Daily Corinthian E-Edtion 030513

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Tuesday March 5,

2013

50 cents

Daily Corinthian Vol. 117, No. 55

T-storms Today

Tonight

56

30

80% chance of rain

• Corinth, Mississippi • 16 pages • 1 Section

Community mourns loss of character Memorial service for McPeters will be held Wednesday BY MARK BOEHLER editor@dailycorinthian.com

The Corinth area community is mourning the loss of one of its most flamboyant and colorful town characters. Long-time funeral director Bill McPeters died Saturday in a care facility in Baldwyn after a long recovery process following an accident Oct. 17 where he suffered severe burns on his legs. McPeters turned 90 on Feb. 18. A community-wide surprise birthday party and tribute was planned, but had to canceled after the accident. He leaves behind his wife Judy; his daughter, Kayo McPeters; son, Mark Matthews and wife Carley; daughter Marcy Matthews Hinton and husband Tom; grandchildren, Caitlin McPeters Voyles, Thomas Hinton, and Will Matthews; and an estimated 10,000 families whose descendants trusted the funeral director to care for them during an emotional time of grief and loss over so many years. Family wants the community to know his funeral services were considered for a larger venue due to the crowd expected, but in the end Bill would want it to be at the place he called home -- McPeters Funeral Directors. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday at McPeters, immediately followed by a Celebration of Life event at Refreshments, Inc. “The outpouring of support from the community has been humbling,” said Judy McPeters. “Bill would be so proud. We appreciate what everyone has done for us since the accident and now during our time of grief.” He was the state’s oldest active and licensed funeral director and was working daily at the funeral home until the accident.

Alcorn 4-H will host horse clinic BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com

The Alcorn County 4-H Chapter is getting back in the saddle. The local chapter is hosting the 4-H Horse Clinic on March 12-13 at the Crossroads Arena. “The clinic is for 4-H members, but youth ages 8-18 can sign up for 4-H and attend the clinic,” said 4-H agent Tammy Parker of the event which is also open for members in Benton, Prentiss, Tippah and Tishomingo counties. Day 1 of the clinic will cover halter/showmanship, performance events (western/gaited pleasure) and trail. Day 2 will consist of roping and speed events. Both day of events are set to start at 9 a.m. An adult program will be offered from 6-7 p.m. on March 12. Purina Mills’ Jon Law will present the adult portion -Feedology 201 -- prior to a goat tying segment from 6-8 p.m. “The clinic is free and members are encouraged to bring their horse, but it is not required,” said Parker. Parker will give a rulebook review -- Ethics & Attire -- from 9-10 a.m. on the first day of the event. Trent Barnett and Nick Simmons will cover the perforPlease see HORSES | 2

He was known for his limegreen hearse, purple market scheme and light, benevolent attitude, surprise gift giving, cigars, practical jokes, hats with feathers, scarves as belts, rosecolored glasses, brightly colored suits, red snake skin books and black label bourbon. His stand-out-in-the-crowd disposition and sometimes outspoken opinions at times left him at the center of attention. McPeters’ “Love, Bill” downtown benches once created an uproar, while his joke to rob a bank backfired and he found himself in jail, but later freed after a judge’s tongue lashing. He wrote comic strips in his newspaper advertising in the 1980s and once placed an ad asking people to respect all lights while driving, red, blue -- and purple -- revealing his mission to ask motorists to respect the deceased. Almost everyone has a Bill McPeters story and those close to him say another like him will never be. “He was my hero,” said Steve Holland, “both personally and professionally. He is the most unique human being I have ever known.” “Bill is a Southern icon in the undertaking trade,” added Holland, owner of Holland Funeral Directors in three northeast Mississippi cities and a 30-year state representative from Lee County. “He lived his life his way, but he always had other people’s interest at heart first.” “He was a true gift to the people of Alcorn County,” added the friend, who said he had over 100 good Bill McPeters stories, several of which would need to be “off the record.” For long-time friend and retired Methodist minister William “Bill” Kemp of Holly Springs, it was Bill’s attention Staff photo by Mark Boehler

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Bill McPeters, at age 90 was the state’s oldest active and licensed funeral director.

