Daily Corinthian E-Edition 061712

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Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 146

• Corinth, Mississippi •

Tonight

65 Mostly sunny Today

90

20 pages • Two sections

Police standoff

Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith

The SWAT team closes in to end the three-hour standoff at Checks to Cash Discount Tobacco on U.S. 72 East. Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith

An Amory woman was airlifted to Tupelo following a wreck on U.S. 45 near Biggersville.

Woman hurt in 2-vehicle wreck BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com

An Amory woman was airlifted to North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo following a twovehicle crash on U.S. 45. The accident happened around 12:15 p.m. on Saturday about a quarter-mile south of Biggersville High School. Both vehicles were northbound when the wreck occurred. A white Cadillac Escalade driven by Mary McGaha, 65, of Booneville, had just got back on the highway after stopping

at Tony’s One Stop when it was rear-ended by a 1984 Ford pickup driven by Catherine Mclevain, 51, of Amory, who was traveling at a high rate of speed, according to emergency personnel. Mclevain’s truck rolled in the median after striking the rear end of the Cadillac, and she was ejected from the vehicle. When emergency personnel arrived on the scene, Mclevain was drifting in and out of consciousness and was soon airlifted to Tupelo. McGaha and the passengers in her vehicle — her husband, Mur-

ry and their 1-year-old grandson — were not seriously injured. They were taken to Magnolia Regional Health Center via ambulance for examination. All were wearing seat-belts or child restraint. McGaha’s Escalade was not seriously damaged. Following the wreck, Mississippi Highway Patrol Trooper Erik Smith discovered a bottle of Jagermeister and a quantity of pills used in the making of methamphetamine in Mclevain’s Please see WRECK | 2A

Corinth Police takes suspect without harm BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com

A three-hour standoff ended without bloodshed Saturday as Corinth Police were called to stand between a distraught man and his suicidal intentions. At 4:43 p.m., Corinth Police received a call through the E911 system from a third party stating that Steven Akers, the owner of Checks To Cash Discount Tobacco, had barricaded himself inside the business. The caller said Akers was armed, was threatening to kill himself and possibly burn the

place to the ground. The SWAT team was dispatched, with Capt. Chuck Hinds serving as the incident commander. A large crowd assembled across the street from the standoff. Corinthians of every age and description watched the Saturday night drama unfold. Eventually the police established contact with a member of Akers’ family, who spoke to Akers from outside — via the PA system on a police cruiser. Please see SWAT | 2A

Oakland’s clothes closet brings hope to hundreds BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com

Oakland Baptist Church spread hope through the community by donating approximately 25,000 items of clothing. The church’s Closet of Hope — a program to give away clothes to those in need — was held on Saturday at the Harper Square Mall. When church volunteers opened the doors at 9 a.m. a

crowd had already formed. “It’s been wonderful. We let in 75 people at a time, let them check out and another group come in,” said church volunteer Diane Whitaker. “It’s been a very spiritual experience, and hopefully we’re meeting both kinds of needs.” Volunteers behind the check-out counter stayed busy throughout the event. Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith

Please see CLOTHES | 2A

Over 100 volunteers made Closet of Hope a success.

Family returns to Mississippi from Malawi BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com

Submitted

LeAnne McDonald joins in a feeding program for local children operating across the street from the school in Malawi.

It’s a long way from Malawi to Corinth, Mississippi. Rev. Sam McDonald believes the journey his family took from the small country in southern Africa where he and his wife taught and ministered for the past decade to the Cross City where he now serves as minister of Trinity Presbyterian Church was one that was meant to be. “It really was something that the Lord orchestrated,” he said. McDonald, his wife LeAnne, and their three children — 7-year-old Sarah Rose, 12-yearold Molly and 14-year-old Amber — have lived in Malawi

Index Stocks...... 7A Classified......5B Comics Inside Wisdom......3B

Weather......5A Obituaries......3A Opinion......4A Sports......8A

since 2001 when he and his wife felt the call to ministry and missions. A native of Brookhaven, McDonald was teaching high school and his wife was teaching elementary school when they first learned about African Bible College — a school supported by churches in the United States. During a conference on missions he began to see the need for educators who were willing to go and teach in Africa. He had already been considering attending seminary or going into the ministry, and in 2001 they made the decision to uproot their lives and begin a new chapter as educators in one of the poorest countries in

the world. “In the summer of 2001 we got on a plane to Malawi. We had no idea what we were getting into,” he said. As the plane descended from the skies after the final leg of a 27-hour trip, they saw a country of thatch-roofed huts and muddy streets completely foreign to a pair of Mississippians who had never before traveled out of the country or even very far out of the state. “It’s just a completely different place,” he said. Economically, Malawi is one of the world’s most depressed places. A land-locked country Please see MALAWI | 11A

On this day in history 150 years ago Without asking or receiving permission from Richmond, Gen. Beauregard takes a leave of absence to restore his “shattered” health at Bladon Springs, Ala. The unapproved visit restores his health but nearly destroys his military career.


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