Thursday Feb. 14,
2013
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 117, No. 39
Sunshine Today
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58
34
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • One section
Officials tight-lipped on principal’s suspension Staff Reports
Alcorn School District officials contacted by the Daily Corinthian have released few details regarding the suspension of the principal of Alcorn Central Middle School. Alcorn School District Superintendent Gina Rogers
Smith was contacted by the Daily Corinthian Tuesday evening and the school leader refused comment, giving the name and phone number of the school board attorney for information. Alcorn School Board attorney James Price confirmed
Wednesday Alcorn Central Middle School Principal Dan Burcham was suspended on Monday. Burcham will be suspended with pay for an indefinite period while school officials investigate a complaint, the attorney said.
Price would not discuss any specifics of the complaint or reveal who made the complaint. During Burcham’s absence, Assistant Principal Nellie Massengill will serve as acting principal. One teacher contacted by
the newspaper said all employees had been instructed not to comment on Burcham’s suspension. The Alcorn County District Board of Directors met Monday night and the last item on the agenda was an executive session on a personnel matter.
Charges filed in string of burglaries BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Health Conference on Friday. “I have been trying to get her to fire me this week,” said Jerry with a smile of the family workday. “I have a lot to do, but I will have several helping,” added Pam, who is planning on staying open later tonight. A good price to spend, accord-
Two men face felony charges stemming from the investigation of several recent city burglaries. Taylor Talley, 19, of County Road 754, was charged on Wednesday with one count of burglary of a commercial building (Video Gallery), one count of residential burglary of a residence on Barnstable Road and accessory after the fact in a residential break-in on Waldron Street. Bond was set at $30,000. Ryan Gahagan, 23, of Melody Lane, Corinth, was charged with one count of breaking and entering of a home on Waldron Street. Bond was set at $10,000. Detective Capt. Ralph Dance said Gahagan was on probation and will be held for the Mississippi Department of Corrections. On Monday, the Barnstable Road homeowner was alerted of an alarm going off at the residence and went to check on the house. As he arrived, he encountered a man leaving in a pickup and called 911. A Corinth police officer spotted the vehicle a short time later on Wenasoga Road and stopped the suspect, identified as Talley. At that time, police recovered a television and a gun that were taken from the residence. Information from Talley led police to Gahagan. Dance said when he and Detective Fred Serio approached
Please see VALENTINES | 2A
Please see BURGLARIES | 2A
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Design Department’s Pam Lewis gets some help from her 11-month-old granddaughter Kadynce King during the rush before Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day is time for love BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
The advice is simple for men. Don't forget! Keeping the woman of the house happy is especially important on Valentine's Day. Floral designer Pam Lewis of Design Department in downtown Corinth has just what is needed to put a smile on the face of a love one.
“Chocolate and roses are always a good gift,” said the designer with over 20 years experience. “A lot of women also like a mixed variety of roses.” Lewis, who opened the shop on Foote Street in January, is well stocked with 1,500 roses. If roses won't do the trick, she has an assortment of balloons, stuffed animals and other flowers.
“The day before Valentine's is usually the worst day,” she said of the last-minute shoppers. “But I hope we have a lot of walk-ins.” Today will not be the end of the hectic schedule for the designer. Lewis, who will call on the help of family including husband Jerry during today, is also in charge of design for the Magnolia Regional Health Center's 2013 Women's
A lifetime of service Cartwright retires but will continue his dedication to community
Pursuits lead to felony charges in Prentiss County BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Terry Cartwright will retire from his long-held position at Bancorp South on Friday, but he will not retire from the community service that has made him one of Corinth’s most respected citizens over the last three decades. A reception marking Cartwright’s retirement will be held Friday at Bancorp South from 2 to 4:30 p.m. “It’s an opportunity to see people in the community and say hello,” said Cartwright. “I’m not saying goodbye — because I’m not going anywhere.” The 65-year-old bank president has been a part of the community since September 1980, when he transferred to Bancorp South in Corinth, after eight years working in the Tupelo branch of the bank (which was then the Bank of Mississippi). Cartwright was born in
Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
Terry Cartwright (second from left) is congratulated on his retirement by friends (from left) Preston Knight, Sammy Kemp and Phil Little. Prentiss County, but after more than 32 years of living in Corinth and striving to serve the community in many ways, he has found a few place to call home.
“I was raised in Booneville, but this is home,” he said. And a big part of that home is the spirit of service CartPlease see CARTWRIGHT | 2A
Index Stocks........8 Classified......14 Comics........ 9 State........ 5
Weather...... 10 Obituaries........ 6 Opinion........4 Sports...... 12
A pair of recent police pursuits sparked by incidents in Prentiss County have ended with suspects facing multiple felony charges after being stopped in neighboring jurisdictions. Nathan Harold Williams of Booneville faces felony charges of shooting into an occupied dwelling, possession of a firearm and grand larceny. He will also face charges in Guntown and Saltillo in connection with the pursuit. Prentiss County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Derrick Hester said the case began when a County Road 8050 resident reported hearing gunshots around 4 a.m. last Tuesday, Feb. 5 and later discovered damage to his house indicating someone had shot into the residence. No one was injured. Later the same morning Williams allegedly stole a truck from another residence on County Road 8050. The truck
was spotted a short time later and Williams was arrested following a pursuit that ended in Saltillo where he allegedly struck a patrol car there. Hester said the stolen truck was recovered following the arrest and the owner of the vehicle was not aware it had been taken until he was notified by authorities. In a separate, unrelated case, a pair of individuals face felony charges after fleeing from an offduty Prentiss County deputy. Chief Deputy Derrick Pruitt said the deputy received a call about two suspects who were acting erratically and appeared to be under the influence of some type of substance at a convenience store on the east side of the county. The deputy responded and saw that both were visibly impaired. He approached them and as he was running a check on their driver’s licenses they got in their vehicle and fled with Please see PURSUITS | 2A
On this day in history 150 years ago In an encounter with two Confederate steamers, the USS Queen of the West is grounded in shallow water on the Red River. The Federals are forced to abandon their own vessel, but are able to move to one of the captured enemy boats. The ram is refloated and begins service as the CSS Queen of the West.