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06 Pontotoc abounds with antique stores, vintage vendors 15 We know how to shop 22 Richey’s Gun Shop offers visitors a unique experience 32 Our schools are the mettle of our community 44 Harry Patterson shepherds his flock and cares for his land 54 Getting outside is our passion 67 Robbie Boyd’s love for painting colors life’s palette 77 We also enjoy other hobbies 89 Guard deployment for a year means they will appreciate comforts of home 100 We honor our heroes 110 We are like a family Get Connected: City of Pontotoc & Pontotoc County...........................122-123 Places of Worship.........................................................................................124-125 Official Contacts..................................................................................................126 Clubs & Organizations........................................................................................127 Calendar...............................................................................................................128 Chamber Business Directory.............................................................................129
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On the cover: Nine-year-old Thomas Jefcoat was all decked out in red, white and blue as he awaited the start of the Fourth of July parade through downtown Pontotoc. This is just one of the ways the people of Pontotoc come together to enjoy community, and to celebrate life in small-town America.
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Affordable Employee Benefits, LLC......inside back cover Algoma Country Store.................108 Americas Best Value Inn................63 Artistic Taxidermy..........................29 Ashley Furniture...............................3 Bank of Pontotoc.............................30 Beneficial Exchange........................65 Boyles Tire & Auto Care.................88 Browning Funeral Home................13 Carnes Frames.................................13 Circle of Friends..............................30 City Mercantile................................63 City of Pontotoc...............................21 Downtown Pontotoc.......................74 First Choice Bank.............back cover Flavia West Huddleston, M.D........42 Friendship Travel Center................52 Friendship Medical Clinic...................inside back cover Friendship Pharmacy............inside back cover Happy Day Café..............................20 Henry Payne , Alfa Insurance.........31 Hwy 15 Grill.....................................14 Image Screen Printing....................98 Kennedy Financial Services...........51 Jeremy Campbell.............................88 Johnson’s Wrecker Service.............75 Mapp Farm & Hydraulics...............64 M&M Truck & Trailer Service.......31 Market Basket..................................42 McCoy’s............................................20 Melinda Nowicki.............................87 Mississippi Care..............................53 Montgomery Drug..........................21 Moore’s.............................................99 Mossy Oak Properties....................65 North Mississippi Medical Center, Pontotoc.............inside front cover One Smile Dental Group.................66 PEPA ................................................42 Pickens Pest Control, Inc...............13 Piggly Wiggly...................................88
Point Broadband.............................86 Pontotoc Animal Clinic..................76 Pontotoc Antiques...........................14 Pontotoc Carpet Sales.....................31 Pontotoc County Board of Supervisors...................40 Pontotoc Progress.........................109 Pure Bliss..........................................98 Ricky Ferguson................................75 RidgeCrest Insurance.....................86 Roger’s Furniture.............................14 Rustic Woods Garden & Gifts........86 Seafood Junction.............................63 Service Supply-NAPA...........20 & 52 Sidra P. Winter, Attorney................65 Shannon & Graham Eye Clinic.....98 Sherman Drugs...............................76 Southern Physical & Aquatic Therapy..........................................86 South Main Dental..........................64 Spuds...............................................109 Sunshine Health Care.....................19 Sydnei’s Grill....................................41 The Learning Tree Children’s Academy....................66 The Rack Boutique.........................20 The Red Door..................................51 Town of Algoma..............................99 Town of Ecru...................................87 Town of Sherman..........................108 Town of Thaxton.............................52 True Value........................................43 Twin Creeks Event Venue...............41 Van McWhirter..............................108 WADE..............................................12 Walmart............................................14 Washington Furniture..................130 Washington Holcomb Outdoor Powersports................................50 Way-fil Jewelry.................................76 West Heights Baptist Church.........98 Wood Eye Clinic..............................43 Young’s Tire Store............................85
Published by The Pontotoc Progress in partnership with the Pontotoc County Chamber of Commerce.
PONTOTOC PROGRESS STAFF GENERAL MANAGER Lisa Bryant MANAGING EDITOR David Helms STAFF REPORTER Regina Butler SPORTS EDITOR Jonathan Wise ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL DESIGN Chelsea Williams ADVERTISING CONSULTANT Angie Quarles OFFICE MANAGER Joyce Jolly
Pontotoc
Progress 13 Jefferson Street P.O. Box 210 Pontotoc, MS 38863 Phone: (662) 489-3511 Fax: (662) 489-1369 www.pontotoc-progress.com Welcome Home to Pontotoc
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Pontotoc abounds with
ANTIQUE STORES, VINTAGE VENDORS
Antiques Downtown owners Jean Ferguson, Janet Rose Harmon and Miriam Clark.
