Wednesday Jan. 18,
2012
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 15
Mostly sunny Today
Tonight
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 18 pages • 2 sections
City liquor vote debate Corinth board asks legislature Tourism board talks resolution, for city-only liquor referendum which dies for lack of second BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Corinth Board of Aldermen on Tuesday adopted a resolution seeking legislative approval for a city-only vote on the sale of alcoholic beverages, a move that opponents said would unfairly cut county citizens out of the process. In a 5-1 vote before an overflow crowd at City Hall, the board adopted a resolution to encourage the Mississippi Legislature to approve a Corinth-only vote on liquor sales. John Ross Jr. presented the resolution to the board for consideration, and a petition signed by a number of residents was given to the board. Ward 1 Alderman Andrew Labas introduced the motion to adopt the resolution, and Ward 3 Alderman Chip Wood seconded. Voting in favor were Labas, Wood, Ward 2 Alderman Ben
Albarracin, Ward 4 Alderman J.C. Hill and Ward 5 Alderman Michael McFall. Alderman at Large Mike Hopkins cast the lone “no” vote. If successful, the effort would give Corinth an exception to the requirement for a countywide vote on the sale of liquor. Corinth was a wet county for 21 years until 1989, when Alcorn County voters ended liquor sales and, in a city election, Corinth voters said “yes” to beer sales. Referendums on the sale of liquor in 1993 and 2005 failed to pass. “I do feel that a large percentage of my constituents are wanting the option to vote on this themselves and not be dictated on what they are or are not allowed to do by county residents,” Labas Please see ALDERMEN | 2A
BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
The Tourism Board debated a proposed resolution concerning the sale of liquor in the Corinth city limits during its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday. The board discussed presenting a resolution to the Corinth mayor and Board of Aldermen at Tuesday night’s meeting, recommending they petition the Mississippi State Legislature to pass legislation calling for a city-wide vote regarding the sale of liquor within the city limits. Chris Porterfield, the board’s chairman, had been approached by a group of concerned citizens who are interested in changing the current laws prohibiting the sale of liquor in Corinth. Board member Judge John Ross
made the motion to present the resolution at the city meeting. “I’m going to say this — I’m strongly for this, so I’m going to move for this to be adopted,” Ross said. Ross later amended the motion to include notifying the Board of Supervisors of the Tourism Board’s intention to present the resolution to mayor and Board of Aldermen. “We owe them the courtesy to apprise them of what we are proposing,” said Ross. After extended discussion, the motion died from lack of a second. Board member Glennan Grady said he was individually for the resolution, but had mixed feelings about the Tourism Board getting involved.
Mission launches dream, hope BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and Corinth Mayor Tommy Irwin were the guest speakers at a groundbreaking and dedication ceremony for the Hope Dream Center Mission on Tuesday. Located in the former Tate Street Baptist Church building, the Hope Dream Center will be a 36,000-square-foot shelter for homeless and troubled women — and their children — with room for over 100 occupants. The ceremony was held in the facility’s chapel. Dream Center board member Mike Stewart thanked the building’s owners, Rev. Willie and Annie Saffore, for offering the use of their property as a shelter for women and their children. “I am so honored they are actually going to let this be turned over as a shelter,” Stewart said. “They are good people.” He also expressed faith that God would see to the needs of the non-profit, non-denominational Christian shelter. “The chairman is Jesus Christ. We have to keep Him in the center place,” he said. “We have gone out on a limb and are depending on the Lord to handle this — if we do the right thing, he’ll do the rest.” Stewart called for volunteers, saying the mission needs
BY JEBB JOHNSTON The Corinth Artist Guild welcomes the public’s input on the future of the art gallery as the guild hosts its annual meeting this week. Set for 6 p.m. Thursday at the gallery at 507 Cruise Street, the meeting agenda includes election of a couple of board members, review of the past year’s work and planning for 2012 events. “We’re hoping people will come and share ideas with us that will help us better go forward,” said Guild President Sonny Boatman. The gallery hosts work by local artists, including monthly featured exhibits, and hosts
