According to a new law, all polling places must be upgraded to handle handicapped voters for the 2006 elections.

"We have talked about this several times," Panola County Board of Supervisors President Jerry Perkins said. "This is something we have go to do."

Perkins said the county would have to make sure all polling places are not only handicapped accessible, but they must also have a new voting machine.

"There are funds available to help pay for the new machines," he said. "They will cost about $5,000 each and there must be one at every polling place."

Perkins said one way the county could cut down on the costs of the upgrades would be to consolidate some of the polling places that are near others or that don’t have as many voters as others.

"I think it will be important for all of the supervisors to keep consolidation in mind while they are out in the precincts during the election," Road Department Manager Lygunnah Bean said.

"It is going to cost the county to bring these buildings up to the 2006 standards, but it is something that will have to be done," he said. "We are going to have to get things moving. We don’t want to wait until the last minute to get this done."

As for today’s general election, all polling places will be open as usual.

The following precincts will vote in these locations:

The Crenshaw building that once housed Dana Corporation was again a topic of discussion for the Panola County Board of Supervisors.

Dana Corporation’s engineering manager, Davor Musap, informed the board that his company had interest in removing the remaining equipment from the building.

"We would like to see the remaining equipment transferred to our facility in Paris, Tenn.," he said.

Musap said a lot of the jobs Dana had were transferred to Mexico, but the company was able to continue manufacturing 680 part numbers in the Paris location.

"It was very important to us to be able to keep some of the work in the country," he said. "We didn’t want it to all go to Mexico."

Board attorney William McKenzie said Dana Corp. officials gave notice in 2003 that they would not be renewing the lease on the building for various reasons.

"Personally, I am puzzled as to why, after 18 months, we are just now learning about equipment they are needing to move," McKenzie said.

Supervisor Robert Avant who has been on the board throughout the entire ordeal with Dana Corp. disagreed with Musap’s statement.

"I don’t believe you know the pain the people of Crenshaw and Panola County went through when Dana closed its doors," he said. "This almost killed a community."

Avant said he firmly believed the company knew exactly what it was doing when they terminated the lease on the facility.

"Not only do I feel like you knew what you were doing," he said. "I believe this is something that they knew was coming long before they told anyone about their plans."

Avant said he didn’t believe the company should be allowed to move all of the equipment.

"If I am not mistaken, part of the equipment in the building was paid for by CDBG money and other grants that were gained

by the county," he said. "There is equipment that is attached to the building and it should stay there.

"If you take some of the equipment from the building, you will really be tearing up the facility," he said. "That is something we certainly cannot allow if it was paid for with county funds."

Musap said to his knowledge the equipment in question the chiller and air handlers, were paid for by Dana Corp. and not the county.

"I am almost certain that those items were purchased by Dana Corp., but I don’t have any documentation of it at this time," he said.

The supervisors voted to okay the move of everything except the chiller and air handlers at the present time.

Pope School PTA ended the last school year with a Teacher Appreciation Luncheon. Parents provided food and beverages for this event. This luncheon is given annually to show appreciation for Pope School’s Administrators, Teachers, and Faculty. At the luncheon awards were given out to several teachers who helped PTA during the school year. Sandra Darby, President, presented awards to the following teachers for Candy Sales: Elementary-Lou Bertia Ware, Middle School- Danielle Willis, and Jr. High-Jane Carol McKittrick. Additional certificates were given out: Most Active Member-Rachel Pickett and Teacher of the Year-Gay Darnell.

This school year has gotten off to a great start for the PTA. The first meeting boasted almost 40 members present. Officers were elected at this meeting, and are as follows: President-Sandra Darby, Vice-President-Mary Katherine Baglan, Treasurer- Rachel Pickett, and Secretary-Camille Garner. Sandra Darby, President, reviewed the accomplishments of the last school year. Musical instruments, P. E. equipment, and games were also provided for our students through daily candy sales. These candy sales along with a raffle were able to provide books for classroom libraries. Each teacher in grades K-6 was asked to provide receipts for any books purchased for their classrooms over the summer. The PTA spent over $2,000 to reimburse these teachers for the books. The PTA was also able to supply the football team with equipment through the sale of fence signs to local businesses. These signs are $250 each and will be run for two years. They are painted by Carl Brown. Space and signs are still available by contacting Sandra Darby at 563-1330 ext.11.

The largest project undertaken by the PTA is the replacing of playground equipment. This is a two-year project which includes the removal of the old wooden equipment. The South Panola School Board and South Panola Superintendent, Dr. C. L. Stevenson, have agreed to match the funds raised through the sale of Sally Foster products. The equipment will be installed by Miracle Recreation in the spring of 2005. It is a large task, but we feel with the continued support of our parents, teachers, administrators, and faculty, we can accomplish this goal.