Rust College president Dr. David L. Beckley joined the Batesville Job Corps Center’s Community Relations Council both as a new member and as speaker for the council’s meeting Monday evening.

Council president Percy Bruce had moved the council’s quarterly meeting up a month to coincide with the Department of Labor’s annual evaluation which is being conducted this week at the center.

The evaluation tells "how well we’re providing services for our students," center director Alexander Alston said.

Curtis Hickson of the Department of Labor evaluation staff also visited the council meeting, which included a meal prepared by center students who are working in the school’s culinary arts program.

"We serve a lot of first generation college students," Beckley said. "We are accustomed to underserved students."

Beckley, the longest-tenured senior college president in the state, took the reins at Rust in 1993. Beckley announced several initiatives to bring closer cooperation between Rust College and the Batesville Job Corps Center, offering free tickets to the college’s Lyceum series as well as its athletic events. The Job Corps center will offer reciprocal initiatives in areas such as internships for Rust students, a center spokesman said.

Council members presented former BJCC student Tamara Johnson a gift basket as recognition for her continued pursuit of education after completing her work at the center. Johnson, a Hickory native, became a Certified Nursing Assistant at the center and found a job at the Yalobusha Nursing Home in Water Valley. She entered Northwest Mississippi Community College where she has maintained a 3.5 gpa while continuing her nursing home work on weekends.
 

With just one day to go prior to the March of Dimes’ Walk America, the organization collected more than 75 percent of its $24,000 budget during "Bank Day" at First Security Bank in Batesville on Thursday.

March of Dimes Community Development director Connie Snell of Tupelo said the support from Batesville has been great.

"We have had an excellent Bank Day," she said. "There is still money coming in, and we are really hopeful that we will blow our budgeted amount out of the water."

Teams participating in this year’s Walk America, which takes place on the track at Tiger Stadium on Highway 51 on Saturday, include groups from Citi Financial, the Batesville Job Corps Center, the Boys and Girls Club of Northwest Mississippi, Famous Footwear (Factory Brand Shoes), the South Panola High School FCCLA; First Security Bank, Kelly Services, Mill Creek of Batesville, the Mississippi Department of Health, Parker Hanafin, Northwest Mississippi Community College, Savannah’s Angels, State Farm Insurance, Zeta Phi Beta, Western Sizzlin, The Panolian and more.

"We still have team signing up everyday," Snell said. "We won’t know how many we have until the walk actually starts Saturday."

Sign up for the walk begins at 9 a.m. The walk will start at 10 a.m.

Members of the South Panola Tigers will be on hand to sign autographs. A football autographed by the entire team will be auctioned off.

The South Panola Peer Puppet Team will be at Walk America to perform for children in attendance.

The March of Dimes conducts research to prevent premature births and promote healthy pregnancies and babies.

Hyde said the building is in need of more amplifiers and subwoofers to improve the performance of the existing sound system.

"You also have to keep in mind that this sound system is set to be heard in the seats more so than the floor," he said. "Any time a concert comes in, they will be bringing their own equipment."