Running an orchard isn’t always peachy |
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Tom McCullar, owner of McCullar Orchard, spends hours working to make certain his trees yield a good crop during harvest season. |
BY JASON C MATTOX SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Running an orchard is not all peaches and cream, just ask the owners of McCullar Peach Orchard.
Tom McCullar, who along with his wife Pauline, operate the orchard off 315 in the Mt. Olive community, says his family found themselves in the peach business seven years ago at his wife’s urging.
"She saw these peach trees on the side of a hill in Illinois," he said. "So she got the idea of starting an orchard on the 12 acres of land we own."
McCullar said the orchard consists of 1,800 peach trees or 26 different varieties, four nectarine trees, four pear trees and thornless blackberry bushes, all of which is surrounded by an elk fence.
"You have to have a fence up to keep the deer out," he said. "The deer can just kill an entire orchard."
So what goes into producing a successful peach crop?
First, the trees have to be planted in an area that will allow water to run off because too much water can kill a tree.
"Aside from that, it takes a lot of pruning too get the trees ready," McCullar said. |
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Partnership CEO says Much Gained From Toyota Effort |
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BY JASON C MATTOX SENIOR STAFF WRITER Details, although few, about the Toyota recruiting attempt were finally made public. During a meeting of the Batesville Rotary Club, Paul Alexander, CEO of Panola Partnership, recounted his time working on the project.
"We had to sell ourselves as rural Memphis," Alexander said. "Trying to sell as Panola County or Northwest Mississippi wasn’t going to work."
Alexander said even though the county did not get the site, Toyota praised the county for their efforts and keeping the project private.
"We were the only state involved with the project that were not yammering on about it," he said.
Alexander said the bit of press that included Como and Panola County from The Commercial Appeal made Como seem like a third world country.
"Panola County is a small rural area and we competed with the greater San Antonio area and Memphis," he said. |
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Little Miss Batesville Crowned at Ceremony Will Represent Community |
Emily Elizabeth Houston, daughter of Wayne and Christina Houston was crowned 2003 Little Miss Batesville Sunday, March 23.
Emily Elizabeth Houston was crowned 2003 Little Miss Batesville Sunday, March 23.
She is the daughter of Wayne and Christina Houston.
Little Miss Batesville will represent the community in upcoming parades and ribbon cuttings around the city.
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2003 Little Miss Batesville Emily Elizabeth Houston (second from l) is with the top three alternates (l to r) first alternate Katie Grace Carlini; Houston; second alternate Mary Beth Johns; and third alternate Jessica Grace Massey. |
The theme of this year’s event, sponsored by the Batesville Junior Womans’ League (BJWL), was Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo! from Cinderella. The emcee for the event was Sharon Hudson a BJWL member. Entertainment was provided by Whitney Prather.
Nineteen girls ages 4-6 participated in annual the event.
Alternates were Katie Grace Carlini, first, daughter of Phillip and Pennie Carlini; Mary Beth Johns, second, daughter of Jonathan and Beth Johns; and Jessica Grace Massey, third, daughter of Shannon and Amanda Massey.
Also helping on stage were BJWL members Misty Kilgore, the mouse, and Kay Hudson, who portrayed the fairy godmother.
Brooke Taylor, Little Miss Batesville 2002, crowned Houston. |
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Police Recruit New Patrolmen War, Attrition Take School |
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BY KATE B DICKSON EDITOR War and attrition have the Batesville Police Department seeking to hire two patrol officers and one dispatcher.
That’s in addition to two new patrol officers who start April 1, said Major Tony Jones.
But the new officers won’t be ready to go on the streets alone for quite a while with a 10-week police academy facing them starting May 12 and 10 weeks of field officer training after that, Jones said.
One officer, a Mississippi National Guard member, has been activated for duty and is at a training site awaiting deployment to the middle east, Jones said.
There are several other police officers who are guard members and could be mobilized, Jones said, including one who is retired but could be recalled.
"We support our troops," Jones said, but he admitted more call-ups from the police ranks could place a hardship on the department. |
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