Thursday Nov. 1,
2012
50 cents
Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 263
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• Corinth, Mississippi • 18 pages • 1 section
ACE Power files federal lawsuit Lawsuit seeks clarity on billing practices of state’s electric companies BY BRANT SAPPINGTON bsappington@dailycorinthian.com
A federal lawsuit that began in Alcorn County is seeking to clarify who has authority to regulate the rates and billing policies of electric power associations across the state. The suit, originally filed in
April in U.S. District Court in Oxford, asks the court to determine if the Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) has the right to regulate how the power associations handle late payments and disconnections of service due to lack of payment.
The case began when a customer of the Alcorn County Electric Power Association filed a complaint with the PSC alleging her power was improperly disconnected by ACE for late payment under the rules established by the public service commission in its Ratepayer
Bill of Rights which spells out specific policies for how such disconnections and late payments must be handled by utilities in the state. The customer alleged ACE failed to comply with those policies in terminating her service. ACE officials argue the com-
plaint to PSC is improper because the PSC does not have the authority to regulate a cooperative utility such as a power association and ACE followed the only rules applicable to it, those established by the Tennessee Valley Authority in Please see LAWSUIT | 3
Corinth artist tackles huge project Crafters
display their work
BY DONICA PHIFER dphifer@dailycorinthian.com
It hangs on a relic of a wall, resting at the corner where Front Street meets East Quitman Street in a sleepy little town called Iuka. ‘It’ is a mural, 16 by 20 feet and depicting scenes from a bygone era in the town. Developed as part of the city’s sesquicentennial anniversary of the Battle of Iuka, the mural includes portraits of four Civil War Generals, Mineral Springs Park, the former Mineral Springs Hotel, a cannon from the war that resides at the Old Courthouse Museum, and a mass Confederate grave at the Shady Grove Cemetery. The mural is the work of Corinth resident Tony Bullard, an artist who considers himself a storyteller of sorts. Where other people use words and paper, he uses paint and canvas, Bullard said. Bullard was commissioned to do work on the mural after meetings with the Iuka Battlefield Commission and Committee Chairman Harold Lomenick. “When it came time to make a decision, I chose Tony since he had roots in the area,” Lomenick said. Once chosen for the job, Bullard set to work in May with a looming August deadline. “I was a recluse, it ate up pretty much the whole summer. Lots of all-night sessions,” Bullard said. The work on the mural is all freehand painting, with evenly spaced blocks depicting the chosen scenes on a black background. In the center rests the 150th Anniversary crest, another design by Bullard with the assistance of the committee. “They had a basic idea of what they wanted the mural to be,” Bullard said “We just met several times and I would sketch out ideas for them until we had refined it to what they wanted.” The mural marks the largest project Bullard has completed, and only the second mural of his career after an impromptu
BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com
The creative work of crafters will be on display beginning this afternoon at Harper Square Mall. The 26th Annual Holiday Marketplace, sponsored by the Crossroads Craft Guild, is slated for 2-6 p.m. inside the mall. The holiday event continues Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. “This is going to be the biggest one yet,” said event chairman Gail Stables. “We have a list of crafters we started contacting in July.” Stables said 31 crafters are scheduled to take part in the three-day showcase of handmade crafts. The event continues to grow every year, according to Stables. Please see CRAFT | 3
Fall Hog Fest features BBQ, cars, music BY JEFF YORK For the Daily Corinthian
mind. “It’s just breathing fresh life into it so it’s in living color again,” Bullard said. Bullard’s research for paintings has included Historic Downtown Corinth and mul-
SELMER, Tenn. — The second annual Fall Hog BBQ Festival will be held Saturday at Dixie Park in Selmer. The day will include the barbecue contest, a car show, music and children’s rides. If you like eat good barbecue or cook excellent barbecue, then Selmer is the place to be at 10 a.m. on Saturday. There will be contests for pulled pork, ribs and hot wings. There is no entry fee for the contest and teams will sell their barbecue. A team needs to be registered by 5 p.m. today. A dessert contest will include cobblers of any kind.
Please see PROJECT | 3
Please see HOG | 5
Staff photo by Donica Phifer
Developed as part of the city’s sesquicentennial anniversary of the Battle of Iuka, Corinth artist Tony Bullard’s mural includes portraits of four Civil War generals, Mineral Springs Park, the former Mineral Springs Hotel, a cannon from the war that resides at the Old Courthouse Museum, and a mass Confederate grave at the Shady Grove Cemetery. offer to paint a beach scene on a hallway during a vacation to Roanoke, Va. last year. “I told him he was really going to step out there with this thing,” Lomenick said. “It turned out really, really, really good.” Bullard’s work on the mural
holds a link to the rest of his work, especially in the Civil War scenes which have gained notice across the area. While Bullard doesn’t consider himself a Civil War history buff, he enjoys researching historical events and putting them together for a photo in his
Education leader issues challenge for change BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
The Forum on the Future of Education was a wakeup call to Mississippi’s educators and a challenge to implement the necessary changes to prepare the nation’s students for an increasingly globalized and technological world. Willard R. Daggett, president of the International Center for Leadership in Education, delivered an impassioned keynote address in which he discussed the failings of America’s education system and the dire need for reforms. “Our schools have become museums — and we’ve become the curators,” said Daggett. “And we’re so deep into it we
can’t even see it.” As founder and chairman of the International Center for Leadership in Education, Daggett is recognized worldwide for his proven ability to move preK-12 education systems toward more rigorous and relevant skills and knowledge for all students. He has assisted hundreds of school districts with their school improvement initiatives and collaborated with the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Governors Association and many other national organizations. He has spoken to hundreds Please see EDUCATION | 2
Staff photo by Bobby J. Smith
Tupelo High School history teacher Morgan Ricks (from left) talks education with longtime NEMCC Library Director Glenice Stone and NEMCC history instructor and Assistant Division Head Carla Falkner at the Forum on the Future of Education.
Index Stocks........7 Classified......14 Comics...... 12 Wisdom...... 11
Weather........5 Obituaries........ 3 Opinion........4 Sports........8
On this day in history 150 years ago Nov. 1 — General Braxton Bragg merges his Army of Mississippi with the Army of Kentucky, creating the new Army of Tennessee. The army will retain this name for the remainder of the war.