By Billy Davis
and John Howell Sr.

Batesville alderman candidate Eddie Nabors says industrial recruitment would be his main focus if elected Tuesday to the Ward 4 seat.

Meanwhile, incumbent alderman Bobbie Jean Pounders said that she hopes to move forward with a number of ongoing projects currently under way, from completion of sleeping quarters for firefighters to street paving.

Nabors faces Pounders in the June 2 General Election next Tuesday.

Other municipal races are slated for Sardis and Como (see related story, page A3).  

Nabors defeated Ken Williams in the Republican Primary to advance to the general election.

Pounders did not face a primary opponent. She defeated two opponents in 2005 to keep the Ward 4 seat.

Other than his comment about industry, Nabors stuck mostly to general comments about his campaign during a newspaper interview this week.

“I felt like I reached a point in my career when it was time to contribute to the community,” Nabors, 55, said of his reason for seeking public office.

“It’s an opportunity for service,” he said.

On the campaign trail, Nabors said he is telling Ward 4 residents that he will serve their interests if elected.

“I assure people that my only agenda is to do what’s best for the town, and that I will always vote that way,” he said.

Pounders emphasized the value of her experience and knowledge of city government, precedents and procedures in a paid newspaper announcement that was published May 26.

A paid announcement from Nabors is published in today’s Panolian.

“I am confident that we have a good chance to continue to be successful,” Pounders said in a follow-up interview Thursday.

She cited a pending announcement by Zaxby’s Restaurant to open a Batesville location. She said she anticipated additional announcements about retail and industrial expansions in the city and county.

The completion of the project to add sleeping quarters for firefighters at Station 2 will help hold down the cost of city fire insurance rates, Pounders said.

The incumbent alderman also cited the need for animal control, including construction of a facility to house strays, a joint city/county project. She also plans to work with the Panola Genealogical and Historical Society to secure a suitable museum site, she said. An ongoing project to resurface city streets will continue this summer as soon as weather cooperates, she said.

“Our city is going; it’s progressive; I feel good,” Pounders continued.

Nabors and his wife Erin own and operate Video South, a video deposition business. Their son, Sam, also works for the business.

The family business often takes Nabors out of town, but he said the work would not interfere with the duties of city alderman.

“I’ve been juggling my schedule for 20 years,” he said. “That doesn’t cross my mind as an issue.”

Nabors said giving a facelift to Batesville’s public parks, preserving the Downtown Square, and finding more uses for the Batesville Civic Center, are other pressing concerns.

He also said he supported the ongoing effort to improve the “curb appeal” at the Interstate 55 interchange with new lighting and landscaping.

Nabors, when asked, declined to cite any votes cast by his opponent, or any decisions she has made as Ward 4 alderman, in which he differs or disagrees.

“I’m going to pass on that one,” he said.