By John Howell Sr.
Batesville Ward Two Alderman Rufus Manley led a ranging discussion of social, education and family issues during a town hall meeting Saturday.

A small group of citizens from across Panola County joined Manley as did State Representative Joe Gardner, Lieutenant John Miller of the Batesville Police Department, and assistant District Attorney Smith Murphey.

Manley’s message Saturday was similar to the theme of two previous town hall meetings that he has organized: People who want a peaceful, law-abiding community need to assert control of the community and parents need to take control of their children.

Manley cited improvements in Ward Two, including this summer’s repaving and striping of streets. The alderman also noted improvements in Patton Lane Park under the supervision of Terry Townsend, Darrin Ford and Dennis Hoskins “with a lot of young people helping.”

“It’s a good situation and we’re trying to [continue to] turn it around; we’re trying to turn it [our community] through the park,” Manley said.

Lt. Miller said the park showed “dramatic improvement over last summer.”

Voter Registration

Manley announced that students from the Batesville Job Corps Center and other volunteers will assist in a city-wide voter registration drive beginning next Saturday. The volunteers will go door-to-door, seeking to register voters so they can vote in the November 4 General Election.

“It’s going to be one of the largest elections we’ve ever had,” the Ward Two Alderman said. “If you’ve moved, married, divorced  — if anything has changed you need to reregister,” he said.

Manley also serves as the Panola County Democratic Party’s voter registration chairman.

“I’ve registered over 400 people since the Fourth of July,” Manley said. “I’m fully supporting the Democratic Party; I’m not telling you who you should support, but we need to register and vote because it’s something that people died for,” he said.

Manley also used the opportunity to announce that he will again be a candidate for Ward Two Alderman in the 2009 municipal elections.

Education

“We need to be a demand school system,” Manley said, restating the message that State Superintendent of Education Dr. Jack Bounds brought to the community last February when he met with citizens at the Batesville Civic Center.

“You need to tell your superintendent, principals, teachers what kind of school you want,” the alderman continued.

“If the teacher doesn’t get it, you need to go to the principal,” Manley said. “If enough of you demand children pull up their pants, they’ll pull them up,” he added.

“We have to work on our dropout rate,” Representative Gardner said, citing education as a component of the economic development that brings higher-paying jobs to the county. “We got to turn it around; too many in prison are high school dropouts,” Gardner said.

“The skills that we learned yesterday are no longer needed” Gardner said.

The remarks from Manley and Gardner prompted several comments from citizens.

“What makes children drop out of school? asked Geneva  Muhammed, who said she is a resident of the North Panola School District.

“North Panola has a new system,” Manley said. “Let’s give it a chance,” he added, referring to the Mississippi Department of Education takeover of the district by this year.

Another person who said that she was the mother of three in the South Panola School District said her 12 year old tells her, “’I’m tired of going to school; we learn the same thing every year.’”

“You’ve got to start at home when they’re born,” said Juanita Manley, echoing her husband’s mantra of parents taking control in the home. She encouraged parents to go to schools, visit classrooms and see their children’s schools firsthand for themselves.

Basketball goals

The alderman said he had objected to a decision by the mayor and parks director to remove basketball goals from American Legion Park.

“What do you mean, too much noise?” Manley asked, rhetorically. “We’ve had shouting, shooting and everything,” the alderman continued, referring to basketball play at Patton Lane Park before the recent improvements there he had cited earlier.

Manley said the mayor had responded that four basketball goals would be erected in Trussell Park instead. “That’s acceptable to me,” he continued, but “I don’t think it’s going to be done,” he said.

“The board put them up and once the city board puts them up the mayor puts them up the mayor does not have the authority to take them down,” the Ward Two Alderman continued.

No smoking

Batesville aldermen will soon vote on an ordinance to prohibit smoking in any building open to the public.

“It’s coming up for a vote; we’re constantly bombarded with citizens coming to us warning us to stop smoking in public buildings,” Manley said. He asked for a show of hands for support of a no-smoking ordinance. Most in the room raised their hands. He then asked for those who would oppose the measure to raise their hands. One person raised a hand.

MLK improvements

Replying to questions from Eva Tucker and Percy Bruce about work on Martin Luther King Street, Manley said that street and sewer improvement had been undertaken but a sidewalk for the street is “just not feasible at this time.”

“It was going to cost $4 million for a sidewalk on one side of the street,” Manley said.

“As you know, Tubbs Road is falling into the ditch,” the alderman continued. The city will seek a grant to place rip rap rock in the waterway to stabilize bank erosion, he said.

Transportation

Manley said that the is working with Congressman Bennie Thompson’s office, including Thompson’s Chief of Staff, Lanier Avant,  to convince rail and Amtrak officials to allow a rail passenger stop in Marks.

The alderman also lamented the lack of a bus stop in Batesville, citing extensive use of buses by the Batesville Job Corps Center, among others.