Look Back In Yalobusha History
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Chancellor Kermit R. Cofer administered the oath of office to Hon. Bobby Williams, the new Police Justice for the City of Water Valley. Williams was the first attorney to be appointed to the position. The duties of this officer had formerly been part of the mayor’s job.
10 Years Ago, January 8, 2015 – January marked the start of an election year for county positions and three long-time supervisors announced they would not seek re-election. District 5 Supervisor Frank “Bubba” Tillman, District 1 Supervisor Tommy Vaughn and District 2 Supervisor Amos Sims were retiring. Sims had served since 1992, Tillman since 1999 and Vaughn since 2003.
Coulter Fussell wrote that January marked the one-year anniversary for her column, Hill Country Living. She originally started writing a column in the Herald as a fill-in for Mickey Howley’s “Street Talk” column while Howley went skiing in Germany for a month. Coulter revisited some of the top topics during her first year as a columnist, a list that included building a public swimming poll in the city and turtles. The turtle stories started after she wrote an impassioned paragraph about seeing a kid purposefully running over a turtle.
“I have yet to live three days in a row without someone telling me a turtle story,” she wrote.
The City’s newly revised beer ordinance was back on the agenda, prompting a lengthy story in the Herald about the January, 2015, Board of Alderman meeting. The revised ordinance was adopted the previous month, and was 4,901 words according to former Herald reporter Jack Gurner’s count.
Almost 50 people attended the January meeting and the conversation included questioning changes enacted by the ordinance. The changes included an increase in the annual privilege tax fee from $25 to $250 for businesses that sold beer on-premise, a requirement to have equal bathrooms for male and female, and sign restrictions outside a business or inside that could be seen from the street.
20 Years Ago, January 6, 2005 – Betty Shearer wrote in her weekly column that the Water Valley National Guard unit and other units in the area were preparing for deployment to Iraq and other troubled spots in the world Barry Caulfield was among those who would be serving overseas.
Speaking in the first Board of Supervisor meeting in January, Circuit Clerk Daryl Burney made a special announcement. Burney told supervisors that he and his wife, Missy, were expecting a child.
“I woke up in a cold sweat the other night thinking about the price of Pampers,” Burney added.
The Men’s Group at First United Methodist Church were looking for a Boy Scout Scoutmaster to start a new scout troop in Water Valley.
30 Years Ago, January 5, 1995 – Adam Peacock was pictured with a nice nine-point buck he killed while still-hunting east of Water Valley. Jerry Rotenberry was also pictured in the Herald with an eight-point buck that tipped the scales at just over 200 pounds. Jerry shot the large deer in front of his dogs while hunting west of Water Valley.
The congregation at Oakland Baptist Church invited everyone to attend a retirement potluck dinner honoring pastor William T. Irwin on his retirement from the ministry after 48 years of service.
40 Years Ago, January 10, 1985 – Turkey hunting was gaining popularity in Mississippi and the Yalobusha County Soil and Water Conservation District was sponsoring a wild turkey seminar and tasting buffet at the American Legion Building in Coffeeville. The purpose of the meeting was to increase hunters’ and landowners’ public awareness about Mississippi’s largest game bird. The turkey population had made a dramatic comeback in recent years in some areas of the state.
An unexpected heavy snowfall on January 3 reduced visibility in Water Valley to near zero. An estimated eight inches of powdery sown fell, but high ground temperature forestalled some accumulation. An average of four inches was on the ground the following day, causing hazardous driving conditions.
Harry Fair and employees at Valley Auto Parts held a ceremony recognizing the retirement of Charles Simpson, who had 20 years service with the company.
50 Years Ago, January 9, 1975 – The Federal Highway Administration approved the location of construction on Highway 7 in Yalobusha County. The project called for the construction of two, 12-feet traffic lanes from Coffeeville to a point south of Water Valley, a distance of 10 miles. From that point, the proposal was to construct four, 12 feet divided traffic lanes on new location to a point north of Water Valley, a distance of 5.3 miles
Dottie Chapman, an admissions counselor with the University of Mississippi, would be at the Water valley High School to answer students’ questions about Ole Miss.
Herald outdoor columnist Stan True reported that bob-white quail were plentiful but hard to kill. True said hunters going out were killing a few, but for the most part they were doing a lot of walking and giving the dogs exercise. True predicted that as their feed gets less plentiful, bird hunting should improve.
Arnold W. Carothers was elected president of the Mississippi Associated Builders and Contractors for 1975.
60 Years Ago, January 14, 1965 – Both banks in Water Valley, the Mechanics Savings Bank and Bank of Water Valley would be closed on January 19 in observance of General Lee’s birthday.
Game Warden Gerald Harmon reported 52 deer were killed in Yalobusha during the first season in November. Thirty-six deer were killed in the second season ending January 3, with a total kill of 89.
Three Yalobusha County students at Northwest Mississippi Junior College graduated at mid-semester. Jerry Denley of Coffeeville received a diploma for an Associate in Business, Joy Person of Water Valley graduated with a major in physical education and Erma Faye Allen received her certificate in nine-month secretarial training.
Wayland Hill, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.D. Hill, killed his first buck, a nice six-pointer. He killed the buck near Hilltop during the last deer season of the year.
Three hundred and fifty-three school books were returned to the Grammar School Library after being “overhauled” by the Junior Auxiliary. The work included repairing frayed covers, torn pages, broken seams and inserting and preparing new file cards and jackets, and club members declared the work a worthwhile investment for the students.