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Story by Galen
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Holley, Photos by David Helms
n a throw-away world, in which people have grown accustomed to buying characterless, cardboard home furnishings, in big-box stores, with poor customer service, Pontotoc offers a shopping experience harkening to yesteryear. “We like to think Pontotoc’s antiques community, the owners and stores, work together to provide customers something they can’t find in most towns,” said Miriam Clark, who, along with Jean Ferguson, and Janet Rose Harmon, owns Antiques Downtown. On an early spring afternoon, the inviting sidewalk outside the store, an old, converted John Deere dealership, and, it’s next-door-neighbor, Antiques on Main, owned by Clark’s brother, Sonny Burt, was lined with unusual items, like ceramic Colonel Rebs, for Ole Miss fans, beautifully welded and brightly painted metal roosters, and antique rocking chairs, beckoning tired pedestrians to take a load off. Inside Antiques Downtown, which opened in 2008, customers perused vintage, handblown Fenton glassware—a dainty, blue Cinderella slip-
per, a ruby-red berry bowl, and a cranberry-colored Easter basket with an opaque, clear handle, along with exquisitely, hand-carved glasses from Avon’s Cape Cod collection. It truly was Tennessee Williams’s Glass Menagerie. At Antiques on Main, which moved in next door in 2013, Clark slid her hand over the smooth, time-worn finish of a gorgeous plantation desk, with pull-out drawers, rising above eye-level, like mail slots, where a cotton factor must have kept his lists and receipts. A shelf was stocked with liniments and vanilla extract from the J.R. Watkins Company, launched in 1868, in Plainview, Minn., a favorite of Southern cooks for decades. An old icebox, in an oaken shell, from the days before electric refrigeration, a Wells Fargo iron safe, from 1861, and whiskey jugs made by W.D. Suggs and family, in Smithville, were among the other treasures in the store. A block away, at 18 W. Marion St., Antiques Off the Square owner Josh Bramlett, who joined the local antiques scene in 2011, stood beside an embalmed snapping turtle the size of a Welcome Home to Pontotoc
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Antique Station owner Randy Vernon.
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transmission housing, fitted with a leather saddle, and a taxidermy rooster mounted-up like John Wayne. “We have quite a few curiosities,” said Bramlett, as he patted the shoulder of a life-sized, plastic Elvis—the young, 1950s Elvis, with a well-oiled shock of black hair, dressed in a cream-colored jacket, and black slacks, clutching a blue guitar. Elvis seemed frozen in mid-performance, before a Japanese samurai, in full armor, and a huge Pillsbury Dough Boy. A wooden chicken coop, with hand-cut notches, and expert beveling, made by the Texas-based Bright brothers, circa 1951, sat near the front door. An old-fashioned, motorized butter and cream churn, complete with a steel mixing bowl, anchored the back of the shop. “We appreciate people with unusual tastes, and we love having out-of-town visitors,” said Bramlett, as he chatted with the town’s favorite shoe-salesman Cecil Fauver, who had snuck across the street for a sit-down. On the southwest side of town, in a converted, 1950s gas station, Randy Vernon scratched the ears of his blue heeler puppy, Rusty, as he walked among the large collection of yard art. Long-horn cattle skulls, metal chickens sporting bright green, yellow, red, and orange plumage,
even kaleidoscopic houses and flowers, that seemed to melt and wobble downward, like a Salvador Dali painting, were staged across the yard at Antiques Station, at 347 W. Oxford St., along with a vast assortment of antique doors and wooden-framed windows. Inside Vernon’s shop, which opened in 2014, dainty things, like ornate architectural corbels, and floral-print, cream-colored gravy bowls, sat alongside more rugged pieces, like a Civil War-era chifforobe, and window fixtures, from Mexico and Texas, that looked as if someone had looked out through them at the Battle of the Alamo. “I think one of my keys is not to cleanup too much,” said Vernon, laughing. “I’d say I have a junk shop that happens to sell antiques,” he added, with a charmingly self-deprecating smile. Antiques and the oddments and curiosities that populate his shop provide a psychological link to the past, Vernon said, something akin to nostalgia. As he spoke, Vernon took a seat in his office, with a bullwhip and, and an old-fashioned, double-sided, leather shaving strop, hanging on the wall behind him. “I think people in Pontotoc have a good sense of history, and a close, respectful connection to the past,” said Vernon. “That’s one reason our antiques vendors do well here.” Welcome Home to Pontotoc
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Antiques off the Square owner Josh Bramlett (left) and customer Cecil Fauver.
