House Burns On Simmons Street
Residents in Water Valley woke up Wednesday morning to the strong smell of smoke after a house on Simmons Street burned. Firefighters from Water Valley and Velma fire departments were dispatched around 4:45 a.m. and the house was fully involved when they arrive on scene. Fire Chief Mark McGavock estimated the blaze started around 45…
Read MoreSolero Unveils S.E.N.D. Lab
WATER VALLEY – Solero Industries dedicated a new lab to a former longtime employee during a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday afternoon. The lab, located in a second-floor room at the Water Valley plant on Hwy. 32, will be utilized to build prototype parts for prospective new customers. Solero Technologies CEO Dr. Donald James welcomed family…
Read MoreVaughn’s Melon Wins Seventh In Kentucky Contest
GUSTON, Ky. – A 211-pound watermelon grown by Hal Vaughn placed seventh in the Great Pumpkin Pursuit & Watermelon Weigh-Off at Roberts Family Farm in Guston, Ky. Alan Rogers and his wife, Martha, made the 400-plus mile trip to the annual contest to meet some of the top watermelon growers in the nation with hopes…
Read MoreSikma Odds N Ends Receives Spotlight Award
WATER VALLEY – The Water Valley Area Chamber of Commerce presented the Business Spotlight Award to Sikma Odds N Ends on Monday, Sept. 11. Launched in 2016, the spotlight award honors merchants, businesses and individuals who excel in their support of the community and are involved in local activities. Owners Bill Sikma and his wife,…
Read MoreObituaries 09/21/2023
Jean Sivley Gillett OAKLAND – Mrs. Jean Sivley Gillett, 91, of Oakland passed away Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 at Baptist Memorial Hospital – North Mississippi in Oxford. She was born Jan. 10, 1932 to Abb Miles and Annie Lovelace Sivley. Jean was a devoted homemaker and a member of Spring Hill Baptist Church near Oakland.…
Read MoreCowboys’ Karma Rules The Day
Shedlia Freeman said his phone “walked across the table” after his picture in last week’s paper had a slight alteration. That phone was buzzing from messages sent from friends across the country and back in Water Valley. Freeman is one of the most avid and vocal fans of the Dallas Cowboys in Water Valley. He…
Read MoreOld Petey Loved To Attend Church And Visit A Circus
My dad was a great storyteller, and most of his stories were about his childhood during the Great Depression. Largely because my grandfather was one of the few men who kept a job during the Depression, my dad’s childhood was colorful, and he could afford things that most kids could not. At that time, my…
Read MoreHill Country Living
It’s a Wagner Week and the main matriarch Maria Wagner always has the scoop for both human and chicken. Water Valley March 13, 1887 My Dearest John, I feel so badly I will not go to church. I am so hoarse I can hardly talk with a great effort and my throat & chest are…
Read MoreMayor Strictly Enforced Vagrancy Laws During WWII
Water Valley Mayor F. B. DeShon announced in the Sept 23, 1943 Herald that by order of Governor Paul B. Johnson, Sr., the Vagrancy Law was to be strictly obeyed in Water Valley. In his order, Governor Johnson said, “As governor of the State of Mississippi, I have instructed all law enforcement agencies to enforce…
Read MoreChamber’s Support For City Spans Six Decades
What happens at the first Chamber of Commerce board meeting after the Watermelon Carnival? Planning begins for next year’s carnival, of course. Before moving on to where the Chamber is headed for the coming year, let’s take a look at how it began and how it works. The Water Valley Area Chamber of Commerce was…
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