A Stroll Through Carnival Weekend
WATER VALLEY – The 56th annual Watermelon Carnival will fill Water Valley with music, food, old friends and a lot of laughter. By the time the weekend is over, most of us will have eaten more than we planned, stayed longer than we intended and visited with at least six people we had not seen…
Read MoreOakland Hosts Back-To-School Celebration
OAKLAND – Families are invited to celebrate the start of a new school year at Oakland’s Back-to-School Kick-Off on from 10 a.m. until noon, Saturday, July 25, at the Riley Swearengen Walking Track at 61 Walnut Street in Oakland. Presented by the Oakland Area Chamber of Commerce, the event is free and open to everyone.…
Read MoreHill Construction Completes New Medical Examiner Facility
OXFORD – A new Mississippi Department of Public Safety facility is expected to strengthen death investigations across North Mississippi by bringing forensic pathology services closer to the region. Water Valley-based Hill Construction LLC recently completed the $6.6 million Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office in Oxford. The facility joins Mississippi’s regional medical examiner system, providing a…
Read MoreCharlie Mars, Spunk Monkees Headline Street Dance
Live music will begin Friday night and continue throughout Saturday as part of the 56th annual Watermelon Carnival. Friday’s Street Dance, sponsored by FNB-Water Valley, will begin on the Central Street stage following the opening ceremonies. Mississippi singer-songwriter Charlie Mars will perform from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. Mars has spent more than three decades building…
Read MoreObituaries 7/22/2026
Norma Louise Byford COFFEEVILLE – Norma Louise Byford, 84, of Coffeeville, died peacefully Saturday, July 18, 2026. Born Aug. 22, 1941, in Coffeeville, she was the daughter of Vardamen and Iris Jaco. She was a lifelong resident of the community and a longtime member of Calvary Baptist Church, where she maintained a perfect attendance record…
Read More2006 Bank Robbery Went Awry When Get-Away Car Wouldn’t Crank
20 Years—July, 27 2006 – Oakland was the scene of an armed bank robbery earlier in the week, when two men robbed Bancorps South. It only took 32 minutes for a pair of bank robbers to be rounded up a decade ago when the bank in Oakland was robbed. The glitch in the plan came…
Read MoreCool Things Aren’t Always Planned
I did it again. I invented my own spelling for Water Valley Assistant Fire Chief Layth Terry’s name. I know. I know. This is at least the second time this year, and who knows how many times I’ve mangled a name over the course of a 28-year newspaper career. The embarrassing part is I even…
Read MoreThe Friday Night Revival Is Growing
About a month or so ago, my trusty laptop computer decided to become untrusty and quit on me. Clocked out. Retired. Called it a lifetime. You don’t really realize how much typing you do until you’re writing newspaper columns, transcribing old letters, editing photos, and typing out the minutes of three-hour-long Main Street Association meetings…
Read MoreA Year Older Means A Year Wiser
I have decided on my strategy for the Watermelon Carnival this year. Stay inside. I am another year older, another year wiser and even more certain that a German Shepherd wearing a full fur coat has no business attending an outdoor summer event in Mississippi. This is not laziness. It is careful planning. That does…
Read MoreA Ministry Of Hope And Restoration
Hello to my brothers and sisters in Christ. I am truly grateful for the opportunity to communicate this message to you, as I believe the time is indeed ripe for coming together to do great works in the Lord. Golgotha Ministry was founded in 2020 after being considered in my wildest imagination for what was…
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