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We Know
How To Shop
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Peeking out of the nooks and crannies of the unique shapes in Pontotoc are just the right gifts you may want. We always start the shopping year by saying thank you to our customers with a two hour customer appreciation event during spring break in March. It is such a unique event that people turn out in droves rain or shine to enjoy the day. After that the shop owners host both spring open house and Christmas open house to get you ready for the spring season and give you just the right holiday look at Christmas. But between all those times, you can’t beat the personal touch your will get from store owners who are telling you hello as you come in their doors.
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Richey Crew is an accomplished gunsmith and blacksmith.
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Pictured are Richey and Sherry Crew and employees Dale Butler and Kassidy Houpt.
R ICHEY’S GUN SHOP OFFERS VISITORS A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE Story by Jonathan
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s one winds down Macedonia Road in Algoma eventually he or she will drive past a business sign erected to the side of that stretch of country blacktop. The simple sign lies beside a wooded drive that ends up at the rustic wood building that houses Richey’s Gun Shop. The business is owned by Richey Crew, who has been a professional gunsmith since the early 1980s. However, Richey’s Gun Shop is a much more varied operation than your typical firearm repair business. When customers walk in, they will be greeted with numerous shelves of hunting and shooting gear and accessories, as well as an entire wall of rifles and shotguns for sale. Underneath those
Wise, Photos by Jonathan Wise & Adam Robison
firearms are shelves containing a stock of ammunition for various calibers, and in front of those are clear display cabinets containing a variety of handguns, optics, and hand forged items from Crew’s own blacksmith shop. “Richey’s” has come a long
way since Crew began his career working on guns. He grew up hunting and fishing. Like many, he simply had a mechanical aptitude and enjoyed working with his hands. So he would work on his own guns. Crew opened his first gun shop in Oxford in March of 1981.
Shortly thereafter Crew moved it to Pontotoc, where he set up at the intersection of highways 6 and 9 across from the old Market Basket location. Crew later worked out of a building on his own property, and starting in 1992 he rented space in Hunter’s Haven in Tupelo. In 2002 he began operating out of a shop on his current property, where he and his wife Sherry had built a home. In 2008 the building that is now Richey’s Gun Shop was opened. Richey’s has built a great reputation for honesty and tremendous customer service. A number of people have been coming to Crew’s shop for their firearm needs at all of his locations, and he has customers that drive from long distances away to do business with him. His Welcome Home to Pontotoc
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A custom muzzle brake is in the process of being made on a mill.
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customer base has been built up almost totally through old-fashioned word of mouth advertising. “I’ve had some customers that have been with me since I started,” Crew said. “It’s my customers that have really and truly built my business. I will get on facebook and see someone has asked who does a good turkey choke, who does refinishing, or something like that, and half a dozen people will pipe in recommending us. It’s humbling.” Besides Crew, the gun shop currently has two employees. Gunsmith Dale Butler came on board in 2008 just after the current location was constructed. Crew’s stepson, Kassidy Houpt, started a little over a year ago. Crew’s wife, Sherry, helps out in the shop waiting on customers as well. “Dale came in here the day we opened,” Crew said. “He had been a customer since he was little, and I thought a lot of his family. He was not working at the moment. I told him that if you want the work I’ve got a lot to do right now with us moving in down here. I don’t know
how long it will last, but we will work as long as we have something to do. “Well that was 10 years ago. We haven’t run out of things to do and Dale’s still here,” Crew said with a chuckle. “Dale is a super great guy, he’s like family to me. He is very smart, very intelligent. You show him one time and he’s got it. Kassidy is very mechanically inclined as well.” Crew has seen a lot of changes in the gun business throughout the years. Traditional walnut and blued long guns have faded into the background while synthetic stocks and high-tech metal finishes have taken their place. Furthermore, the makeup of the clientele and their usage of firearms has changed as well. “These days we probably have more shooters than we do hunters,” he said. “Used to you had about 95 percent hunters and five percent who were simply shooters.” Richey’s offers a wide variety of gunsmithing services. They do general repair work on new and old firearms. They drill and tap for scope mounts, mount and zero scopes, install
muzzle brakes to reduce recoil, perform trigger work, true rifle actions, rebarrel rifles, and cut down barrels, to name a few. If someone needs assistance installing an aftermarket accessory or part, Richey’s is here to help. As is the case with most gunsmiths, there is no all-inclusive list. They also will work with customers to build full custom rifles for hunting or target shooting using premium components. They also periodically offer onsite concealed carry classes taught by an NRA-certified instructor. One thing Crew has built a wide reputation for is his custom turkey chokes. Turkey hunting is unique in that a shotgun is fired like a rifle, and, with a small kill zone, a premium is placed on tight patterns that hold together downrange. A customer brings his or her gun to the shop, and a choke is custom made for that specific gun. The staff test fires the gun and choke combination using the customer’s preferred load to elevate pattern density on a 20inch test target at 40 yards before it’s ready to be picked up.
