Pubdate: Sat, 16 Aug 2003
Source: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (MS)
Copyright: 2003 Journal Publishing Company
Contact:  http://www.djournal.com/djournal/site/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/823
Author: JANE CLARK SUMMERS

U.S. ATTORNEY RECOGNIZES SOUTH CORINTH NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECT

CORINTH - A one-square-mile area in the heart of Corinth stands apart as 
one of about 40 sites selected nationwide by the U.S. Justice Department as 
a "Weed and Seed" site.

The recognition also makes the project eligible to apply for a $175,000 
grant to help improve the safety and well-being of the neighborhood, which 
is home to about 1,500 residents.

If successful, the South Corinth Neighborhood Project will be eligible for 
an additional $900,000 over the next four years for a total of $1.075 million.

About half of that amount will be used to increase law enforcement efforts 
to create a safer neighborhood and the remainder will be used for improving 
quality of life and neighborhood restoration programs as well as drug 
prevention, intervention and treatment programs.

U.S. Attorney Jim Greenlee of the Northern District U.S. Court was in 
Corinth Friday to present South Corinth Neighborhood Project leaders with 
an official Weed and Seed certificate of recognition.

The planning process began in 2001 for the project aimed at improving 
safety, quality of life, education and economic opportunities for the South 
Corinth Neighborhood residents, said Greenlee.

"The South Corinth Neighborhood Project's community policing strategy is 
modeled on the proven concept of residents taking responsibility for their 
neighborhood,"=14 said Barbara Bennett, grant writer and project director. 
"The strategy incorporates good working relationships between concerned law 
enforcement officials and concerned citizens with the training and tools to 
accomplish the goal of reducing crime in their community."=14

While about five percent of Alcorn County's population resides in the South 
Corinth neighborhood, Bennett said more than 60 percent of all county drug 
cases originate there. Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics statistics indicate 
the area ranks fifth in the state for the origination of drug cases.

More than one third of the neighborhood's residents are children and youth 
under age 20 and about 70 percent of the population is black. The median 
household income is $11,360.

The law enforcement strategy involves a multi-agency partnership between 
the Corinth Police Department, the Alcorn County Sheriff's Department, the 
Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the 
U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Justice Department.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens