Saturday is Keep Panola Beautiful Day

By Rita Howell
With trashbags in hand, volunteers will scatter out across Panola County Saturday morning to collect trash in an effort organized by the Panola County Solid Waste Department.
It’s part of the county’s association with the Keep America Beautiful organization, and organizers are hoping for a large turnout of all ages.
The idea is to organize teams and volunteer to clean up a road, then bring the bags of trash by noon to the courthouse in Batesville where it will be counted and disposed of.
Teams will be treated to lunch at the courthouse at noon and there will be prizes, including a grill and gift cards.
Anyone may come to the Batesville courthouse as late as Saturday morning to get trash bags, gloves and child-size safety vests.
As of mid-week, 20-25 roads had been “adopted” for cleanup, according to Jennifer Jackson, manager of the Solid Waste Department.
A bonus for volunteers: those who commit to cleaning up their roads three times a year will receive signs that discourage littering. The county will install the signs for those who sign up for the program Saturday.