In addition to turkey chokes, Richey’s can also custom make a choke matched to a gun for waterfowl hunting or for shooting buckshot. For people who would like their gun’s metalwork refinished, the shop uses Cerakote, a very tough, durable ceramic-based finish. They also specialize in “camo dipping” guns, which is a process by which patterns are emblazoned on guns via a water transfer process. The firearm is literally dipped in a tank of water, the pressure of which causes the ink of a polyvinyl alcoholic film containing a negative of the pattern to wrap around the gun. The process provides an attractive appearance to the gun, and it also provides protection to the steel. Many different camo patterns are available. “I like learning new stuff,” Crew said. “That’s one reason why gunsmithing has always kept me interested, because there is always something to learn.” Richey’s keeps a significant inventory of firearms, with guns sold regularly and others coming in via orders or through
Richey Crew and Kassidy Houpt count the number of pellets that struck inside a 20-inch test target after test firing a shotgun equipped with one of the shop’s custom turkey chokes.
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Crew forges a number of unique things, such as this recent spear head intended for hunting feral hogs.
Dale Butler reassembles a 1911 pistol he has been working on.
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Using an anvil for support, Crew hammers the end of a custom oyster shuck into its shape.
customer trade-ins. What’s in stock will include a wide variety, such as compact and duty-sized semi-automatic pistols, revolvers, bolt action hunting rifles, rimfire rifles, lever action rifles, turkey and waterfowl hunting shotguns, and AR-15s and other modern sporting rifles, as well as some rare models and calibers from time to time. If a customer wants a gun they don’t have at the moment, they can usually order popular current models from major manufacturers. Crew is also a blacksmith, which provides another unique aspect. He started working in the blacksmithing trade around 2003. Crew makes knife designs out of different types of carbon steel that he forges in his shop. He makes knives in the way cutlery was made for thousands of years, with heat and hammer. After heating the steel molten hot, he pounds the knife into its rough shape. That is the only the first step in the process. He still
has lots of work to do, including heat treating the knife so it will hold an edge, grinding to desired dimensions, final sharpening of the edge, and crafting the handle scales. Crew makes handles out of a wide variety of materials, including various traditional hardwoods, stabilized wood, carbon fiber, antler, buffalo horn, cattle bone, and giraffe bone. He has also made knives with more exotic handles such as mammoth tooth, mammoth tusk, and even armadillo hide. “I love knives. A good knife is a thing of beauty, something to be taken care of,” Crew said. “I can make five knives that are supposed to be the same, and no two of them will be exactly alike, because they are made by hand. Every one is unique.” One of Crew’s most popular sellers are knives he forges out of old railroad spikes. He also makes tomahawks. In addition to knives, Crew forges various items for display in the home, as well as fireplace tools and
Richey Crew makes one of his signature custom turkey chokes on a lathe.
Pictured is a rack of completed guns ready for customer pick up that Richey’s performed either repair work or customization on.
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kitchen utensils. “I like to see something accomplished,” Crew said. “I like making something that is pretty and functional. It is hard work, but it is enjoyable work. You take something that is really nothing and make something out of it, kind of like the Lord does with us. Steel has a lot of characteristics, and it is up to the
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smith to extract those out of it. Used to, if you needed something made, or even if you needed a simple utensil, you had to go to the blacksmith shop. You couldn’t just go to Wal-Mart or the hardware store. Blacksmithing is really coming back. There is a lot of interest, and I see a lot of people really wanting to learn it.”
If someone is interested in buying a firearm, needs one repaired or customized, or is interested in hand forged knives or other items, Richey’s Gun Shop is located at 1947 Macedonia Road in Algoma. They are open to the public from 9:00 a.m-5:00 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. on Saturdays.
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Our Schools Are The
Mettle Of Our Community
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Just as iron is forged into steel, our children are forged into leaders of tomorrow through the education they get inside and outside of the classroom. Pontotoc is blessed with three campuses of learning in the northern part of the county, the southern part of the county and right in the heart of the city. Our schools not only provide centers of learning, but also provide students with a love of music, art and sports. Come along and see the world through their eyes.
