By John Howell Sr.

Panola County will be split into three Senate districts under a redistricting plan Senators approved Wednesday and House members approved late Thursday.

The redistricting is required following the 2010 Census.

Under the plan, Panola will be divided into District 9, currently represented by Senator Grey Tollison (R) of Oxford; District 11, currently represented by Senator Robert Jackson (D) of Marks and District 14, currently represented by Senator Lydia Chassaniol (R) of Winona.

District 9 includes Lafayette County in its entirety, the northeast corner of Panola, extending into Batesville and Sardis. Panola voting precincts in District 9 will include Pleasant Mount, East Sardis, Cole’s Point, Cold Springs, North Batesville A, East Batesville and Batesville 3.

District 11 includes roughly the western half of Panola County including the precincts of Como, West Sardis, South Sardis, Longtown, Crenshaw, Pleasant Grove, Curtis, Macedonia-Concord, North Batesville B, Enon, Tocowa and Courtland. District 11 also includes Quitman and Tunica counties in their entireties and seven precincts in Coahoma County.

District 14 includes three Panola precincts — South Springport, Eureka and Pope as well as portions of Tallahatchie, Yalobusha, Grenada, Leflore, Montgomery, and Attala counties as well as all of Carroll County. We are not making this up.

Panola County and Tate County comprise the current District 10 served by Senator Steve Hale (D) of Senatobia. Under the Senate’s new district, District 10 will continue to include Tate County but will include all but four precincts in Marshall County.

Tollison, an attorney, has served in the legislature since 1996. He chairs the Senate Education Committee and serves as vice-chair of the Executive Contingent Fund.

He also serves on the Compilation, Revision and Publication, the Constitution, Finance, Judiciary Division B, Public Health and Welfare and Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks committees.

Jackson is a community development practitioner who has served in the legislature since 2004 according to the Mississippi legislature’s Web Site. He is chairman of the Executive Contingent Fund Committee and vice-chair of the Labor Committee.

He also serves on the Agriculture, Appropriations, Business and Financial Institutions, Energy, Ports and Marine Resources and Public Property committees.

Chassaniol is a Winona restaurant owner who serves as Chair of the Senate’s Tourism Committee. The first-term senator also serves as vice-chair of the Corrections Committee and is a member of the Agriculture, Drug Policy, Elections, Ethics, Finance, Investigative State Offices and Municipalities committees.