Christmas Greetings: Special Section Inside Tuesday Dec. 25,
2012
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 310
2012 Christmas Basket Fund “A Community Tradition”
Please see BASKET | 2A
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 32 pages • 2 sections
‘Reason for the season’ Civil War film about Corinth progresses
Basket fund closer to goal The true meaning of Christmas can be witnessed during the 17th annual Corinth Rotary Club/Daily Corinthian 2012 Christmas Basket Fund. Santa Claus forwarded a letter to the newspaper office, as it contained $5 cash. Santa thought the donation would be best served going to the local basket fund. The letter stated: “Dear Santa, I want to help the poor. So I am giving you a 5 dollar bill and I want you to give that 5 dollars to the poor. Gregory Dec. 7, 2012.” Gregory Spencer is the 8-year-old son of Joseph Spencer and Amber Fletcher, both of Corinth. He is third-grader at Corinth Elementary School. Thanks to Gregory’s donation and hundreds of many other giving spirits in the Crossroads area, the basket fund keeps getting closer to the $20,000 goal. The civic club and newspaper set community fundraising goal this year so 1,000 food baskets could be given away to local families Dec. 15 at the Crossroads Arena. The event was a huge success this year with plenty of need. Food was distributed on faith the goal will be reached. Recent donations include $25 from Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church; $50 from David and Karna Parker; $50 from Annelle, Gena and Joby in
Showers
BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
The world’s greatest gift was born in a manger in Bethlehem. First Presbyterian’s Christmas ALIVE told the story of the Savior being born with its two-day experience on Dec. 1415. Braddock Dixon portrayed Jospeh and Katie Bailey played the part of Mary in the church production.
The story of Corinth in the Civil War is getting its own movie. The National Park Service’s movie about the Civil War happenings in Corinth is moving toward completion, according to Ashley Berry, a park ranger at the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center. Berry reported to the Tourism Board on Tuesday that the movie is now in its “second draft” phase. The movie will features lots of local faces, Berry said, including folks from the Interpretive CenPlease see FILM | 2A
Corinth woman found wartime calling in US Cadet Nurse Corps BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
While most of her male classmates left home to join the military, Mary Sue Heyer found her wartime calling in the United States Cadet Nurse Corps. At 18, she left Corinth for Howard College (now Samford University) in Birmingham, Ala., to help fill the nation’s need for nurses, which were in short supply during World War II. “They furnished everything — your food, your lodging, your uniforms, your books, the whole thing,” recalled Heyer, 85. “You chose where you wanted to go.” In September, Samford University, where her granddaughter is expected to be a nursing graduate this year, honored
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Heyer as a living legacy during a reunion of the School of Nursing. She was the oldest to be honored. The young lady who had been Noel’s Cola Queen in a 1938 parade at age 11 would learn of the attack on Pearl Harbor while sitting in a classroom at age 14. Heyer can’t say if nursing was of a particular interest to her as a possible vocation while she was in high school, but the corps presented an attractive opportunity during the nation’s struggle. “How does any teenager know what they want to do?” she asked. “It was just an opportunity for me to go to school without putting a burden on my mother Please see HEYER | 3A
Staff photo by Jebb Johnston
Mary Sue Heyer, who entered the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps in 1945, shows the Ida V. Moffett Living Legacy Award she recently received at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.
ACHS dance squad wins third state championship
‘You’ve been good’ Alcorn Central Elementary School second-grader Jadyn Calvary was able to give her list to Santa Claus personally at the Alcorn Central “Photos with Santa” event earlier this month. Santa noted that Jadyn had been a great girl this past year. The photo project was held to raise money for the Lighthouse Foundation Toy Store. Santa made all of his stops last night and earlier today before resting up for a few months.
BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
JACKSON — Alcorn Central wasn’t leaving the Big House without another title. The two-time defending state dance champions didn’t. AC captured a third consecutive Mississippi High School Activities Association Hip Hop state crown with a title-winning performance Friday. “We had a lot of expectations to live up to and if we didn’t win, we weren’t coming back to school,” said junior member Lakin Little with a laugh. “We felt like everyone was counting on us to win.” The Lady Bears, in only their
Index Kids Page....11A Classified....14A Comics....10A Wisdom......9A
Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports......8A
fourth year as a dance squad, entered the 2012 competition as back-to-back Class 3A state champs. This year’s hip hop event included all six classifications. “Their energy level couldn’t be matched,” said first-year head coach Rebecca Lewis. “It makes it much sweeter that the competition included all classes this year.” AC finished with a score of 84.7 to best runner-up Lewisburg and third place squad Olive Branch. Tishomingo County was fourth while Byhalia rounded out the top five. Please see DANCE | 2A
On this day in history 150 years ago Merry Christmas. Unfortunately for the soldiers, there is little rest and little time to celebrate. There are a number of skirmishes across the country and near Murfreesboro, Tenn., two large armies are poised for a major battle.