"While we do have people coming in to adopt the kids, they are not coming in like we would want them to," DHS County Homemaker Diane Davis said. "And at this point we have 350 first-time children registered."

Davis said DHS went into this Christmas adoption drive with a slightly different approach than they have in previous years.

"We wanted to find children we had not helped in the years prior," she said. "We had a good response from people coming in and letting us know about people we wouldn’t have found otherwise."

Of the 350 children on the list, Davis said 130 have been "adopted" so far.

"That is a good response, but we still have a lot of kids that need to be taken care of this Christmas," she said.

Davis said one business in Panola County was foregoing an office gift exchange in order to help some of the children.

"They had all of the employees say they would rather spend the $20 they usually spend on a gift on some of these children who really need our help," she said.

In addition to that office, DHS also received a $500 cash donation from an anonymous donor.

"We have the same donor that comes in each year and donates $500, but he asks to remain anonymous," she said. "His donation is always a big help when we have to go out shopping."

Anyone wishing to make a financial contribution can make checks payable to the Batesville Exchange Club who will administrate the funds for DHS.

"The state doesn’t mind us getting cash donations, but anyone wanting to leave checks would need to go through another agency," Davis said. "The Exchange Club has once again volunteered to help us with that."

Anyone wishing to adopt a child or make a donation can do so by calling Davis at 487-2098.

Panola County supervisors agreed Monday to start a new round of printing for a popular county map book.

Supervisors voted to print 200 of the E-911 map books at the request of Son Hudson, director of Panola County Emergency Management.

The books are wire-bound maps with county roads and city streets organized into a grid system for quick reference for fire departments, law enforcement, utility companies and the general public.

The first printings should be ready by the spring of 2007, Hudson told The Panolian after the meeting.

"Our last books were printed in 2005, so by the time these are ready the old map books will be more than two years old," Hudson said.

Hudson told supervisors at their "first Monday" meeting that the cheapest printing per book is $16, up from a cost of $9 two years ago. The printing costs ranged as high as $29.50 per book with local publishers, he said.

"The cost of ink is what’s expensive," he said.

Hudson said Linda Oliver of Senatobia gave him the low figure of $16 per book. Oliver works for county engineer Larry Britt but prints the book maps from her home as a side job.

Due to the higher cost of the books, District 2 Supervisor Robert Avant suggested that non-county employees pay the $16 fee to purchase the books.

The vote to purchase the map books was unanimous.