Supervisors OK new 911 director BY STEVE BEAVERS sbeavers@dailycorinthian.com

Alcorn County has a new 911 director. The Board of Supervisors approved interim director Kim McCreless to the position following the recommendation of the 911 Board. “The board felt she was doing a good job and had really turned the place around,” said 911 board chairman Rickey Gibens. “Kim has always been our go-to person and we feel we are headed in the right direction with her on board.” McCreless, who has 18

years experience as a dispatcher and deputy director, will be left at her current rate of pay until supervisors meet to discuss salary. She has been serving as deputy director since the resignation of Teresa Burns on Dec. 31. “She has really made a lot of improvements during a short time,” Gibens told the supervisors. Magnolia Regional Health Center President/CEO Rick Napper informed supervisors that MRHC will be receiving a national award for its accomplishments to implement technology solutions that have the

ability to improve patient safety and quality of care. The Stage 6 award will be presented by HIMSS Analytics Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Adoption Model at its annual conference in Orlando, Fla. next year. Only 476 hospitals in the United States carry a Stage 6 designation. “That puts us ahead of 4,500 other hospitals in the United States,” said Napper. “We know it takes executive commitment, support and a great team of healthcare professional to achieve this advanced level,” said HIMSS President/

CEO Stephen Lieber in a letter to the hospital informing it of the honor. In other board business: ■ Five bids were opened in the board’s’ intention to borrow $500,000. Supervisors voted to accept Regions Bank low bid 1.05 percent. ■ Approved Jay Hatcher being hired as a part-time dispatcher by 911. Hatcher will fill in while two employees are on maternity leave. ■ Rejected a sealed bid of Tony Christian to purchase a dozer in District 3. The dozer instead will Please see DIRECTOR | 2

Relic show coming to convention center BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com

The Corinth Civil War Relic & Militaria Show and Sale is coming this weekend to the Crossroads Arena Convention Center. Now in its fourth year, the annual event gets bigger and better each year, said show co-director Buddy Ellis, an avid relic hunter and longtime member of the Col. W.P Rogers Sons of Confederate Veterans camp, the group that puts on the event. “The show is definitely growing,” said Ellis. “The first two years we didn’t sell out.

Last year we sold out the last vendor table the day before the show. This time we sold out all our tables two weeks ago. We’ve still got people calling about tables.” The event will feature a huge variety of Civil War-related items for sale — historical firearms, swords and knives, bullets, clothing, books, display cases, photos, relics of camp life, flags and much more. Vendors from as far away as Indiana, Virginia and Louisiana have signed up for the Corinth Civil War Relic & Militaria Show and Sale. For the first time ever, the show and sale will also in-

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

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

clude a metal-detector dealer who is traveling from Oklahoma to be part of the event. “It’s probably going to be the best lineup of dealers we’ve had, with the best quality of relics,” said Ellis. Alan Wandling, a collector from St. Louis, Mo., will return to the show for the second year with the officer’s sword that belonged to Col. W.P. Rogers, a Confederate hero killed in the Battle of Corinth and the namesake of the local SCV camp. The 48th Tenn. Regiment of reenactors will be on hand with a demonstration of camp life in an effort to recruit more

troops for their unit. Like last year, Lost Cause: A Confederate String Band — a group of local period musicians — will play their brand of homespun Confederate songs near the entrance to the Convention Center. Show and sale organizers are expecting the biggest turnout ever for this weekend’s event. “We’ve been getting phone calls from all over, from Birmingham and Huntsville and all over Mississippi, from people enquiring about the show,” said Ellis. “A lot of people are

On this day in history 150 years ago The Battle of Thompson’s Station, Tenn. In a hard fought contest, Gen. Earl Van Dorn’s cavalry is repulsed several times but eventually captures over 1,200 Union prisoners in this action near Franklin. An argument between Van Dorn and Gen. N.B. Forrest nearly results in a duel and bad blood exists between the two from then on.

Please see RELIC | 2


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