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Harry Patterson
shepherds his flock and cares for his land
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Butler
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
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he early spring sky held a promise of sunshine. On a wind swept hill a herd of bleating sheep excitedly greeted their shepherd. Two docile Anatolian Shepherd dogs wagged their tails as Harry Patterson unfastened the gate and stepped into the pasture where the sheep were milling about. Little lambs were frolicking amongst the brown grass while their mothers nibbled at the short green grass that is just now peeking up from the ground. Patterson leaned on his long stick and grinned at his little herd of 60 or so sheep. “This is the best way to get back to nature and listen to the Lord,” he said. While he might be a day or two older than your average shepherd, he is young at the business of raising sheep. “I bought the farm in June of 2012 and got my first lambs in March of 2013.” The wind bent the sage grass as he explained how he became a shepherd. “My good friend Rodney Akers got me into this. He has a rather large sheep farm, and got me started with some of his sheep. “These sheep are called Katahdin [pronounced k ah T AH d ih n],” Patterson said as he leaned on his long staff. “They are named after the tallest mountain in the state of Maine. The fella that developed them worked through the 60s and 70s to perfect this breed. They are not wooly so they don’t require any shearing and they are disease resistant. ” These sheep are raised to be food, “the rams go to markets all over the state of Mississippi and into Louisiana.” “My greatest challenge in raising sheep is the parasites I have to keep a constant watch for
those and keep the sheep wormed.” He chuckled thoughtfully. “That’s a job, worming 50 to 60 ewes, getting each mouth open so you can put the medicine down it. We start early in the morning because sometimes you have to do it in hot weather. The lambs require worming every six weeks.” Predators are also a great danger to the sheep. “Before I got my two new dogs, my Great Pyrenees dog got out of the fence, so I had to spend two nights out here in the pasture with my sheep to keep the coyotes away. By the light of the full moon, I found out something else about my sheep that I didn’t know, they will feed at night. I thought they slept all night, but they will graze.” He chirruped at the dogs, “I don’t name my dogs,” he said. “Because I want them to be attached to the sheep and not to me. They sleep with them, eat with them, spend 24/7 with them. The dogs have learned that it is easy that if they bring the herd to the barn at night; if the flock is scattered they are easier prey, so they have found that they can watch them better if the sheep are in and around the barn.” He smiled when he was compared to King David the shepherd boy, “You can get out here and get close to the Lord,” he conceded with a wide grin. The breeze stirred his gray beard. A far away look crossed his face. “I’m learning how to be patient and don’t get ahead of God or myself. A lot of shepherding is all about timing and God has His own time in our lives as well.” It is also a little hard on the tender hearted shepherd to loose some of his flock. “No matter how well you look after them, some die. That’s just part of it that you have to accept.”
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He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Patterson said he divides up his pastures and has different kinds of animals on each. “The cows and the sheep compliment each other in what they eat,” he said. “The cows eat one type of grass, so I run them through the field first, then the sheep come along behind them and they eat another.” Patterson spent his career working for the U.S. Government in the Natural Resources Conservation Service, so he had a lot of training on how to care for land and the resources in it. He is putting all that to use in keeping his sheep. High on a hill there is a concrete container that has a roof over it so it will stay shady. “This is the water well for the sheep,” Patterson explained. “It works like a commode tank, when they drink it down a float maintains the water level inside
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You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
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Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me; All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. so it stays even. The sheep will drink from the lake down there, but if it is too hot or too muddy, this gives them a fresh water supply.” He has had good success with his little farm and he said he won’t get any larger. “I have just the right amount of sheep for the land that I have right now,” he said. His greatest joy is seeing his five grandchildren enjoy spending time with the lambs. He smiled at the thought of the generation twice removed from him and lovingly called them by name, “Autumn, Olivia, Emily, Rosie and Ellis. Just recently I had a ewe that had triplets and one of them wasn’t getting enough nourishment so I carried it to my house and my grandchildren took turns feeding it.” Another lesson he is learning through his sheep is how the sheep respond to him. When he whistled, all the older sheep that have been there awhile perk their ears up and look in
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his direction. When a stranger, such as this reporter, enters the pasture they go to the other side of the pasture, and when their shepherd walked over there and started walking west, they followed him, because they knew him. “I have a couple of ewes the are skittish,” he said. “One don’t like me at all, but I still like her, and I’m going to keep her because she has two lambs every time.” He also has learned that you have to earn the trust of the lambs, “You don’t judge them by how they react, because in a couple months she may be following me around everywhere.” He stood at the top of the hill and looked back over the little valley where the bits of smooth white fur dotted the hillside. “This place has a calming effect, you can sure leave all the stresses of the day behind when you get here.” Words in blue italics are Psalm 23, New King James Version.
