Magazine omission leaves EMA, SO ladies out of spotlight

Well, it was bound to happen.
Our current issue of Batesville and Beyond Magazine attempted to cover many areas and one not so small area was that of Panola County first responders.
In that section we had pictures of all the police departments and all the fire departments and all the sheriff’s deputies . . . and you guessed it, we missed a few.
One group we missed was Panola County Emergency Management Agency personnel. And they are the group that binds all other responders together.
If you’re not familiar, this is the group that is charged with emergency plans and recovery.
A leftover from the Civil Defense Days and the Cold War, they were the people to tell you in case of a nuclear blast to sit down, bend over and kiss your a__ goodbye.
That has evolved from Mr. and Mrs. Sam Dodd calling the newspaper and estimating the amount of damage caused by a tornado, to a multi-faceted department equipped and trained for almost any type of emergency possible, as well as prevention and recovery.
Whether the emergency involves a missing Alzheimer’s patient, drowning victim, train wreck, chemical leak or Luke Bryan concert, they coordinate the response. And that’s just part of what they do.
And we left them, Terry Bright, Cris Downs and Daniel Cole out.
Most of you have heard the old adage, “Do you want to talk with the man in charge or the woman who knows what’s going on?”
We did it again.
When we need to get hold of an elusive investigator for questioning or need direction for a source from county law enforcement, we don’t call Sheriff Dennis Darby or his chief deputy Chris Franklin—we call Robbie Haley.
And, yes, we left Robbie and Martha West out of our first responder picture listings. And they are much prettier than the sheriff and most of the deputies.
But these two ladies serve a vital role in our first responders’ job functions such that total chaos would probably occur county-wide if not for their competence and thoroughness.
For these omissions and others as it may be, we humbly offer our apologies.