With an estimated 800-plus new faces in Panola County as a result of Hurricane Katrina, the South Panola and North Panola School Districts and North Delta Schools are preparing for what could be an influx of new students.

North Panola has already enrolled students at Greenhill Elementary, said Superintendent Robert Massey. The South Panola District has yet to have an evacuee enroll in the district, but proper steps are being taken to ease the transition, said South Panola Superintendent Dr. Keith Shaffer.

"We realize there are a lot of people that don’t know if they will be here two days or two weeks," he said. "We also know there will be some who relocate to Panola County to live with family, and we have a plan in place to take care of the potential new students."

Shaffer said he has handed out necessary paperwork and instructions to administrators and teachers.

"We are trying our best to expedite residency and shot requirements," he said. "There are ways to cut through the red tape and best serve those children."

Panola County is served by two public school districts, South Panola and North Panola, and also has a private Batesville school, North Delta.

While Shaffer said it is virtually impossible to estimate how many new students the district may see, he knows there could be a great many.

"There is a chance the number or students could swamp us," he said. "If we see a large flow of new students coming through, we might have to look at hiring new teachers and expanding classrooms.

"We will look at that possibility if it happens," Shaffer added. "We are going to do whatever we can to serve the students.

"We have done everything we can to prepare our teachers, and we will monitor our enrollment by grade and teacher," Shaffer added. "This district is going to do whatever we can to maintain our academic standards while best serving any new students we may see as a result of this catastrophe."
    

An estimated 800 evacuees from the Gulf Coast have taken refuge in Panola County after fleeing the wrath of Hurricane Katrina, and that number is expected to grow in coming days.

Three-fourths of the hotel rooms in the county are occupied by coastal residents, and a Red Cross shelter at Batesville’s First Baptist Church is growing to capacity.

The number of refugees coming to Panola County could swell to 1,000 by Friday, mid-week interviews with hotel staff and the shelter revealed.

That count doesn’t include coastal residents who have taken refuge with families and friends in the county.

Red Cross volunteer Beverly Martindale said the shelter was taking care of 128 people by Wednesday but that number was expected to reach 200, the shelter’s maximum capacity.

"We’ve heard from hotels in Grenada that they’re sending people to us," Martindale said. "Apparently the people have run out of money, and they’re getting kicked out."

Another Red Cross shelter has opened its doors in Oxford and will accept up to 100 people, Martin said.

The Red Cross shelter in Batesville is operating from the church’s Family Life Center, where refugees from Katrina are sleeping on cots in the gym and eating meals in the dining area.

Martindale said area churches are feeding lunch and dinner to the shelter’s refugees, a chore that’s relieving the burden on kitchen volunteers who are now serving only breakfast.

J. Courtney Selvy, association missions director for Panola County’s Southern Baptist churches, is telling area congregations the Red Cross shelter needs volunteers, groceries and clothing.

"We really need volunteers to help cook meals so the people who are volunteering at the shelter won’t get burnt out," Selvy told The Panolian.

The family life center is signing up churches for the lunch and supper meals. The phone number is 563-7655.

First Baptist pastor Greg Johnston said the church is committed to its assistance with the Red Cross so long as the refugees need a place to live.

"We’re committed to staying open as long as needed and meeting the need as long as it’s needed," Johnston said on Thursday.

A free meal for evacuees is planned for Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Patton Lane Community Center in Batesville.

The meal is sponsored by the Macedonia-Concord Community Center, which is also providing free transportation to the center.

The Batesville Red Cross shelter opened its door Sunday, May 28 and was filled with more than 100 evacuees by mid-week.

Some of the evacuees were sleeping on the gym floor before cots were unloaded for them earlier in the week.

Civil Defense Director Son Hudson said 185 cots have been sent to the Batesville shelter. If more refugees arrive, he said, he doesn’t know where more cots would come from.

"We’ve gotten our hands on all the cots we can get our hands on," Hudson said.

Phone calls made to area hotels and motels on Wednesday showed that most rooms in Batesville and Sardis are occupied by coastal residents.

All totalled, Gulf Coast refugees are occupying 329 of 436 hotel and motel rooms in Panola County.

Fifty of the 66 rooms at the Hampton Inn in Batesville are occupied, an employee said, and the Super 8 motel in Sardis is filled completely with stranded refugees.

Super 8 desk clerk Stacey Turpin said some families say they plan to stay for two weeks while others are planning their actions "day to day."

"It’s really sad looking at families that are losing hope," Turpin said.

Martindale questioned how long the stranded families now renting hotel rooms could afford paying for rooms and restaurant meals for their families.

"You know they’re running low on cash or maxing out their credit cards," Martindale said.

The Batesville shelter needs cash donations to help pay for refugees’ medicines and also to pay for gas for their vehicles, the volunteer also said.

"Some of these folks have family in other states, and they could get to them if we can fill up their gas tank," Martindale said.
    

High school stadiums damaged and undamaged across the state will be silent tonight.

The devastation of Hurricane Katrina along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and areas of South Mississippi has forced the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) to make this decision regarding public schools. Dr. Ennis Proctor made the announcement a little before noon on Wednesday.

The MHSAA has now pushed the football season back one week. Teams playing out-of-state teams this week or next week have the option of playing the games as scheduled, according to Proctor.

The state championships have also been moved back a week to be played December 9-10 instead of December 2-3.

South Panola High School was scheduled to play Moss Point in Moss Point tonight but with major highways in that area closed and the city under water, there would be nowhere for the teams to play.

There were no reports available on the condition of the stadium and school, which are located within view of the Gulf of Mexico. The only high school listed as damaged in the area is D’Iberville High School.

Many elementary schools in the area were reported by The Sun Herald and the Mississippi Press to have sustained damage.

Since South Panola will not be traveling to Moss Point, the school will remain on its regular schedule and not dismiss early, according to a memo from the South Panola School District office.

North Panola was set to host Coldwater in non-conference action.

The teams are slated to return to action next Friday night. South Panola will travel to Germantown High School in Germantown, Tenn. while North Panola will host Coldwater.

Game times are 7 p.m.

South Panola head coach Ricky Woods wants to keep Carver High School in its slot on September 16 at home, have September 23 as an open date and start conference play September 30. That schedule is not yet approved by Proctor as of Thursday.

The Moss Point/South Panola game is not expected to be rescheduled, according to Woods.

The Mississippi Private School Association gave permission for schools not affected by the storm to play if both schools mutually consent.

North Delta and Lee Academy agreed to play their first conference game tonight against each other in Clarksdale at 7:30 p.m.