Cross Country Cowboy visits Corinth...
Michigan man travels west
By Jebb Johnston
Staff Writer
The stranger rode into town on a spotted Appaloosa horse as a dog trotted happily alongside.
It was a bright and cool Tuesday morning, and the unusual sight -- like something out of a western movie -- on a busy Corinth street caused more than a few double-takes.
He was headed south, making use of the hiking and biking trail on South Harper Road. A second Appaloosa was in tow with loaded bags draped across its back.
Identifying himself with the fitting name of John Wayne Haynes, he sported a thick beard, a hat and all the accouterments of a proper equestrian.
"We left Hudson, Mich., on Oct. 2," said Haynes, referring to himself, horses Misty and Harley, and dog Sheila.
The dog ran around sniffing and wagging its tail, apparently unfazed by the journey of almost 700 miles.
But there are many miles to go: Haynes said his destination is Santa Fe, N.M., where he has a brother and sister. He said he headed south to get into warmer weather and planned to cross the Mississippi River at the Delta town of Lula.
The traveler said he is relocating to the West and simply thought that horseback would be a good way to go.
It hasn't always been an easy ride.
"Some of the drivers aren't real courteous," said Haynes, as cars zipped by on South Harper. "I'd like to have this trail all the way to New Mexico."
He hopes to reach his destination by Easter, which falls on April 12. Haynes said he might settle in the low desert area of New Mexico.
The newspaper received several reports and inquiries about Haynes as his Western mystique eased through the area.
"It looked sort of like something from Montana instead of Mississippi," said Angie Roberts, who called as she passed Haynes on South Harper. Another resident reported seeing the man watering his horses west of town, and the last word of the traveler indicated that he had accepted an offer to stay at a Union Center residence for a few days.
Before continuing on his way Tuesday morning, Haynes inquires if Highway 72 is ahead.
His directions confirmed, he points to the west with a nod, gives the reins a tug with his gloved hands and resumes his journey.Pursuit leads to felony charges
By Brant Sappington
Staff Writer
BOONEVILLE -- A New Year's Day traffic stop ended with a suspect wrecking his car after attempting to elude authorities.
Samuel Dewayne Miller, 24, of County Road 1210, Booneville, led Prentiss County sheriff's deputies on a pursuit that traveled into Tippah County before crossing back into Prentiss where Miller crashed his vehicle at the intersection of Highway 4 and Dry Creek Road.
Miller fled when authorities attempted to pull him over on a routine traffic stop, said Prentiss County Sheriff Randy Tolar. The suspect has been charged with felony third offense DUI, felony fleeing and several misdemeanors. He was released Friday on a $10,000 bond.
In a separate, unrelated case, Tolar said his deputies also recently arrested a fugitive wanted in Florida and South Carolina. The sheriff's department had received a tip that Jody Deas, 35, was in the county and wanted by the other jurisdictions.
Tolar said deputies arrested him on Dec. 23 on Ripley Road in Baldwyn without incident. He praised his deputies for making a safe arrest of the suspect who has an extensive criminal history, including violence against officers, and was considered dangerous.
Deas is being held without bond in the Prentiss County jail pending extradition to Florida.
In another separate, unrelated case, a traffic stop on Friday led to the arrest of a Blue Springs woman on a felony warrant from Texas. Deputies stopped Tammi Gay Treadway, 40, of 1071 County Road 183, Blue Springs, Friday on Fifth Street in Baldwyn.
Tolar said Treadway was wanted in Texas on felony charges and is being held pending extradition.Municipalities preparing
for general elections
By Jebb Johnston
Staff Writer
Most Mississippi municipalities are making preparations for 2009's quadrennial general elections, and the candidate qualifying period has begun with the arrival of the new year.
About 90 percent of the state's municipalities have elections for mayor and aldermen this year, but Corinth is not among them. The city's general election will occur in 2010.
But residents of all of Corinth's neighbors, such as Farmington, Kossuth, Glen, Rienzi, Burnsville, Iuka and Booneville, will elect leaders this year. In Iuka, which also elects its police chief, City Clerk Benny Gray said it appears the city again will not have party primary elections preceding the general election. Four years ago, the city went from having primaries to only having the general election because the Democratic and Republican executive committees had gone inactive.
That means instead of having potentially three elections -- a primary and primary runoff followed by a general election -- Iuka will have only the general election on June 2. The smaller towns will also participate only in the general election. Farmington Clerk Debora Holloway said the candidates essentially qualify as independents.
