By John Howell Sr.

Batesville aldermen approved a request from the Panola County Humane Society (PCHS) to pay up to $2,500 annually for medication of dogs in the city’s pound.

PCHS representative Yvonne Taylor had requested the assistance at a May meeting of city officials. PCHS volunteers visit the pound and administer medicine to animals held there, she said. She asked the city to pay one-half of the cost, which runs about $5,000 annually.

Aldermen last Tuesday voted unanimously to sign an agreement with PCHS to pay half the cost.

In other business during the June 5 meeting:

• David Karr told the mayor and aldermen that the city would be charged for engineering work required after a signal light at the intersection of Highway 6/278 and Eureka Street suffered electrical damage that requires replacement of expensive components to correct.

Karr said that the electrical components of newly installed traffic signals were damaged in March within 30 days of their installation while they were still owned by the company that installed them.

Temporary repairs were “rigged up with borrowed equipment from MDOT,” until new circuitry arrives,” Karr told the city officials.

Karr said that the incident involves negotiations between the insurers for the contractor and the power company. The repairs will also require engineering work that will initially be charged to the city.

Aldermen instructed attorney Mitchell to write the insurers asking that their claims include reimbursing the city for the engineering costs, which could amount to $16,000 to $17,000, Karr said.

•Employees of the city’s gas and water departments were speeding up their work to locate and identify gas and water lines that pass under the Highway 6/278 intersections as MDOT accelerated its plans for extensive reconfiguration of the cloverleaf.

“Sounds like they’re moving a lot faster,” one city official commented on the construction that will eliminate two of the four existing cloverleaf ramp exits.

MDOT will reimburse the city for “line lowering and extending the casing,” Mayor Jerry Autrey said.

The fall construction project will also include installation of high-mast lighting at the intersection.

•Installation of lighting at the Trussell Park Trail is under way and will include the installation of timers to shut off the lights at 9 p.m., Mendrop-Wages Engineering spokesman Lauralee Gann said.

“We’re all well within grant funds,” Gann said.

• Alderman Stan Harrison asked that the city contact MDOT for help in improving the entrance to the Piggly Wiggly store on Highway 51.

Congestion at the highway entrance occasionally creates a hazard, he said.

•Aldermen Ted Stewart asked the police department to make a recommendation for street striping or other traffic control on Van Voris at the Faith in Action ministries building.