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Getting Outside Is
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Activities such a hunting Easter eggs in the spring; to dressing in our favorite character in the fall keep us moving and relieving stress on a daily basis. Pontotoc is prolific with ways to get people up and moving throughout the county. From the Tanglefoot Trail to camping and fishing at the area lakes and parks, to golfing, we invite you to come be a part of the special events that make us unique.
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Robbie Boyd’s love for painting
Colors Life’s Palette A
ccomplished artist Robbie Boyd of Pontotoc has been painting for almost 48 years now. Boyd has painted commissioned portraits of retired Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Kay Cobb and former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice James L. Roberts, Jr., of Pontotoc. This past year Boyd was commissioned to paint a portrait of the late Mississippi Governor Bill Allain. She has sold many of the several thousand paintings she has done over these soon past five decades.
Story & Photos by David
And to think, she owes all of her success to a trip to the dentist’s office. Say what? “I had always longed to paint,” Boyd recalled. “For years I had drawn and sketched like a lot of folks do.” “But around 1970, when I was home with my baby son, I went to a dentist’s appointment in Tupelo at Dr. Joe Kellum’s office and I saw paintings on the wall.” “I asked who had painted the pictures and was told it was Dr. Kellum’s wife, Marce Kellum. I later talked to her at his office and she said ‘you need to paint. You need to be-
Helms
come an artist’.” “So I bought a beginner’s oil painting set,” she remembered. “There were no art supply stores around here, so I went to Sherwin Williams paint store in Tupelo to buy art supplies.” “I fell in love with oil painting. I also paint in pastels an acrylics, but I really love oil painting, which is predominantly what I paint.” Boyd took an art lesson at the park and recreation department in Tupelo. She attended painting work shops whenever possible. Welcome Home to Pontotoc
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“I got art degree from Northeast Community College in 2012, but had been painting since 1970. There would be gaps in those years when I didn’t paint, but I’m not happy if I’m not painting. I am driven to paint. I need to paint.” Boyd said it’s not unusual for her to be working on five paintings. “There are constantly lots of unfinished paintings in my studio. I’ll get an idea and I’ll do it on canvas and then I’ll get a commissioned painting portrait and do that, then teach a class, set it aside, then pick up a painting I haven’t touched in two or three years.” “But I finish a lot of paintings in between those unfinished ones. I’m a fast painter. I’m not a slow painter. I’m a prolific painter.” Boyd said she paints one or two commissioned portraits around Christmas each year. “Sometimes they are one person, sometimes three or four.
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A multi-person portrait is a lot more complicated to do. It’s literally four portraits that just happen to be on one canvas.” “Landscapes or still life paintings aren’t usually commissioned paintings.I usually sell those through galleries, such as the Little Green Store in Huntsville, Alabama. “They really like cotton fields in Huntsville. It’s funny how different areas like certain subject matter paintings. In Mississippi, my paintings of barns, cows and landscapes sell very well. The problem is all the old barns are falling down, I’m going to run out of subject matter before long.” “In a year’s time I usually do five to six commissioned paintings. In a year, I will usually paint 50 to 100 paintings, that’s about one or two a week. But I have a life where I do other things. I have grandchildren, so I don’t get to paint consistently as much as I would like, but it’s enough to keep me happy.” But it’s fair to say that Boyd’s life is pretty much art oriented. She’s a member of the Pontotoc Art Guild, the Mississippi Painters’ Society, American Women Artists (AWA) and Women Painters of the South. “We get together and have what we call a ‘paint out’. In a group we sometimes don’t
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get much paining done, but we talk a lot about art. Painting is a shared love because we can’t talk art with just everybody.” Boyd and her husband Bob were in the retail/wholesale flower business for years. “We sold the shop about seven years ago. I worked full-time for about 35 years, but still painted when I could.” “But I always had to paint, at least a little bit. My husband Bob had four children and I had two, so it was a house full of children.” “We were busy folks, but I had to paint,” Boyd said with a wry smile. Boyd said her inspiration to paint something can come at any time, from any direction. “I’ll be driving down the road and see a cloud formation and just almost have to stop the car and look at it because it’s so beautiful. I see a cow and a calf and think I’ve got to paint that. You can paint whatever you want in there too.” “Inspiration is everywhere. I’m constantly thinking about painting. I go to the grocery store and I get distracted by the vegetables in the produce bins. I mean, I’m standing there looking at the color of the okra.” Boyd said that painting simply gets in a
person’s blood, pulsing like a locomotive, affecting everything. Boyd simply thrives on the never ending array of colors. “I can be sitting in church listening to the sermon, I promise I’m trying to focus, and I can see this young girl’s hair two rows ahead. I’m looking at highlights in her hair, each strand is a different color. Now this is her natural hair, she hasn’t colored it and I’m so fascinated by the colors in her hair. I lose track of the sermon.” Boyd said she never grows tired of looking at art. “I look at art every chance I get. I go to museums, exhibitions every chance I can. I enjoy looking at how artists interpret what they see, there are so many techniques. I’m curious about it.” “I love the opportunity and joy of painting with others. You can pick their brain, sit there and watch them paint. They can watch you paint. They can tell you how they do things, which canvas we prefer, which brushes we like better.“ “I would love to be able to sit down with someone like painter John Singer Sergeant or William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Bouguereau’s portraits were unreal, his flesh tones, you could almost see the blood going
Robbie and her husband Bob.
