Parades, programs will honor local veterans

By Rita Howell
Mississippi Court of Appeals Judge Jim Greenlee of Oxford will be the speaker for the City of Batesville Veterans Day program Friday at 11 a.m. at the Batesville Downtown Memorial Park.
It’s one of at least five local events scheduled this week to honor military veterans.
North Delta School has planned a program in the school gym Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. to honor veterans. The public is invited.
South Panola High School will present a Veterans Day program Friday at 9 a.m. in the school gym, with music by the South Panola High School Band. The school’s AFJROTC unit will participate. Lt. Col. Michael Goolsby, director of the JROTC program, will speak. The South Panola High School Choir will also perform. All veterans and their families are invited.
Pope School will host its Veterans Day parade in the school gym Friday at 1:30 p.m. The public is invited.
In Sardis, the American Legion is coordinating Veterans Day activities Friday, beginning with a parade down Main Street at 10:30 a.m. A program honoring veterans will begin at 11 a.m. at Sardis City Hall. Afterward hotdogs and hamburgers will be served to attendees.
Batesville program
For the first time, Batesville’s board of mayor and aldermen voted this fall to host a Veterans Day program on the Batesville Square, where in the past the local VFW has held the event.
Keynote speaker Greenlee, a native of Batesville and a graduate of South Panola High School, was appointed to the Court of Appeals in January. He ran unopposed in Tuesday’s election for a full term.
A 1981 graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law, Greenlee served as a federal prosecutor for 22 years, and was U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi from 2001-2010. During his term as federal prosecutor several landmark judicial corruption cases were successfully tried.
Greenlee served active duty in the U.S. Navy from 1974-1978, and in the U.S. Navy Reserve until 1997. During his reserve service he was commanding officer of a Reserve Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) unit. He retired at the rank of captain.
The son of the late Tom and “Bill” (Margaret) Greenlee of Batesville, he is married to the former Ann Veazey. They have two married daughters, Veazey Hillmer and Taylor Kilgore. He is also the brother of Tommy Greenlee and Sally Reid both of Batesville.
Mayor Jerry Autrey said the color guard is being provided by South Panola AFJROTC unit. Music will be provided at the Batesville program by South Panola High School band under the direction of Ricky Shirey. Autry noted the two South Panola entities would be pulling double duty with Veteran services planned at their school prior to the city’s program.
Local Boy Scout Troop 478 will lead in a flag retirement ceremony that memorializes deceased vets.