"She’s our one and only baby and this is the first step to not having her by my side," Amy said, holding back a river of sad momma tears.

Her "one and only baby" is daughter Makalya, 5, who was seated quietly at a table doodling as mom and dad stepped into the hallway to leave.

Makalya Burton is one of about 4,700 South Panola students who started their school year this week.

About 1,863 students are attending schools in the North Panola public school district, where school began August 8, and about 400 students are registered at North Delta School, the private school located west of Batesville. School started there today.

South Panola district office employee Mitzi Hardy said the first day of school was "hectic" but manageable. The most common problem was student registration, she said.

Some parents are new to the district and don’t know how to register their children, Hardy said, but other parents "didn’t pay attention" and are trying to catch up on the requirements.

At Batesville Elementary, parents were assigned a number as they waited a turn to sort out their child’s classroom assignments, proof of immunization shots, 911 addresses, and other concerns.

First-year South Panola Schools Superintendent Dr. Keith Shaffer visited the Batesville schools during the morning and planned to visit Pope School in the afternoon.

Discussing the hectic first day of school, Shaffer jokingly said he preferred the term "fluidity under control" over "chaos."

"I passed through the elementary building and heard children calling out the alphabet," Shaffer said. "We’re rocking and rolling. We’re teaching school."

The Burtons said they moved to Batesville from an even smaller town in Indiana when Jeff Burton was transferred to a job at the Crown Cork and Seal plant in Batesville.

Makalya and her parents visited the elementary school and the youngster’s teacher at the Monday night open house, one of 447 families to do so.

"We couldn’t believe it when we saw 15 kindergarten classes. We had two classes where we moved from," Amy said.

When Makalya finishes her first week of kindergarten today, her parents hope she has made new friends and overcome some of her shyness.

"Makalya already knows her ABCs, but we hope she can become a little more socialized," said Jeff. "Since we just moved here, she doesn’t have any friends yet."

The BES open house was the biggest ever thanks to the families that participated, said teacher Frances Ashcraft. She said 650 children are enrolled at the school.
 

A native of Kosciusko who was raised in Winona, Simmons comes to Panola Partnership with an extensive background in business, economic and community development according to interim Panola Partnership CEO and Director Leonard Morris.

The newly named CEO replaces former CEO Blair Jernigan, who recently resigned to take a position of chief operating officer of the Delta Regional Authority based in Clarksdale.

Simmons has owned and managed two jewelry stores and served as alderman and mayor for the City of Winona, Morris stated.

He comes to Panola County from the Mississippi Development Authority, where he has been employed since September, 2001, as a senior business consultant in the Business and Trade Division.

In that position he performed work on major national and international projects and reported directly to the director of the Mississippi Development Authority and the governor.

Simmons was appointed by the TVA Chairman, Glenn McCullough, to serve on the TVA Crescent Initiative Steering Committee to advise and recommend strategies and industrial development in the TVA service area.

Simmons has been honored as "Rotarian of the Year," and served as president of the Winona’s Lions Club and finance chairman for Moore Memorial United Methodist Church.

He has four children and ten grandchildren and enjoys playing golf, hunting and fishing.

Several candidates were interviewed for the position according to the release.

Panola Partnership serves as a marketing agency and economic development catalyst for Panola County and is the county’s "Chamber of Commerce."
    

A planned reduction in staffing and offices by the Mississippi Forestry Commission will make Batesville one of 12 area management offices.

"Under the present reorganization plan, Batesville will be the headquarters for management of offices in the northwest part of the state," agency spokesman Kent Grizzard said.

When the cuts take place, 48 positions will be eliminated across the state. The date for the reduction to be in effect is Oct. 1.

According to published reports, those positions include personnel posts, clerical support staff, foresters, an accountant, an information systems staffer and others primarily in administrative and support positions.

"Due to the sensitive nature of the matter and the employees affected, we have chosen not to release offices, names or positions that will be eliminated," Grizzard said.

The spokesmen stressed there will be no jobs eliminated for people directly involved in fighting fires. Forest rangers and technicians in the field also are not affected.

MFC is charged by law to suppress wildfires occurring on approximately 18.6 million acres of timbered and uncultivatable lands.

State law mandates that the MFC "Take such action and provide and maintain such organized means as may seem necessary and expedient to prevent, control, and extinguish forest fires, including the enforcement of any and all laws pertaining to the protection of forests and woodlands.’"

The main reason for the cut is a lack of funding, Grizzard indicated.

"We requested $19.8 million for our general fund and only $16.4 million was appropriated," he said. "It is our job to run the agency as efficiently as possible to stay within that budget."

The reduction in staff of 48 employees will save the commission $1.4 million, Grizzard said. The remaining dollars will be saved by not filling 39 positions left vacant in recent months due to resignations and retirements.

"In all we will have 87 vacancies," he said.

The other previously mentioned cost-cutting maneuver will reduce the number of forestry offices from 75 down to 12 in the near future.
"We are looking to move away from the county management people have become so familiar with," he said. "Our intention is to make the management more area based."

This is the change expected to have the greatest impact on the Panola County Forestry Office.

As the agency makes an effort to reduce its number of offices, an area office will be responsible for five to seven counties rather than one.

Other area offices will be in Oxford, Tupelo, Gulfport, Pearl and Starkville.

"The commission will maintain a presence in every county we presently serve," he said. "Just because we don’t have an office doesn’t mean we will not be involved in every county."

Rep. Warner McBride said he has spoken with the Forestry Commission about the changes and expects Panola County might be unchanged.

"It remains to be seen just how much of an effect this will have on Panola County," he said. "But this is an area office responsible for eight counties."

Panola County’s office, located at 105 Turner Street employs five and is transitioning to an area office for DeSoto, Tate, Yalobusha, Coahoma, Tallahatchie, Tunica and Quitman counties.

Panola County’s employees are area forester John Rhodes, clerical office support staffer Angela Nardozzi, and forest rangers Jeremy Moore, Edward Rowland and Stevie Little.

"With all of the projects this office has going on, we don’t want to see any changes," McBride said. "I am working with them now to make sure we don’t lose any of our personnel."