By John Howell Sr.

The mayor and aldermen voted Tuesday to spend up to $5,000 to convince C Spire that Batesville is the ideal city for the “Get Fiber First” challenge from the media provider.

Alderman Eddie Nabors has organized what he has calls the Small Task Force to mobilize Batesville public opinion in support of C Spire’s offer to provide high speed fiber optic Internet service to Mississippi towns. The town that presents the most convincing case to C Spire that local government and citizens will support C Spire’s initiative will get 1 Gigabyte ultra-high-speed fiber optic Internet service first.

 Batesville is competing with 27 other Mississippi towns to be selected first.

Aldermen agreed at their Oct. 1 meeting to respond to a C Spire request for information by the Oct. 20 deadline. The Small Task Force has recruited the Panola Partnership and South Panola High School’s Technology Student Association.

“South Panola High School’s Technology Student Association is proud to partner with the City of Batesville in their efforts to bring C Spire Fiber to our area,” Career and Technical teacher Brandy Arnold stated. “This year, our students have unanimously adopted C Spire ‘Get Fiber First’ as our community project.”

“I want to talk to the SP football crew (about) a lower third graphic for the football game stream and also a half-time interview,” Nabors wrote in an e-mail.

Other ideas for creating effort of the need to show support for the fiber optic high speed Internet include door hangers, banners for sign-up tables and videos.

“I don’t think this is a one-shot proposition,” Nabors told the mayor and aldermen at Tuesday’s meeting. “If we don’t get it, we’ll be on their radar,” he added, referring to C Spire’s announced plans to expand the technology into as many areas of Mississippi as quickly as possible.