Thursday Feb. 21,
2013
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 117, No. 45
P.M. t-storms Today
Tonight
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45
80% chance of rain
• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • One section
Verdung named new street commissioner BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Corinth’s building inspector is moving to the role of street commissioner. The Board of Aldermen on Tuesday in closed session approved the hiring of Philip Verdung to head the street department following the retirement of Jim Bynum, which was announced during Tuesday’s meeting. The board also moved to begin advertising for the open building inspector posi-
tion. City Clerk Vickie Roach said Verdung will continue to fill in as building inspector until a new inspector is on the job. Verdung’s hiring as street commissioner came exactly five years to the day after he was hired as building inspector. Verdung has performed both roles while Bynum has been on leave. In other business: ■ The board accepted 3D Construction’s bid of $7,950
for the final phase of work on the sidewalks project at Corinth National Cemetery. The final phase is for the existing sidewalk on the south side of the cemetery, where 1,160 square feet of old sidewalk will be removed and replaced. The work also includes modifying two driveway crossings to make them wheelchair accessible and an entrance sidewalk to the cemetery office. Phase two is still in progress. Construction Specialists
Group submitted a competing bid of $9,165. ■ In a 5-1 vote, the board approved the purchase of an International truck and an American Road Machinery 30 cubic yard leaf collector from Truck Center of Tupelo at a cost of $157,385. The city is looking at other uses for the truck during the months of the year when the leaf vacuum will not be needed. The leaf vacuum already owned by the city requires three or four people to operate it. The
one purchased Tuesday can be attached to the truck and operated by one person. ■ Aldermen scheduled property cleanup public hearings for 5 p.m. March 5 for the following properties: Lot 6, block 658, Anderson Addition (Leslie); 1101 Philips Street (Charles A. Jackson); and an unspecified lot in the Strickland Addition (Charles A. Jackson). ■ The board approved a plumbing license for Jeremy Fields.
Jurors hear victim in murder trial BY ANGELA STOREY AND BRANT SAPPINGTON astorey@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
Kossuth’s Unique Motorsports was destroyed by fire on Wednesday. See additional photo page 2.
Fire claims Kossuth business BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Fire claimed a Kossuth business early Wednesday afternoon. Mechanic Mike Meeks’ Unique Motorsports was completely destroyed in a fire that started around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. Meeks was just getting back home from a trip to town when he saw the flames coming from his shop. He arrived about five
minutes before the first firefighters arrived, he said. The shop was next to Meeks’ home on County Road 632. He was able to pull his tractor out of the shed and push a 1969 Camaro away from the flames, but the loss was still severe. “There’s a lot of stuff gone. Probably a million dollars worth of stuff burned,” Meeks said. “But there nothing I could do. Just stood back with my hands in my pockets and watched it
burn.” Meeks said he lost around $500,000 worth of tools in the fire, as well as a new Dodge dually, a race car worth $50,000 and an expensive paint booth. Firefighters from Kossuth and Union Center were the first on the scene. Officers from the Alcorn Sheriff’s Department also responded to the fire. As of Wednesday afternoon, firefighters said they had not determined the cause of the blaze.
