On Thursday, July 31, Water Valley Town and Country Garden Club will sponsor the 21st Watermelon Carnival Music Festival at the Water Valley Civic Auditorium under the direction of Zandra Walker and Jonnie Mayo.   The featured artists for the show will be the Eisenhauer Band. The group is composed of Rhonda Eisenhauer, her 13-year…

By Jack Gurner Reporter WATER VALLEY – The city’s Main Street corridor will become a high-speed Internet “hot zone” with financial help from the Appalachian Regional Commission. A $9,000 ARC grant will provide for the installation of local area wireless technology hardware – commonly referred to as Wi-Fi – that allows electronic devices to exchange…

By David Howell Editor COFFEEVILLE – Supervisors amended the sheriff’s budget to fund a raise mandated during the 2014 Legislative Session during the “first Monday” supervisor meeting.     The increase pushes Sheriff Lance Humphreys’ annual salary from $61,400 to  $75,000 effective July 1.     The old pay scale for Yalobusha County started at $56,400, with…

By David Howell Editor COFFEEVILLE – After traveling almost 6,800 miles across Yalobusha County during the last year assessing property, Tax Assessor/Collector Linda Shuffield presented the 2014 tax rolls to supervisors at the “first Monday” meeting in Coffeeville.     An annual duty, Shuffield reported the county’s total taxable value for the coming fiscal year climbed…

By Jack Gurner Reporter WATER VALLEY – The school district could recover over $4 million in past due MAEP funds if trustees choose to join a lawsuit against the Mississippi Legislature. Casey Lott, attorney for the Booneville School District, appeared before the school board Monday night to explain the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) funding…

By Jack Gurner Reporter WATER VALLEY — Gov. Phil Bryant and officials from global powertrain supplier BorgWarner announced Monday that the company is expanding operations at the north Mississippi plant. The $43 million project is the company’s fourth expansion in Water Valley in just the past five years and will create 158 new jobs. During…

By Jack Gurner Reporter WATER VALLEY – Yalobusha County’s May unemployment rate is up 1.5 points over the April rate with 60 more people out of work. The latest figures from the Mississippi Department of Employment Security show that Yalobusha County’s May unemployment rate of 9.5 percent is well above the state average of 8…

By Jack Gurner Reporter WATER VALLEY – A new electrical substation to be built in the industrial park is another step closer to reality after a required public hearing Monday night. Although there were some heavy hitters from Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association and the Northern District Public Service Commissioner on hand, only two members…

By Jack Gurner Reporter WATER VALLEY – The school district will continue with implementation of the Common Core State Standards in spite of the growing controversy at the state and national level. Superintendent Kim Chrestman told school board members at their meeting June 23 that state school officials are unsure what Governor Phil Bryant and…

By David Howell Editor WATER VALLEY – The embroiled battle in the Republican Party following Senator Thad Cochran’s narrow victory over tea party challenger Chris McDaniel in last Tuesday’s runoff  reached Yalobusha County in the days following the election.     On Monday morning Circuit Clerk Daryl Burney said his office received four public records requests…