Shock, terror: Nation mourns loss — page 6A www.dailycorinthian.com
Sunday Dec. 16, 2012 $1.50
Daily Corinthian Vol. 116, No. 303
2012 Christmas Basket Fund “A Community Tradition”
• Corinth, Mississippi •
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24 pages • Two sections
Leaders talk local school safety BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
Local education leaders are focused on their efforts to keep the students of Alcorn County and Corinth safe in the days following the massacre of 26 children and adults at an elementary school in Connecticut. “We are all deeply saddened by the tragedy that took place at that school,” said Corinth School District Superintendent Lee Childress. “We are working to keep in place any and
all measures to try to keep our children as safe as possible.” Corinth Elementary School currently has a system in place in which all exterior doors are controlled from inside the building. As a result of the system, all visitors to the school must enter through the principal’s office. Discussion on improving the security at the district’s other schools were ongoing long before Friday’s shooting. The city school board has planned for
the door and window renovation at Corinth High School to also include the installation of a similar system to the one in place at the elementary school. “We’ve discussed safety and will probably look in the near future to any kind of safety auditing to make sure the district is doing all we can to make our students safe,” Childress said. “And we’ve decided we want the same system in place at the middle school.” School administrators and
staff are trying to be proactive, Childress said, and are in the process of looking at crisis management plans and focusing on emergency preparations. “The Corinth Police Department has done training in the past with our staff on how to handle situations, and we’ve worked with them in terms of measures that can be taken in terms of an event like that,” said Childress.
Basket fund tops $11,000 Corinth police seize drugs, make arrests The spirit of giving is alive and well in the Crossroads area as donations continue to arrive daily for the 17th annual Corinth Rotary Club/Daily Corinthian 2012 Christmas Basket Fund. The civic club and newspaper have set a $20,000 community fundraising goal this year so 1,000 food baskets could be given away to local families Saturday at the Crossroads Arena. The event was a huge success this year with plenty of need. The total now stands at $11,230, meaning just $8,770 needs to be raised from the community as there will be Please see BASKET | 2A
High school teacher earns top honor BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
A national organization tasked with promoting the study and love of American history has named an Alcorn Central High School teacher the best in the state. Connie Lambert is the winner of the 2012 Mississippi Teacher of the Year Award from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Gilder Lehrman annually awards teachers across the country for excellence in history education. Each year the organization recognizes one teacher in each state and an overall national winner. Lambert said she was honored to receive the award during a reception at the Alcorn School District office. How did she feel when she learned about winning the award? “I was shocked,” she said. “I know the competition is stiff.” Judges from the Gilder Lehrman Institute outlined their reasons for choosing Lambert in a short statement. “Mrs. Lambert’s lesson plans show strong insights Please see AWARD | 2A
Please see REACTION | 2A
After struggle, officers find cash, cocaine, pot, pills BY JEBB JOHNSTON jjohnston@dailycorinthian.com
The Corinth Police Department seized a substantial amount of drugs and cash and arrested two people early Friday while serving misdemeanor warrants at an Allen Street residence. Michael Dewayne Turner, 27, and Keyanna Jones, 21, are both charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Bond was set at $10,000 for Jones and $25,000 for Turner, who was on probation with the Mississippi Department of Corrections for a charge out of Tippah County. Detective Capt. Ralph Dance said officers Brad Bishop and Ken Walker went to 1302 Allen Street to serve four misdemeanor warrants on Turner during the early a.m. hours. Turner answered the door and, after seeing the officers, retreated back into the apartment. Officers followed and a struggle occurred. At some point, the suspect threw a bag containing cocaine onto the floor. Jones told the officers that Turner does not live at the residence and gave consent to search. Dance said officers found a large amount of powder cocaine, a large amount of crack cocaine, a bag of marijuana, several bottles of prescription medication with codeine not prescribed to the subjects, and Xanax and hydrocodone pills. Officers also seized a .38-caliber pistol and $954 from Turner. “Officers Walker and Bishop did an outstanding job on this
arrest,” said Dance. “It took a lot of dope off the streets.” He estimated the drugs have a street value of $4,000 to $5,000. ■ In a separate case, the police department charged three people who were linked to the burglary of a Third Street residence. Daniel Caldwell, 37, of Polk Street, and Thomas Lee Frederick, 30, of County Road 700, are each charged with burglary of a dwelling. Kristie Dawn Morris, 25, of Highway 226, Savannah, Tenn., is charged with accessory after the fact. Dance said it appears Morris drove the two men to a Third Street residence where they broke into the house, stealing $1,500, jewelry, a laptop computer and power tools. Some of the items were recovered at a county residence. A neighbor recalled seeing a silver Chevrolet Trailblazer parked in the driveway of the residence on Dec. 3, the date of the burglary, with a female driver. That information led to the suspects. Bond was set at $5,000 for Caldwell and Frederick and $4,500 for Morris. ■ Carrie Marie Matthews, 29, of Jefferson Street, Booneville, has been charged with felony shoplifting. Dance said she is accused of concealing $523 of items in her purse at a Corinth clothing shop on Dec. 9. She was detained at the store and arrested. Dance said Matthews has other shoplifting cases pending and
Staff photo by Steve Beavers
Corinth Police Department Detective Capt. Ralph Dance shows the drugs and almost $1,000 cash seized after a raid on Allen Street. had placed some of the items for sale on Facebook. Anyone who bought a possibly stolen item
from her should contact the police department. Bond was set at $20,000.
Rotary volunteers spread cheer, deliver food BY BOBBY J. SMITH bjsmith@dailycorinthian.com
The Crossroads Arena was a busy place on Saturday morning — the day the Corinth Rotary Club gave 1,000 food baskets to needy families. Two main groups arrived at the arena well before 8 a.m. The first was made up of the folks who were there to pick up a basket of food that would give their families a happier holiday season. The others on the scene were volunteers who showed up to help distribute that food to
those who needed it. Both groups consisted of Alcorn County residents of all ages — black, white and hispanic. Many of the volunteers were high school students. The Alcorn Central High School Beta Club sent more than 20 to lend a hand. For some of the students, it is an annual tradition. It was the first time to volunteer for 17-year-old Ashley Baker, who arrived at the arena at 7 a.m. to help tend to the desk where basket recipients would get their tickets. How did she feel about volunteering?
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“I like it a lot,” Ashley said. “You get to meet some good people and help people out.” Down on the arena floor, a group of eight more ACHS students helped load a van that would deliver food baskets across the community. One of them was 11th grader Harley Hutson. “Our Beta Club sponsors — Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Whittemore — always try to help,” she said. “They send students to the box assembly and to give out boxes. We had more than
20 Thursday night at the box assembly.” Outside the arena, more volunteers helped load the food boxes into recipients’ cars. After getting a ticket from the volunteers by the arena box office, basket recipients walked back outside, got in their cars and drove down the hill to the west side of the arena. There, a line of volunteers loaded the food into their cars. Among the loaders were Please see ROTARY | 3A
On this day in history 150 years ago A small Union cavalry force is dispatched from Jackson, Tenn., to confront the Confederate cavalry under Forrest. Union Gen. Benjamin “Beast” Butler is formally relieved by Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks at the occupied city of New Orleans. The citizens rejoice.
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