund hits $20,486 The spirit of giving is alive and well in the Crossroads area as generous donations continue to arrive for the 18th Annual Corinth Rotary Club / Daily Corinthian 2013 Christmas Basket Fund. The civic club and newspaper set a $25,000 community fundraising goal this year so 1,000 food baskets could be given away to local families on Saturday, Dec. 7 at the Crossroads Arena. Baskets were given on faith and hope the goal will be reached. The total increased to $20,486 after the most recent donation arrived. It was $100 from SOUTHBank in memory of Gerald Beech. Donations can be the perfect Please see BASKET | 3
Tupelo; James Gaston, 25, of 117 County Road 331, Shannon; and Justin Smith, 27, of 290-A County Road 325, Tupelo. As of 11 a.m. Monday they were in custody at the justice center with bond pending. Gaston is on probation with the Mississippi Department of Corrections stemming from a meth conviction in Lee County, Dance said. The arrests happened after Officer Steve Rose made a traffic stop of the vehicle driven by Scott on Highway 45 for careless driving. Officers gained consent to search and discovered the drug in the vehicle. Dance said it appears the sus-
pects had picked up the methamphetamine and were headed back to Lee County. In a separate case, a Prentiss County woman was charged on Dec. 24 with attempting to obtain a controlled substance by fraud in Corinth. Bond was set at $10,000 for Hillary Kepple, 36, of 9th Street, Booneville. Kepple apparently attempted to pass a fraudulent prescription at a couple of local pharmacies, Dance said. The police department responded to a call from a pharmacy and arrested Kepple. She has previously been charged in Prentiss County and awaits sentencing there, Dance said.
It was business as usual Monday morning for the Northeast Regional Library. For the avid reader or casual passerby, the peaceful facade cloaked and concealed the underlying damage and gave the illusion that all was well. One would never know that over the weekend, the library was the scene of such a ridiculous and juvenile crime. Police responded to a vandalism call early Monday
morning from the Corinth library. Maintenance workers first noticed something amiss after they discovered large amounts of water were pooled up on the lawn. Further investigation led them to determine that someone had intentionally turned on the water spigots in an attempt to flood the grounds. After a lengthy search of the exterior, graffiti was also disPlease see LIBRARY | 3
Suspect in officer’s death killed during shootout Associated Press
PHOENIX — A man who once threatened the president and was suspected of carrying out a deadly Mississippi bank robbery was killed in a shootout with police as he robbed a Phoenix bank, authorities said. Mario Edward Garnett, 40, was fatally wounded as he fired on officers who had arrived at a Compass Bank branch for reports of a bank robbery Saturday morning, police said.
The Secret Service said in court documents that Garnett posted threatening comments about President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the official White House website in August 2010. During a search of his Oklahoma City apartment, investigators said they found files on his computer containing a purchase list for pistols, rifles, ammunition and explosive Please see SUSPECT | 3
The Granddaddy of Them All Local residents in California building Rose Bowl float BY KIMBERLY SHELTON kshelton@dailycorinthian.com
Life isn’t always a bed of roses, but for two Corinth women, their realities have become just that. When Alisa Jobe Pittman and Nancy Goforth Puckett sent their resumes in to apply as float builders for the Rose Bowl, they never dreamed they’d be chosen. “About two weeks ago, I got a call from Charles Meier at Paradiso,” explained Pittman. “I walked around for a couple of days in a daze, wondering what I had gotten myself into,” admitted the interior designer. The two ladies met as children when their families moved across the street from one another. Their mothers were best friends and since the age of 3 Puckett and Pittman have also been best friends. “We’re just two little Mississippi girls playing in a big old sandbox,” Pittman exclaimed. Both women were born and raised in Corinth. Pittman, widowed, has two children, Meredith and Camp. Puckett and her husband, Ray, have one daughter, Christina.
Submitted photo
Nancy Goforth Puckett (left) and Alisa Jobe Pittman have been in California working on a Rose Bowl float for Charles Meier. The 52-year-olds are currently in Pasadena, Calif., working on their two floats for the 2014 Rose Bowl Parade. One float, sponsored by Public Storage is themed “Adventures in space” and is complete with space ships, aliens, and
Index Stocks........8 Classified...... 13 Comics........ 7 State........ 5
Weather........9 Obituaries........ 6 Opinion........4 Sports...... 10
other extraterrestrial touches. This float will hold a special surprise, something never before seen in the history of the industry. The second, is sponsored by Singpoli and celebrates Japanese culture.
It is 80 feet long, features white horses and is embellished with 40,000 red roses. “As a child, I was always impressed by the floats. It’s such an art form. They are made
On this day in history 150 years ago U.S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles sums up 1863; “The war has been waged with success, although there have been in some instances errors and misfortunes. But the heart of the nation is sounder and its hopes higher.”
Please see FLOAT | 3