through the veins under the skin cause the flesh tones were so real. I’m obsessed.” Boyd said that putting her love for painting in words falls short of what she deeply feels. “Painting is in my soul, but no, I can’t put it into words. I know you would like me to say something memorable, but there’s no way to tell you how much art means to me, how much being able to paint means, being able to put paint on canvas in a way that satisfies my desire to make something recognizable, something that I am pleased with and hope everyone else is pleased with.” “I don’t really paint that much for other people as I do for me. With commissioned pieces, I’ve got to please the other person. But I’ve got to please me too. Every piece I produce has something of me in it and that’s hard to explain. But that’s what I think makes each artist’s work unique.” “You can recognize the work of Dot Courson or Allison Schuchs, and if you were familiar with their work and saw it out somewhere you would know it was their work because they put themselves into it. Some part of them is in that work which
makes it so identifiable as being theirs and I think my work has that too, whether I want it to or not.” It’s almost as if each of Boyd’s paintings is a child of hers. “It really is and people ask how do you part with a painting after you’ve painted it? It is a wrenching almost to see it go, but you get over it to a certain extent after a while.” Boyd said she was particularly honored to paint portraits of Justices Cobb and Roberts and Governor Allain. “Governor Allain’s now hangs in the state capital in the Hall of Governors. I don’t know how many people go in that building and walk down that hall and look at those paintings every day, but they’re going to see one of my paintings and that’s big, that means a lot to me.” “My painting is hanging between a painting by Marshall Bouldin and William Dunlap, and they are both Mississippi artists. To have one of my paintings hanging with those two guys, that’s big. I walked off the ground for few minutes and that was the end of my five minutes of fame.” Boyd said that an added joy of painting is
getting to share the end result with others. “People like color and they like something that brings back a memory, whether it’s a cotton field that looks like one of grandad’s or an old barn the looks like one their dad built.” “Some people just like bright color in their homes and they like a painting that makes them smile, maybe a painting of a bouquet of flowers, one that makes then happy when they look at it, or brings back a sweet memory. That’s what sells paintings.” I have lots of paintings in my head and I hope I live long enough to get most of them done. I’ve told my children that if the time ever comes when I need to go to a nursing home, I will willing go, just as long as I can take my paintings and I can paint while I’m there. One thing’s for certain. If Robbie Boyd is painting, she’s smiling. And if you see her smiling while staring at some okra at the grocery store, she’s not going to go home and cook some for Bob. She’s going home to paint something green—a very special green. Welcome Home to Pontotoc
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“Inspiration is everywhere. I’m constantly thinking about painting. I go to the grocery store and I get distracted by the vegetables in the produce bins. I mean, I’m standing there looking at the color of the okra.” Robbie Boyd
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We Also Enjoy
Other Hobbies
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We enjoy the art of learning and giving back through a number of ways, by preserving our history for the generations behind us to appreciate, hammering houses together, feeding people and caring for those across the seas or reminding ourselves that there are those who must walk a mile to get a drink of water. We also enjoy hearing the laughter and applause as we take the final bow at the theater. If brushing canvas or pitching clay or working with metal is in your blood, we have a special night to highlight those accomplishments. And this past year, we appreciated the history and heritage of Mississippi’s Bicentennial. It is easy to find your nichÊ and enjoy giving to the community in your own special way.
