It’s a sad time in Panola County.

There have been five senseless murders here within the current calendar year.

Compare those murders with Panola County’s population and you’ll probably get a higher murder rate per capita than you find in major cities.

It’s not just one area. They have occurred in Batesville, in Sardis and out in the unincorporated areas of the county, on the highways and on the back roads.

It is hard to believe that in a community with so many churches, with so much of the population claiming to be Christian, that there are  among us those who give a human life so little value.

With one-quarter of the year of 2012 still ahead of us, will there be more senseless crime, more lives lost? Who can stop it? Why is it happening? And what can we do?

These are questions asked frequently and there are people and organizations trying to make a difference.

Many churches have programs working with youth. Boys and Girls Club is filling a void and instilling values in our youth, while Billy Brown is having some positive results with his “Let’s Talk it Out” program.

A group of concerned citizens calling themselves “STOP”–for “Stop the Onging Problem”– is meeting monthly sponsoring events to enlighten and entertain youth while attempting to connect with others with similar goals.

Law enforcement officers from most departments in the county are trying to connect and sending representatives to functions involving youth, while sponsoring other events on their own.

But ultimately it will take action from citizens, parents and neighbors to set the course straight for what is wrong in Panola County. It will take churches trying harder to bring in the sheep while not forgetting the backsliders who have gone astray. It will take parents and grandparents keeping better tabs on their younger  family members as well as neighbors looking out for others, their family and property.

It will take the cooperation of all to inform law enforcement about the wrongs within their neighborhood and a trust that they will be protected against retaliation.

It will take each community, each neighborhood, each family working toward the common goal of personal safety of Panola’s citizens to make needed changes.