Because of New Year's closings, the qualifying period opens on Monday in most municipalities. The deadline is March 6.
Holloway noted there is no qualifying fee. In Farmington, which will holds its third general election since the town's 1997 incorporation, prospective candidates need to submit the signatures of at least 50 qualified electors.
Fifty signatures are also required in Burnsville. For some of the smaller towns, such as Rienzi, the signatures of 15 qualified electors are needed.
The Secretary of State's Office says absentee ballots should be available by April 20 in cities and towns that do not hold party primaries. May 2 is the voter registration deadline. The new term of office for the municipalities begins July 6. The state's cities that do have primary elections will hold them on May 5 with runoffs on May 19 if needed.
West Corinth students learn Christmas celebrations
Web exclusive photo by Kim Jobe
First-graders
at West Corinth Elementary
School took a Literary Walk Through
Christmas recently. They visited other classrooms in the school where
teachers
read holiday books and helped the
students do activities related to the books.
See more photos here
Neighbors
Daniel Taylor snapped this photo
of some his neighbors.
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E-mail us your photo with a
short description to
webadmin@dailycorinthian.com.
See more snapshots here
Drug of choice at Borroum's
Moments by Zack Steen
Web exclusive
Borroum's Drug Store on Waldron Street in downtown Corinth is the oldest drug store in continuous operation in the state of Mississippi. Inside the drug store and cafe, is a museum filled with hundreds of Civil War and early Corinth items in cabinets and hanging on the walls.
But, most folks already know those things about this Corinth staple. Everyone knows Borroum's is the best place in Corinth to order a homemade milk shake or the famous Slug burger...
Read more & see photo here
Auditions set for next CTA production
Auditions for Corinth Theatre-Arts' youth production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" will be Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 5 and 6 at 4 p.m. at the Crossroads Playhouse, 303 Fulton Drive in Corinth. Performances will be the last two weeks of February. For more information, call the Crossroads Playhouse at 287-2995.
Ghosts of Christmas past and
shimmers of hope for the future
The Story Hour by L.A. Story
Staff WriterI decided to shake things up this year. Do something different -- to be bold, courageous and unique. So, I managed to get my Christmas cards out before Valentines Day (although some people complained, saying they missed their "St. Christmastine Card" after Christmas), and I put up a pink Christmas tree.
I thought a pink tree would be neato. The only male to protest was my 14-year-old son, Jordan, and -- really -- what is he going to do? I pay for the rent and the t.v., so I win! He was a good sport about it, though. He even helped decorate it, but would not let me take pictures of him helping. (Probably, because he knew I would end up posting the pictures on myspace and/or facebook.)
Farmington Baptist Church
Organized before 1848, the church shares God's love with families for the purpose of becoming one family in Christ. See site at:
farmingtonbaptistchurch.com
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Man's last lotto ticket wins $10M
Web exclusive from the AP
DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — On the day that Donald Peters died, he unknowingly provided financial security for his wife of 59 years and their family.
Peters bought two Connecticut Lottery tickets at a local 7-Eleven store on Nov. 1 as part of a 20-year tradition he shared with his wife Charlotte. Later that day, the 79-year-old retired hat factory worker suffered a fatal heart attack while working in his yard in Danbury.
On Friday, his widow cashed in one of the tickets: a $10 million winner which, in her grief over her husband's death, she had put aside and almost discarded before recently checking the numbers.
"I'm numb," Charlotte Peters, 78, said at Connecticut Lottery headquarters in Rocky Hill.
Donald Peters usually bought the tickets for 10 weeks at a stretch, so the winning ticket he bought Nov. 1 for the Dec. 2 drawing was among several that Charlotte Peters put aside as she, their three children and two grandchildren coped with his sudden death.
"I was in the grocery store and I had it checked and they told me I was a winner," she said. "I had no idea how much it was."
She said she thought she had won $6 million but was surprised to learn from lottery officials she'd won $10 million.
Charlotte Peters has 60 days to decide whether to take a $6 million pre-tax lump sum payment or stretch the winnings into 21 yearly payments of almost $477,300 each.
She does not yet know what she will do with the money.
"I've always wanted a Corvette, but I don't think I'll buy one. I'll stick to a small car. I might go to Mohegan Sun," she said, referring to the casino in Connecticut. "I'm going to go home and sit and think."
The Peters children think their father would have appreciated the irony.
"He'd be very mad, he just passed away and she won a lot of money," said Brian Peters, one of the couple's three children. "He'd say, 'Figures!'"