Jurors heard directly from the victim during the second day of the retrial of a Prentiss County woman accused of killing her mother in 2010. Rebecca Lynn Jones is charged with murder in the death of her mother Jane Jones who was shot twice during an altercation between the two women at the mother’s Prentiss County home in May 2010. Prosecutors played a recording of Jane Jones’ frantic call to 911 in the moments immediately after she was shot. The wounded woman told the 911 dispatcher, “My daughter shot me” and later said her daughter, Becky, shot her twice, in the stomach and arm. Jurors were also given a transcript of the 911 recording to read as they listened to Jane Jones speaking to Prentiss County 911 dispatcher Melissa Hamlin. Hamlin also testified she received no other 911 calls requesting help for Jane Jones, only the call from Jane Jones herself. The state rested its case immediately following the playing of the 911 tape. Prosecutors used a series of
law enforcement and forensic expert witnesses to lay out their case during the second day of the trial. First on the stand was Prentiss County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Roy Ragin, who described arriving at the scene and said there was no sign of a violent struggle in the house. He said he also saw no evidence of any injuries sustained by Rebecca Jones that would indicate a struggle. Defense attorney Rob Laher sharply questioned Ragin on cross examination, and Ragin acknowledged the defendant cooperated with investigators in providing a statement about what happened prior to speaking with an attorney. Ragin however, noted under examination by Assistant District Attorney Josh Wise that Rebecca Jones left the scene of the crime and returned a short time later and there was no evidence she had attempted to seek help for her mother at any time after the shooting. Laher said there was no way Ragin could have known the normal condition of the home and had him describe the space in the house indicating there was room for them to have grappled for the gun without disturbing Please see TRIAL | 2
State representative headlines Black History Month event BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Rep. Kelvin Buck of Holly Springs will speak in Corinth on Saturday as Black History Month activities continue. Now in his third term as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, Buck will deliver a positive message at the Alcorn County Chapter of the NAACP’s black history program at 5 p.m. Saturday at New Covenant Baptist Church at 1402 East Fourth
Street. The chapter members encourage the entire community to attend. “Kelvin is really looking forward to being there,” said J.C. Hill, one of the program planners. “He is going to talk about being the best that you can be with a message aimed at the young people. We also feel honored to have the Corinth High School Chorus for this event.” A Democrat representing
District 5, which includes Benton and Marshall counties, Buck is a Tupelo native and a former alderman in Holly Buck Springs. In the Mississippi House, he is vice-chairman of the insurance com-
mittee and a member of the conservation & water, Medicaid, and universities & colleges committees. Buck serves on the executive board of the Southern Association of Colleges. In other Black History Month activities, James Meredith, the first black Ole Miss student, is visiting Corinth today. He will be at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church at 1000 Scott Street at 6 p.m., and he is also scheduled to be at the
CT-A to present ‘The House at Pooh Corner’ BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
“The House at Pooh Corner” is coming to the Crossroads Playhouse this weekend. Adapted from A.A. Milne’s book of the same name, “The House at Pooh Corner” tells the story of how Winnie-thePooh, Tigger, Eeyore, Piglet and other beloved characters try to prevent their owner, Christopher Robin, from going away to school. Over the course of the story they learn a valuable lesson:
Friends take care of each other. “I loved this script from the first time I read it. ‘The House at Pooh Corner’ speaks to so many truisms about growing up,” said Crossroads TheatreArts Technical Director David Maxedon. “It is both a story for the ages and for all ages. Come and see — you will be glad you did!” The young cast members are having fun stepping into the Please see POOH | 2
Arena considers liquor BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
Piglet (Caden Harvell), Eeyore (Mikaela Hancock) and Christopher Robin (Max Marsh) get ready for “The House at Pooh Corner.”
Index Stocks........8 Classified......14 Comics........ 9 State........ 5
Corinth Library for a book signing at 3 p.m. His memoir, “A Mission from God,” was published last year. The community is invited to both events. Meredith will be at Tishomingo County High School at 10 a.m. Friday for a black history program and to speak about his ideas for improving Mississippi’s education system. Black history exhibits are ongoing at the art gallery, Corinth Library and Alcorn Welcome Center.
Weather...... 10 Obituaries........ 6 Opinion........4 Sports...... 12
Discussion about a possible liquor license was on the agenda of the Crossroads Arena Board. The first conversation on the topic saw a pair of the four members present on the side Please see ARENA | 2
On this day in history 150 years ago There is activity at Camp Pemberton near Greenwood, the junction of the Yazoo and Tallahatchie Rivers. Tight turns in the river make it a perfect spot for artillery to prevent the passage of Federal gunboats. Plans are laid to sink boats in the channel to further impede passage.