Sunday, June 19th
DAVIS pg 9
Vol 16, No. 1 • June 2016
News You Can Use
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Everyday Heroes Contribute Much Unnoticed By Angela Rogalski People sometimes go through their entire lives being heroes to others without ever knowing it: the teacher who spends just a little extra time with that student who needs it; the cashier at your local grocery store whose smile is just a bit brighter on the days you need that pick-me-up; or a bus driver who is firm, but understanding when it comes to his precious cargo. W.T. Yarbrough has been driving a school bus for over 40 years now. He's also a retired police officer with the City of Selmer, Tenn. and owns a funeral home there. So, his opportunities to help, guide and impact people's lives have been subtle at times, but definitely many. see YARBROUGH pg 4
W.T. Yarbrough
The Traditions of the Past - The Art of Shape-Note Singing By Angela Rogalski The traditions of the past aren't lost on the present as some people carry on legacies that continue to amaze and intrigue us throughout the generations. James E. Floyd is a man who has carried on the musical art of Shape-Note singing since he first learned the skill at the ripe-old age of 15. Shape-Note singing is a musical style of singing where shapes are added to the note heads in written music to help singers find pitches within the major and minor scales. Shape-Note singing in America has been around since at least the 18th Century, and was extremely popular in church congregations, with Return Address: P.O. Box 1292 Corinth, MS 38835
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many hymnbooks putting the style to good use. Floyd is an Alcorn County native who retired from ITT in Corinth after 30 years with the company; he spent 12 years after that with Tecumseh, and then two years at Wal-Mart. Today, Floyd is enjoying his complete retirement since 2007, enjoys working his garden, and said that up until recently, he still sang in the Shape-Note style on a frequent basis. "With shapenotes, you use the "do re mi fa so la" system of see FLOYD pg 4
James Floyd
Mentor Turned Father By Nathan Weber Family does not always have to mean a blood relation. Nicholas D'Acquisto 27-yearold Finger, Tenn. native and adjunct professor at UT Martin in Selmer, Tenn., lost his father at the age of nine. For many years Nicholas was without a father figure until he met his high school art instructor George Souders. "We are not blood-related, and when I took my Nicholas D'Acquisto first art class my sophomore year of high school, we were not even that close," D'Acquisto said. "We didn't get along at first. We always had a love/hate relationship. But when I entered his art competition in the Arts in McNary with what I thought was just a plain photograph of a deer hanging from a rope, he saw some kind of potential in me." "He said, 'This is so wonderfully surreal. It's ridiculous,'" D'Acquisto said. "Something in our relationship clicked after that moment." D'Acquisto received a camera from his mother his sophomore year of high school on her return from active military duty in Operation Iraqi Freedom. From there he started to hone his artistic skills under the guidance of Souders. "I entered the AP Art program at school," D'Acquisto said. "I was Mr. Souders's first student to receive the top score on the AP Art exam as a photographer." D'Acquisto began to harbor a great passion for artistry and wanted to take his education further. To pay for his undergraduate study, D'Acquisto enlisted in the Army and was on active duty for six years and served a tour in Iraq. He returned home and applied to UT Martin, where he would receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design. "I had next to no experience in graphic design entering college, but it was about the only art degree that made sense for me to get," D'Acquisto said. "In high school I see D’ACQUISTO page 4