Loosaschoona Was Once A Mighty River
On the last day of the duck hunting season in 1985, Jimmy (left) and Ken Bailey managed to get the limit. They were hunting with their father, Gerald Bailey, on the former Bluford McCullar place, now in the Enid Lake area.
15 Years Ago- Feb. 4, 2010 – A recommendation by Water Valley School District Superintendent Sammy Higdon to slash almost one million dollars from the district’s budget had met criticism. Higdon explained that cuts for the coming fiscal year would be necessary as the State Superintendent of Education told school districts across the state to brace for as much as a 15 percent cut in state funding. The proposed cuts included teachers, teaching assistants, junior high athletics and even reducing the work days for administrators, secretaries and vocational teachers.
The county’s unemployment rate increased again, going from 12.6 percent in November to 14.1 percent in December. The statistic meant that unemployment in the county was the highest it had been for December in five years. Yalobusha’s jobless rate was also higher than the five surrounding counties.
The first completed building project in Mississippi funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Investment Act was dedicated. Located in the Water Valley Housing Authority, The Lawrence Turner Community Building was completed sooner than planned due to the stimulus money, reported Barron Caulfield, Executive Director of the housing authority.
20 Years Ago – February 3, 2005 – All county offices were scheduled to be closed for two days, Feb. 9 and 10, as the county employees would be busy moving back into the newly-renovated courthouse in Water Valley. The Coffeeville courthouse renovation would follow, and the offices inside this courthouse would be temporarily relocated to 17398 Okahoma Street for much of 2005. The projected cost of the work at the two courthouses was just under five million dollars.
The Junior Auxiliary of Water Valley was preparing to host its 7th Annual Crown Gala scheduled March 12 inside the gym at Davidson Elementary School.
The speaker for the Yalobusha County Historical Society was Eugene Spearman, a Skuna Valley native. Spearman explained that Skuna Valley is an area east of Coffeeville through which once flowed a good-sized river, the Loosaschoona. It ran into the Yalobusha River north of Grenada. The river became known as “Skuna” and the area around it was called “Skuna Valley.” There were miles and miles of flat and very fertile land on either side of the river before Grenada Dam was constructed.
Spearman recalled many of his finest memories of Skuna Valley and the people who lived there including the Jacksons, Landreths, Vanns, Yorks, Murphrees, Jonses and Moormans.
30 Years Ago, February 2, 1995 – Holley Automotive announced that Wayne Phillips was chose “Employee of the Month” for January, 1995. He had been employed with Holley for a little over three years and was a Quality Operator in Department 278.
Beat Two Supervisor Amos Sims announced his candidacy for re-election to this position.
Outdoor columnist Stan True reported Bob-White hunters were telling the same story about bird hunting. They were seeing a few each time out and once-in-a-while getting to do a little shooting. True said the bird population wasn’t up to par, but the number of coveys had grown during the past few years.
The Enid volunteer firemen announced their annual chitterling and spaghetti cooking would be held on Feb. b. The chitterlings were available fried or boiled for $5 per plate or all you can eat for $10. Spaghetti plates costs $4.
Water Valley Police Chief Mike King was the speaker at the Water Valley Ambassadors meeting. King reported on recent developments with the National Crime Institute Computer that could provide needed information quickly. King also said the ever-increasing paperwork took time an officer needs for other work.
40 Years Ago, Feb. 7, 1985 – Water Valley policemen Charlie C. Jenkins and Calvin Sellers were pictured with a cache of marijuana they confiscated in the city. Charlie and Calvin apprehended a suspect thought to be from Tippah County when he made a wrong turn and ended up in a Big Yank parking lot. The suspect was being held in the county jail and the street value of the seized drugs was thought to exceed $15,000.
Physicians statewide reported large numbers of patients with flu-like symptoms and several school systems reported outbreaks with several hundred students absent on a given day in some localities.
50 Years Ago, Feb. 7, 1975 – Mayor Watson Hunt and the Board of Aldermen defended a decision to relocate the location of the market street in town. The old location, “Curb Market,” created problems as often times someone would hold up the line of traffic to purchase fruit or vegetables. The mayor also said the park area was often left in a state of uncleanliness with oranges, apples, boxes, sacks and even a bucket of sorghum molasses that by been knocked off a truck and backed over by a car.
Hunt said the board recognized that fresh vegetables and fruits that are brought in and peddle on the street are needed by the people, but it must be at a different location.
