Daily Corinthian E-Edition 042313

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Tuesday April 23,

2013

50 cents

Daily Corinthian Vol. 117, No. 97

Partly cloudy Today

Tonight

76

53

90% chance of p.m. rain

• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • One section

FBI: No ricin found in search of Curtis’ home Associated Press

OXFORD — Investigators haven't found any ricin in the house of a Mississippi man accused of mailing poisoned letters to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator and a local judge, according to testimony Monday from an FBI agent. Agent Brandon Grant said

that a search of Paul Kevin Curtis' vehicle and house in Corinth on Friday did not turn up ricin, ingredients for the poison, or devices used to make it. A search of Curtis' computers has found no evidence so far that he researched making ricin. Defense lawyers for Curtis

say investigators' failure to find any ricin means the government should release their client. That lack of physical evidence could loom large as a detention and preliminary hearing continues Tuesday morning. U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Allan Alexander ended the hearing after lunch Monday, citing a

personal schedule conflict. Through his lawyer, Curtis has denied involvement in letters sent to Obama, Mississippi Republican Sen. Roger Wicker, and a Lee County judge. The first of the letters was found April 15. “There was no apparent ricin, castor beans or any material

Board ends Liddon Lake Road alteration BY JEBB JOHNSTON

Please see INTERSECTION | 2

Please see RICIN | 2

Arena to collect on missing money

jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com

Opponents of a proposal to move one end of Liddon Lake Road got their wish on Monday as the Board of Aldermen voted to drop the plan. Participants in a 90-minute discussion in a special meeting of the board included the Mississippi Department of Transportation, Cook Coggin Engineers, residents of the road and representatives of nearby business Autozone. The original plan was to widen South Parkway at U.S. Highway 72 by about 12 feet on the north side of the highway for an additional turning lane; removing Liddon Lake Road as an intersecting point of the intersection; and improving the signalization, which would be mounted on cantilevered poles like those used at the South Harper Road and Proper Street intersection. In a 4-2 decision, the board voted to proceed with only the South Parkway and signalization components of the project, leaving Liddon Lake Road as it is with signalization. Eddie Robinson, MDOT traffic signal engineer for districts 1 and 2, could not offer assurance that funding will remain on the table for the modified project. If Liddon Lake Road is left open as it is, “there could be impacts to the funding,” said Robinson. “That’s all I’m authorized to say.” The funding source is a pool of discretionary funding that MDOT can dole out to cities for projects on qualifying thoroughfares. The cost would have been about $100,000 for each prong of the project — widening South Parkway, improving the signalization and relocating the end of Liddon Lake Road with a connector near Autozone. Some opponents of the change to Liddon Lake Road summed up the situation as, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” They argue that it is currently a safe intersection, while trying to get out onto Highway 72 from the new connector road next to Autozone would be very difficult. “The red light is the safest,” said resident Tommy Case. Residents also do not like the alternative of driving to the road’s intersection with

there that could be used for the manufacturing, like a blender or something,” Grant testified. He speculated that Curtis could have thrown away the processor. Grant said computer technicians are now doing a “deep dive” on the suspect's comput-

BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com

Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith

Boston Marathon runners from this year and years past get ready for the start of a Unity Run supporting the people affected by last week’s bombing.

Local runners show unity for Boston BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com

Corinth turned out in force to show support for those affected by last week’s Boston Marathon bombing. Over 100 runners and walkers of all ages and appearances turned out for the Runners United to Remember run that began at 6:30 p.m. in front of KC’s Espresso in downtown Corinth.

“We started out with just the 25 of us in the group, but now we’ve ended up with over a hundred,” said Team Corinth member Jody Ballard. Participants ran or walked as much or little as they wanted of the Coke 10k route through downtown Corinth. The event concluded with a time for camaraderie and refreshments at KC’s Espresso an hour after its beginning.

Special guests at the event included a number of area runners who ran in the Boston Marathon this year. They were: Kenneth Williams of Corinth, Jane Clair Shettles and Misty Thompson of Tupelo, Heather Duley of New Albany, Patricia Kessler of Bolivar, Tenn., Jimmy and Roan Johnson of Tupelo and John Akin of FlorPlease see UNITY | 3

The Crossroads Arena is expected to be receiving a check this week from the bonding company of former general manager Reggie Churchwell. Board members were notified Monday during its meeting that a check for $34,678.29 is coming from Travelers Casualty and Surety Company to replace missing funds detected by the Mississippi State Auditor's Office in Oct. of 2011. “This will give the cash flow to do things in a more proactive way,” said Arena General Manager Tammy Genovese. “It helps to have the Please see ARENA | 2

Juanita Floyd headlines Freedom Fund Banquet BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com

ness structures, a major part of the project is a proposed seven-acre detention pond near Linden Street, Fulton Drive and the Kansas City Southern Railroad. The detention pond would be designed to accommodate increased water flow and reduce the peak flow out of the system, reducing the flooding threat to businesses downstream. The Hickory Road-Oak

The Alcorn County NAACP Chapter went looking for a background in education when it came to finding a speaker for its annual Freedom Fund Banquet. The chapter found its woman with the naming of Juanita Gambrell Floyd as the guest speaker for the 7 p.m. Friday night banquet at the Weaver Center. “It’s a perfect match Floyd with education being our theme and it being one of her main things,” said committee chairperson J.C. Hill. “I think she is going to come in and energize the community.” The chapter’s theme is “Acquiring the Basics and Securing the Essentials Through Education.” Floyd, currently employed by the CREATE Foundation as

Please see DRAINAGE | 3

Please see BANQUET | 2

Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith

Local officials and Cook Coggin personnel met at City Hall on Monday discuss the $4 million grant awarded to the City of Corinth by the Economic Development Administration. Pictured here is (front row, from left): Kent Geno, Johnny Crotts and Matthew Estes, all of Cook Coggin Engineers, Mayor Tommy Irwin, Alderman Ben Albarracin, Street Commissioner Phillip Verdung, (back row) Alderman Andrew “Bubba” Labas, Alderman Michael McFall, City Clerk Vicki Roach and City Attorney Wendell Trapp.

Corinth awarded $4 million grant for drainage BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com

The City of Corinth will receive a grant for more than $4 million to create water detention areas in two of the city’s major drainage basins. The Economic Development Administration recently announced that it will provide Corinth with $4,090,624 through its FY2012 Disaster Relief Opportunity program for a $5.1 million project that will support the construction of

storm water control systems to minimize flood threats to businesses and residents. The water control systems will detain water in the Tishomingo Street-Polk Street basin and the Hickory Road-Oak Lane basin. The two drainage basins contribute to the water carried by Elam Creek and Phillips Creek. For the Tishomingo Street-Polk Street basin, which includes approximately 435 acres of residential and busi-

Index Stocks........8 Classified......14 Comics........ 9 State........ 5

Weather...... 10 Obituaries........ 6 Opinion........4 Sports...... 12

On this day in history 150 years ago There is skirmishing near Tuscumbia, Leighton and Courtland, Ala., as the Union column under Gen. Dodge continues to engage Confederates in the area. A call for the surrender of Florence is refused and Union artillery shells rain down on the river town.


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