Wednesday August 15, 2012 50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 196
Sunshine Today
Tonight
88
64
• Corinth, Mississippi • 20 pages • Two sections
City schools show enrollment boost BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
Based on counts from the first few days of class, the Corinth School District is on track for a 7 to 8 percent enrollment increase in the new school year. Superintendent Lee Childress said attendance is numbering about 2,475 and he expects the final total to be between 2,450 and 2,500. That’s an increase of about 7.5 percent from the previous school year’s ending enrollment of 2,299.
Rising enrollment in the last few years has given the district a funding boost and helped to avoid property tax increases. Kindergarten has a particularly large enrollment of 262. With nine teachers, classes are numbering 28 to 30 students, and the district will be working to reduce those class sizes. With school starting last Thursday, some students didn’t report to school until Monday, and Childress said that’s not unusual for a partial week.
He reported a smooth start to the year. “Teachers were actually teaching on Thursday and Friday,” he said. “Children were behaving and schools were quiet. Everything appeared to be organized and running as it should.” The first day of class was preceded by three days of professional development for teachers. The superintendent reported the enrollment numbers to the district board of trustees this week. In other business,
the board accepted a Carole M. White Physical Education Grant that will total $898,000 over three years. It was the district’s third try for the grant. Corinth is one of 56 districts awarded the grant by the U.S. Department of Education and the only Mississippi district among the grantees. “This will buy a substantial amount of equipment and materials for the elementary and the middle school P.E. program,” said Childress.
The district will receive $409,066 this school year, with $150,000 to $200,000 going toward exercise equipment for fitness centers which can be used by both students and teachers. Students will get physical fitness assessments. With the grant, the school must implement programs that help students make progress toward meeting the state’s standards for physical education and must offer instruction in healthy eating habits and good nutrition.
Caterpillar celebrates, continues growth Jail funds missing; jailer fired
BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
Caterpillar received a nice gift for its 30th anniversary. Greg Folley, Caterpillar Vice President, announced the addition of a new Cat Reman business for Corinth. “Over the next two years this location will become a source for C175 remanufactured engines,” said the vice president of the Remanufacturing and Components Division. The engines are used in critical mining machines and other applications. “This is an exceptional facility with an excellent record,” said Folley to employees. “Never let go of your passion for safety, quality and 'Our Values in Action'.” The remanufacturing facility recently celebrated 30 years of operations in Corinth. What started with only 11 employees has grown into a workforce of approximately 1,600 operating facilities in Corinth and Booneville. “Caterpillar is a special manufacturer,” said Gary Chandler, president of The Alliance. “Cat's commitment to their employees and our community is steadfast.”
BY JEFF YORK For the Daily Corinthian
An internal investigation of the McNairy County Sheriff’s Department has found funds missing from the county jail. The investigation led to the dismissal of one jailer last week. McNairy County Sheriff Guy Buck notified District Attorney Michael Dunavant of the missing funds and asked for an independent investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The sheriff thought it was important for an outside agency to conduct the investigation of a criminal matter in the sheriff’s department to ensure the public believes there is no effort to cover up any criminal activity. “It is terrible to think that someone in a trusted position within the Sheriff’s Office could be responsible for this theft. We hold our employees to a high standard and will cooperate with the investigation,” said Buck. Dunavant has made no comment about the case and the TBI will be taking care of the investigation. The sheriff made it clear his office would assist with the investigation and the employee responsible will be prosecuted. “I want to thank the employees of the jail for the difficult and sometimes thankless job they perform each day,” said Buck. “They are good employees I am very proud to have on our team. The action of one employee does not discredit or in any way taint their reputation with me and hopefully with the public.” The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations will be handling the investigation, and Dunavant will be in charge of any prosecution. This case will be handled without any preferential treatment given and these actions will not be tolerated and the guilty party will be punished, according to the sheriff.
