| City Gets Civic Center Road Permit |
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Batesville Mayor Bobby Baker checks the MDOT permit for the new Civic Center road and expresses excitement about the growth going on in the area.
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BY KATE B DICKSON
EDITOR
A road to service the Civic Center property will be built soon now that a permit is in hand from the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
The permit, which will allow the road to enter the south side of Highway 6 just west of Harry B’s, was issued Friday by MDOT, said Batesville Mayor Bobby Baker.
Baker said the road will cost $300,000 to $400,000 and will be paid for by the city using funds it receives from Panola’s road and bridge tax.
The permit was required because the road will enter onto a state highway, Baker said.
The city will advertise for road construction bids this month and expects to open them in May, the mayor said.
The new road is east of House-Carlson Road that services Tri-Lakes Medical Center and the Wal-Mart area.
Presently there is no traffic light planned for the new intersection, Baker said.
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Case Pending in Federal Court
Claim is City in Breach of Contract |
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| Just how or if the new road going to the Civic Center will affect a federal lawsuit pending against the city remains to be seen.
The case is now in the federal courts where it is set to be heard in June in Oxford.
That’s according to property owner James S. Whitaker of Batesville who filed the suit.
Whitaker’s land in question is about 60 acres just east of the Civic Center property, he told The Panolian last week.
When the county owned the Civic Center property before the city took over, Whitaker said he had a contract stating the road would go on the land he "gifted" for that purpose. He said the city agreed to accept any contracts the county had made.
He said his suit claims the city breached that contract.
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| New Sign |
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Kindergarten teacher Jana Brock, along with Ashley Weeks, Keonta Conner, Kenya Bobo and Trey Tedford wave a thanks to the staff and parents of the Batesville Elementary PTA for the new sign.
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| SpringFest Headliner: Country’s Steve Azar |
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BY JASON C MATTOX
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
 One of country music’s brightest new stars will make his return to Batesville as headliner in May for SpringFest, an event he first played in 2001.
Azar, a Greenville native, shot to stardom with the release of his first album for Mercury Nashville last year. The album, "Waitin’ on Joe," has earned Azar both critical acclaim and fan adoration and spawned two top 40 hits.
Azar’s debut single, "I Don’t Have to be Me (Til Monday)" went all the way to number two on the Billboard Country charts, while his follow-up single, the album’s title track, reached number 28.
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| County Will Seek Building Woe Solution |
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BY JASON C MATTOX
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Panola County and the City of Sardis moved one step closer to righting a wrong during a meeting Monday.
Sardis Mayor Richard Darby and City Attorney Tommy Shuler appeared before the Panola County Board of Supervisors to offer clarification on the situation involving the North Panola Hospital Building.
"Two-and-a-half years ago, Partners in Action said what they would do, but nothing has happened," Darby said.
Some of the supervisors questioned the legality of Partners in Action selling the nursing home to another entity.
"I don’t think there was anything in the agreement prohibiting the sale of the nursing home," Shuler said.
Shuler explained there was also no reverter clause in the contract in case payments became delinquent as they are now.
"You would have to bring a suit against Partners in Action and their parent company," Shuler said.
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