Warning, but no tornado BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
guest speakers. “Yesterday our nation and state celebrated the life and memory of Dr. King — and today we celebrate the kick-off of
A severe weather system dumped heavy rains across the Crossroads area Tuesday, but left no signs of damage despite the issuance of a tornado warning in Prentiss County. Tornado sirens could be heard throughout the city of Booneville as the National Weather Service issued the warning of a tornado just after noon Tuesday. Radar indicated rotation in storm as it passed across the Tippah-Prentiss county line, through the Jumpertown area and over Booneville. The Corinth area experienced heavy rainfall for a period, but there were no reports of flooding or damage. Prentiss County Emergency Management Director Ralph Lauderdale said the only dangerous condition he observed was a severe thunderstorm which produced heavy rain, but caused no damage. He said he searched for any signs of problems from the storm, but did not observe any issues or receive any reports of damage. “We haven’t found anything at all, not even a leaf blown off a
Please see CENTER | 2A
Please see WEATHER | 2A
Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker and Corinth Mayor Tommy Irwin were among the guest speakers at a ceremony at the Hope Dream Center Mission on Tuesday. Also taking part in the event were the building’s owners, Rev. Willie and Annie Saffore — amid a gathering of local civic and spiritual leaders. carpenters, painters, plumbers, electricians and other skilled workers to help the Hope Dream Center become a reality. Monica Sorrell sang “Open My Heart” and gave a testimo-
Guild gallery welcomes input jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Please see BOARD | 2A
educational outreach activities such as a summer art camp for youth and occasional workshops for adults. Boatman said the guild had a good year in 2011, although the gallery’s sales were affected by the financial climate of the country. Mississippi Art Sales operates the gallery, makes the sales and pays the artists a 65 percent commission. The remainder is donated to the nonprofit guild for operating expenses. The guild is currently seeking memberships, which also help cover operating expenses. It has grown from an initial Please see GUILD | 2A
nial of the struggles she faced as a young single mother trying to make her way in the world and how she overcame dire poverty through hard work and faith. Irwin was the first of two
K-C access road 95 percent complete BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Kimberly-Clark industrial access road construction is 95 percent complete, Alcorn County supervisors learned Tuesday. The board was notified that the office of state aid road construction approved the contractor’s request for a contract extension. Chuck Smith of Cook Coggin told the board there are 27 working days left in the contract as of Tuesday. Ninety-two percent of the contract time is elapsed. Smith said Eutaw’s remaining work includes a final layer of asphalt, striping, signage, some concrete work, and clean up and grassing in the Kendrick Road area.
Index Stocks...... 7A Classified......4B Comics......3B Wisdom......2B
Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports......8A
In other business, Justice Court Judge Steve Little notified the board of an order he entered on Friday regarding dress code and prohibited items in the court room at the Alcorn County Justice Center. “I have spoke with the sheriff and he has agreed to help enforce that code,” said Little. The judge said he believes people appearing in court “ought to present themselves in a manner with respect to the court.” The order prohibits the wearing of tank tops; halter tops; muscle shirts; shorts, except on children under 12; hats and caps; T-shirts; sweat pants or sweat suits; clothing with obscene or inappropriate logos, pictures or language; house
shoes; and flip flops. The dress code also prohibits bare midriffs and visible body piercings other than earrings, which cannot be “excessive.” Pants must be worn at the belt line. The order also prohibits food and drinks, pagers, cell phones, newspapers, video cameras and voice recorders. Law enforcement and officers of the court may have cell phones and pagers on vibrate. The board reappointed Ricky Gibens to the positions of fire coordinator, solid waste enforcement officer and homeland security director of Alcorn County and accepted a contract with Cook Coggin making Kent Geno the county engineer.
On this day in history 150 years ago Jan. 18 — General George H. Thomas had arrived in the vicinity of Logan’s Crossroads, Ky., the day before with 4,000 Union troops and spent this day scouting the enemy position. Confederate Gen. George B. Crittenden decides to attack him at dawn.