A day of worship, praise, and fellowship has been planned with the first "full time" pastor and three men licensed to the ministry by the church bringing the messages. Music will be provided by current and former instrumental and choir directors.

The initial session will begin at 10 a.m. followed by one at 10:30. The pre-lunch service will begin at 11:15 a.m. with the afternoon service starting at 1:30 p.m.

Speakers in order of appearance will be Dr. Lee Hudson, Bro. Al Mullan, Bro. Charles Stubblefield, and Dr. Bobby McKay.

Musicians will be Ryan McBride, Linda Merriman, Jane Morris, Ceara Bullington, Lynelle Payne and Suzy Morris.

City of Batesville sales tax collections for the month of August increased approximately eight percent over August of 2003 according to figures obtained from the State Tax Commission.

Sales tax collections are often used as an indicator of the health of retail sales in a given municipality.

A total of $279,537 was diverted back to Batesville for the month of August. Last year’s total for August was $258,883.

Batesville is approximately four percent above the previous fiscal year-to-date totals which began July 1. Last year’s total after two months was $556,375 compared to $576,091 this year.

Batesville’s Tourism and Development Tax collections decreased in August 2004 compared to August 2003 according to State Tax Commission figures. August 2003 collections were reported as $63,411 compared to August 2004 collections of $62,245, a decrease of approximately three percent.

The Tourism and Development Tax is a three percent special levy on hotel/motel and restaurants paid in the City of Batesville.

Despite plant closings and a lackluster national economy, the Batesville sales tax collections have constantly increased (in the past five years) – minimally from fiscal years 2000-2002 and considerably in years 2003 and 2004.

Figures indicate one percent increases in 2001 and 2002 with 10 and 14 percent increases respectively in fiscal years 2003 and 2004.

The sales tax in the City of Como increased almost 35 percent in August to $12,590.09 from $9,354.97 in August of last year. Como’s sales tax collections are up approximately eight percent for the current fiscal year from $22,019.49 to $23,670.76.

Sardis sales tax collections indicated an eight percent drop from August of this year compared to August of 2003. For the two months reported of the current fiscal year, a 13 percent decrease was reported.

The state’s fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 31.

The state’s total increased for the month of August approximately six percent. The year-to-date total for the state is down less than one percent for the fiscal year at $56,232,063.

Other Panola County municipalities recorded sales tax collections for August 2003 and 2004 respectively as: Courtland, $1,047 and $1,175; Crenshaw, $4,018 and $3,771; Crowder, $1,186 and $587; Pope, $1,563 and $1,730.

A crowd of over 100 poured over detailed maps and quizzed engineers concerning alternate proposals for State Route 6 (Highway 6) at an open forum public meeting held Tuesday afternoon in Batesville.

The estimated $160 million project (with $60 million estimated for construction of the Batesville bypass) would alleviate through traffic on Highway 6 heading east and west or widen the existing route.

A similar meeting was held the previous day in Marks, but those attending Tuesday’s meeting were concerned with the Batesville bypass portion of the proposal.

The meetings were held by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Federal Highway Commission to provide a view of the proposals and hear concerns and opinions of the public.

Those present Tuesday included state and local elected officials as well as residents, landowners, business owners as well as others who may be affected by the alternate bypass sites.

"It is anticipated that the study on this proposed project will be completed in the coming year," according to information provided by MDOT.
The District Engineer predicted a public hearing in January with a mid-summer 2005 decision barring any major obstacles being found during the present environmental stage of the project.
 
Dickerson explained that the four-laning of Highway 6 to Clarksdale would complete an east west corridor that would result in increased traffic, especially trucks.