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Daily Corinthian Vol. 117, No. 30
• Corinth, Mississippi •
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28 pages • Two sections
Municipal elections qualifying continues BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Marine killed 14 people and wounded 32 others from a tower at the University of Texas before he was killed by police. The current national conversation on guns was kicked off by President Obama’s re-election in November. With Mitt Romney defeated, many on the right believed a second Obama term would bring the disarmament of the American people. The gun conversation crossed
At the midpoint of the qualifying period, candidates for mayor and aldermen are slowly coming forth in Alcorn County municipalities. Most cities and towns across the state are electing leadership this year. Corinth is one of the handful of exceptions. Mayors in Farmington, Glen, Kossuth and Rienzi are all planning to seek reelection. Farmington, where party primaries may be necessary for the first time, has the most candidates thus far. Recent additions running for alderman include incumbents Mac Grisham and Lowell Gann and a newcomer, Mikey Joe Wilbanks, all on the Republican ticket. Incumbent aldermen Bill Hebert and Johnny Potts are seeking reelection, as well as Mayor Dale Fortenberry, all as Republicans. A Republican Executive Committee recently formed to conduct the party primary in Farmington. In Rienzi, the only one who has submitted papers thus far is Mayor Walter Williams, who will seek a second term. In Kossuth, Clerk Randy Holt said no qualifying papers have been submitted, but Mayor Donald Pace plans to seek reelection, as does most of the Board of Aldermen. The town of Glen also has no qualifying papers in hand yet, but Clerk Lynn Fielding said she anticipates that May-
Please see GUNS | 2A
Please see ELECTIONS | 3A
Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
A customer at Big Boys Pawn, Guns & Gold inspects a Belgian-made FN Herstal SCAR 17S 7.62 x 51 caliber rifle.
Gun buying boom Firearm control fears prompt rise in sales BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Everyone is talking about guns these days. From the marble floors of the U.S. Senate to the chattiest cranny of Facebook, everybody has something to say about the matter. A good place to hear the talk is in a gun store. While some don’t wish to have their opinions committed to public record, others couldn’t be happier to oblige. Baldwyn resident Eric Davis, 31, made the trip to Corinth last
week to get an idea of what the selection was like around town. Davis was an avid hunter, he said, before his two children were born. Now he’s more concerned with home defense. And as a self-described gun enthusiast, he has a thing or two to say about the drone of Washington voices calling for stricter regulations and outright bans on some models of “assault weapons.” For one thing, Davis is not happy with the term “assault
weapon.” Anything could be an assault weapon, he insists. “They’re raising Cain about semi-automatic rifles, but that’s just because they look dangerous to people who don’t know any better,” Davis pointed out. “The truth is, somebody who knows what he’s doing could take a bolt-action deer rifle and do just as much or more damage. Think about what happened in Texas back years ago with the guy on the tower.” In 1966 a student and former
Local mayors lend their support IRS opens filing for most federal tax returns to local sales tax legislation BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
Local mayors say a proposal in the state legislature to allow the establishment of an additional sales tax to fund infrastructure and other improvements could be a major boost for area cities. The state senate and house are both considering versions of a bill known as the Citizens for Economic Development Act that would allow citizens in municipalities across the state to vote to increase local sales tax by one percent. Both bills would require citizens in a city seeking the increase to approve it by a 60 percent vote and the proposals would be required to be limited to particular projects with a definite time limit. Both bills await ac-
tion in the state legislature. Corinth Mayor Tommy Irwin said he doesn’t believe it’s likely the legislation will pass this year, but he is strongly in favor of the plan and sees it as a way to pay for much needed improvements to local infrastructure. He believes it’s only right to give people the right to choose the direction they want their city to take. “I hope people will be given the right to vote on it,” he said. Irwin, who recently spent several days along with Corinth Alderman JC Hill as part of a group of mayors and officials meeting with the governor and legislators seeking support for the proposal, said municipal budgets are stretched to the limit and additional funds are needed in order to fix crum-
bling infrastructure such as roads and bridges. He said the issue is one of economic development and quality of life. “Economic development requires adequate infrastructure,” he said. When industry executives visit an area to consider locating a new facility, their first impression is based on the quality of roads and other infrastructure. A bad impression can kill those opportunities for growth and new jobs. “It’s a turn off for them,” he said. Irwin noted the legislation would create a much different tax than the Future Fare proposal rejected by Corinth vot-
Index Stocks......8A Classified......5B Comics Inside State......5A
Please see MAYORS | 2A
BY JEBB JOHNSTON
jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Many people can begin filing federal income tax returns now, but the IRS is still making preparations for some of the more complex returns after recent tax law changes. The filing season opened on Wednesday, a bit later than normal because of the “fiscal cliff” negotiations. “The vast majority of people can file simple tax returns now,” said Mark Green, IRS media relations specialist for Mississippi. “However, because of the changes made by congress, there are still a number of forms being updated as we speak.” A full listing of the delayed forms is at IRS.gov. Some of them include Form 5695 (residential energy credits), Form 4562 (depreciation and amorti-
zation) and Form 3800 (general business credit). Green said taxpayers can expect the delayed forms to become available by late February or early March. “Most of the people with complex returns generally wait until later in the season, anyway,” said Green. He said taxpayers need to know that three popular credits that were set to expire on Dec. 31 were extended by the legislation. These include the educator expense deduction, which allows teachers of kindergarten through 12th grade to take a deduction for up to $250 of outof-pocket costs for school and classroom supplies. Also extended are the higher education tuition and fees deduction and the deduction for Please see IRS | 3A
On this day in history 150 years ago
Weather......9A Obituaries......6A Opinion......4A Sports....10A
Gens. Wheeler and Forrest attack the Union garrison at Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. The Union force of 750 men defeats 2,500 Confederates. The Federals sustain less than 100 casualties while inflicting 700 on their foes. Forrest swears he will never serve under Wheeler again.
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