Wednesday Feb. 6,
2013
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 117, No. 32
Mostly sunny Today
Tonight
63
44
0% chance of rain
• Corinth, Mississippi • 26 pages • Two sections
City will revamp S. Parkway, 72 intersection BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The intersection of South Parkway, U.S. Highway 72 and Liddon Lake Road will go from five points to four in an upcoming street project. The city has been notified by the Mississippi Department of Transportation that approximately $300,000 is available for an improvement project for the intersection through
the Local Surface Transportation Program. The city will contribute a match of about $80,000. The Board of Aldermen on Tuesday approved contracting with Cook Coggin for planning and design on the project. David Huwe, director of community development and planning, said Liddon Lake Road will no longer terminate at the busy intersection. The
plan will include a cut-through road next to Auto Zone connecting Liddon Lake Road with the highway. Reducing the number of intersecting streets is expected to aid the signalization in moving traffic through the intersection. South Parkway will be widened on the north side of the intersection for the addition of a right turning lane to help keep traffic from backing up.
The project will also address the ditch along Parkway on the north side of the intersection. Huwe said the project is targeted for completion in the third quarter of 2014. The project has been on the verge of moving forward for a few years, but funding for STP projects became scarce. Huwe said MDOT did not take new applications this year but rather doled out funds to some
Readiness key in bad weather
Bill would permit teachers to have guns
BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Severe weather can take it all away in a matter of seconds. It can even take lives, if not prepared. State officials want the public to be ready at all times should threatening weather hit. “Being unprepared can jeopardize your safety or even your life,” said Gov. Phil Bryant while declaring Feb. 4-8 as Severe Weather Preparedness Week in the state. “Severe weather can occur at any time and it is important to learn now what steps you can take to stay safe.” As part of Severe Weather Preparedness Week, the National Weather Service will conduct a statewide tornado drill, using the Emergency Alert System at 9:15 a.m. today. Schools, government agencies and businesses throughout the state are encouraged to participate. “This is something very serious,” said Alcorn County Emergency Management Director Ricky Gibens. “There is always the possibility of severe weather and it's something that shouldn't be taken lightly.” According to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), severe weather can occur in any month in Mississippi and can include thunderstorms, tornadoes and flooding. The National Weather Service reported 42 Mississippians Please see WEATHER | 3A
previously proposed projects. The program makes federal dollars available for projects such as signalization and street widening. In other business, several members of the NAACP, with Milus Copeland speaking, complained to the board about a Corinth police officer. The board had some discussion on the matter in executive session.
BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
trative offices and the center also includes space for support services such as the college’s print shop and computer services division. The west side of the new center includes a courtyard with a large fountain, extensive landscaping and seating areas that will be used by students and faculty as a gathering place as well as for college events. Allen said the building is the result of a collective effort and
Across the nation, lawmakers on the state level are considering legislation that will allow school employees with concealed carry permits to carry firearms in schools. In at least 10 states, the debate about concealed carry in schools continues. As it stands now, only Utah allows concealed weapons in schools — as well as a few school districts in other states. A measure passed the Mississippi House Education Committee on Monday that would allow teachers, coaches and other public school employees to carry concealed weapons. Authored by District 1 Rep. Bubba Carpenter, House Bill 988 will go to the house for more debate and a vote. If it passes, it will move on to the Senate. “This is a tool for the schools to allow their employees to carry if they obtain their permits,” said Carpenter, who represents portions of Alcorn and Tishomingo counties. “God forbid if another thing like Newtown happened again, but maybe this would serve to deter somebody from doing that.” Carpenter likens armed school employees to flight marshals — potential shooters would not know which
Please see RAMSEY | 3A
Please see GUNS | 3A
Staff photo by Brant Sappington
Northeast Mississippi Community College Board of Trustees Chairman T. Jack Ramsey (far left) visits with Alcorn County School District Superintendent and NEMCC Board Member Gina Rogers Smith (far right) following the dedication of the college’s new student services building in his honor Tuesday.
New student services building opens Northeast’s $8 million, 37,000-square-foot T. Jack Ramsey Hall relocates student services BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
BOONEVILLE — Northeast Mississippi Community College officially opened its new student services building on Tuesday with a ceremony and open house focusing on the teamwork involved in bringing the project to completion and the students who will benefit from the new center. NEMCC President Dr. Johnny Allen said the $8 million T. Jack Ramsey Hall was designed from the beginning to
improve the college experience for those attending the school. “We built this building and we worked on this project for them,” he said. The 37,000-square-foot center relocates student services offices including admissions, records, financial aid, business and counseling that had previously been scattered among multiple buildings on the campus into a single location - streamlining access to those services. The second floor of the building houses adminis-
Painter displays work at Artist Guild Gallery BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Ed Wade Jr. is fascinated by the shapes of life and the beauty waiting to be captured in everyday moments. A certain combination of shape and color is what most often prompts the watercolorist to pick up the paintbrush and create another piece of art. “I am always looking for new ways to express my view of this world, but some things remain constant throughout the journey — that is my search for shapes and their relationship with each other,” said Wade, a Baptist pastor and former shoe salesman, firefighter, policeman and meat packer. A selection of his works went
up at the Corinth Artist Guild Gallery on Monday following an exhibit at the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock, Ark. The Corinth gallery will host an opening reception with Wade on Thursday from 5 until 8 p.m. as part of Black History Month activities. Guild President Sonny Boatman was interested in bringing the artist to Corinth after spotting his work at the CooperYoung Festival in Memphis several years ago. “I just love the purity of the way he treats watercolor,” said Boatman. “It brings out the best qualities of the medium.” He also does some work in pen and ink and graphite. Wade’s work is informed by
an affinity for bold color and the influence of the figure drawings he did while in college studying graphic communications at the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh. Wade is game for any subject matter — an old country barn, a docked boat with its reflection shimmering on the water or fishermen cast against fall colors — but the exhibit has some emphasis on personality portraits, capturing the faces of his daughters and others in natural, un-posed moments. A few street scenes include images from New Orleans and his native Milwaukee, where he grew up.
Index Stocks......8A Classified......8B Comics......3B State......5A
Please see WADE | 3A
Staff photo by Jebb Johnston
“Gotta Be Da Hat” with his daughter, Cecily, is one of Ed Wade Jr.’s paintings featured at the Corinth Artist Guild Gallery. The opening reception is Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.
On this day in history 150 years ago
Weather....10A Obituaries......6A Opinion......4A Sports....12A
The day after the Queen of England explains why Great Britain is remaining neutral, U. S. Secretary of State William Seward rejects a French offer to mediate a cease fire between the two warring nations.
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