Submitted photo
State Sen. Rita Parks and State Reps. Nick Bain and Lester “Bubba” Carpenter present a proclamation commemorating Caterpillar’s 30 years in Corinth to facility leaders. While there have been changes in technology over the 30 years, one thing has been a constant. “The key to Caterpillar's success remains the people,” said Mississippi Reman Operations Manager Roberto Ortega. “The skills, work ethic and focus on continuous improvement dem-
onstrated by employees in Mississippi have enabled this facility to grow for three decades.” “The people here have made this business a success,” added general manager Mark Stratton. The Mississippi facilities remanufacture engines and large engine components, in
addition to serving as the center for salvage development technologies, core processing and dealer support. “Considering Cat's evergrowing commitment to Reman over the last 30 years, Alcorn County, and more rePlease see ANNIVERSARY | 3A
Petfinder gives animal shelter more bite for bark BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
People from around the country can now find pets at the Corinth/Alcorn Animal Shelter through Petfinder.com, the oldest and largest database of adoptable animals on the Internet. “It opens up our dogs and cats to people all over the United States,” said Shelter Director Charlotte Doehner. “We have wonderful animals here in Alcorn County — beautiful, sweet, kind animals that would make wonderful pets.” Partnering with Petfinder is one of the steps the shelter is taking in its goal to become a no-kill facility. Other ways of
increasing pet adoptions include partnering with rescue agencies. But there is much more that can be done. “We really need the help of the community,” said Doehner. Since the start of the shelter’s partnership with Petfinder, 11 dogs have been adopted by people from outside the Corinth area, from Birmingham, Ala., the Gulf Coast, North Carolina and Columbus. In fact, a white Eskimo Spitz adopted through the website will fly out of Corinth-Alcorn County Airport today on its way to a new home in Lovelace, Ohio. One shelter volunteer in particular, Phyllis Driver, a mem-
ber of the shelter’s advisory board, has been especially involved in posting photos of the shelter’s animals on Facebook and Petfinder. “She helps clean and bathe and take care of our animals,” said Doehner, “and she’s a great lady with a camera.” Petfinder currently has over 359,000 homeless pets listed and is updated continuously. More than 13,700 animal welfare organizations in the U.S., Canada and other countries post their pets on the site. Here’s how it works: A potential adopter enters search criteria for the kind of pet he or she wants, and a list is returned
that ranks the pets in proximity to the ZIP code entered. Adoptions are handled by the animal placement group where the pet is housed, and each group has its own policies. Petfinder.com was created in 1996 as a grassroots project by Jared and Betsy Saul to end the euthanasia of adoptable pets. Since its inception, the site has facilitate approximately 20 million adoptions, making it the most life-saving initiative in animal welfare. For more information about the Corinth/Alcorn Animal Shelter call 284-5800. Check out Petfinder at www.petfinder. com.
Career and technology center offers 18 Adult Night Classes BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
The Alcorn Career & Technology Center is keeping the community trained. Adult Night Classes at the center play a big part in providing the education. Classes got under way on Monday night and continued on Tuesday. Classes resume on Thursday night to complete the first week.
“We have a good facility at the career center and we want the community to be part of it,” said assistant director Rodney Hopper. Hopper said the center provides 18 different classes for adults. A minimum of 12 people is required in each class. “There has been a good response,” said the assistant director about registration. “Welding and basic photogra-
phy are our most popular classes.” Anyone 16 years of age and not enrolled in high school is eligible for the classes. Each student who completes a course is issued a certificate. Late registration will be accepted through the third regular class meeting. Classes are filled on a first come and first serve basis. “We try to keep classes on a
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teacher-student ratio of one to 12,” said Hopper. “In the welding class, we try to keep it under 15.” The career center averaged 212 students per semester (14 weeks) last year and about 240 per semester the year before. “All the classes have some really fine instructors,” added Hopper. Classes are 14 weeks with the curriculum consisting of:
■ Electrical Apprentices — The class is for anyone interested in a career in the electrical trades. Those interested should contact the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 852 at 662-286-2897 or go by the union hall located at 105 N. Madison Street. ■ Basic Spanish — The
Please see CLASSES | 3A
On this day in history 150 years ago Three U. S. Navy ships provide cover as the Army of the Potomac continues the withdrawal from Harrison’s Landing, Va. Gen. McClellan is angry at his orders to withdraw as he wants to continue operations against Richmond.
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