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“Above all - let them concentrate on the mission at hand, whether training or when deployed – they know you love them and are missing them, but try to let them stay focused.” Colonel Retired Mack Huey Veteran’s Affairs Officer Pontotoc County
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Guard Deployment for a Year means they will appreciate comforts of home Story & Photos by Regina
Butler
F
or one full year, the members of the Mississippi National Guard A Troop 1-98 CAV Recon Scout Unit based in Pontotoc, will be deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Spartan Shield. The unit will conduct combat operations and also participate with other nations in joint training exercises. The soldiers have been training in Texas and are expected to travel overseas this month. This is the third time that the troops from Pontotoc have deployed into the Middle East. Captain Ty Scott, who heads up the unit, said the soldiers will spend nine months with boots on the ground, so it will be at least June 2019 before they arrive back home. Scott said there is something important that folks back home can do while the soldiers are deployed. “Most of all we would appreciate your prayers. You can also send care packages, which we would greatly appreciate. For 75 to 80 percent of our guys this is their first deployment.” Col. Retired Mack Huey heads up the local Veteran’s Affairs Office in Pontotoc and he knows first hand what it is like to be on the battle field because he served several tours of duty. Huey noted that these men and women are part of an elite crowd. “They are doing something that less than 1% of the entire US population ever do, serving their Country, it is a proud time and one that neither the service member, nor family will forget. Believe it or not the days, weeks, and months will fly by,” he said. “It is always a good thing to get with other spouses and family members and come up with creative ways to support your solider; trust me they will appreciate it, use your imagination.” Huey said he remembers a special package they received when he was deployed to Iraq. “A Soldier’s spouse coordinated with Kellogg’s and they donated 10 cases of Pop Tarts, I was amazed at how fast those tasty treats disappeared when they arrived at our base in Iraq.” Continued on page 94
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“Most of all we would appreciate your prayers. You can also send care packages, which we would greatly appreciate. For 75 to 80 percent of our guys this is their first deployment.� Captain Ty Scott
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“They are doing something that less than 1% of the entire US population ever do, serving their country.” Colonel Retired Mack Huey Veteran’s Affairs Officer Pontotoc County
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When it comes to getting those “comforts of home” Huey said there are a variety of things you can do to let the soldiers know they are loved an appreciated. “Let them know you have it covered on the home front and not to worry. It is reassuring for them to know that the rear detachment, friends and family have your back, if you need the help, they will be there.” Some practical ways you can do this is through calls, letters and care packages. “Do it the ‘old fashioned’ way,” Huey advised. “Send them letters – even though we have the technology these days, it means a lot to deployed service members to get a handwritten letter, family snapshots, arts & crafts that the kids put together. This gives a much more personal touch and is very much cherished.” Calls are also a premium on the list of keeping the morale up. “It has not always been possible for service members and families to stay connected from thousands of miles overseas,” he noted. “Now that we can, remember to be realistic, don’t get frustrated when you get a dropped connection, it will happen.” And a way the entire community can come together and get involved is by gathering and donating supplies for the soldiers who are often on the move from place to place. “Send them care packages,” he noted. “The most popular items, from my experience, are VISA and MC gift cards that gives them maximum flexibility for Wi-Fi usage and calling home; personal hygiene items (wipes, razors, chap stick, body wash, deodorant, shampoo and foot powder); Sunscreen; Books & Magazines; Movies and Music; Thumb Drives; Food (basically anything that will not spoil – protein bars/
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powder, candy, jerky, gum, granola, instant coffee/drinks).” These things can be put into zip lock bags put in boxes to send to a whole unit. They can be easily picked up and carried on into battle with them. As a final note Huey said, “Above all let them concentrate on the mission at hand, whether training or when deployed – they know you love them and are missing them, but try to let them stay focused.” Someone who has looked at the battlefield from the home front all her life is Kerri Koehler. “I grew up the daughter of a soldier,” she said. “My dad, LTC (R) Robert M. Wallace, retired after almost 30 years serving in the United States Army.” Her husband, COL Kevin R. Koehler,
who is a doctor, also actively serves in the Arkansas Army National Guard. While he is not deployed at the moment, COL Koehler is still activated from time to time. “I have always been proud to be the wife of a soldier. I have experienced multiple deployments with my dad and husband. Military deployments are not only difficult for the soldiers, but also for the family and friends a soldier leaves back home. It is especially hard for spouses and children.” For the wives they are “thrown into becoming a long term ‘single parent’ even though they are still married. Wives try to keep it together mentally for the sake of the kids while completing a more daunting to-do list which now includes all the usual daily chores plus the ‘honey-do’ list your
husband is usually in charge of doing.” And at the end of those long days come the long nights which “are usually the hardest. You are exhausted but can’t sleep for multiple reasons—the other side of the bed is empty, nightmares wake you up, too much quiet time to let your mind fill with worries about what your husband is experiencing in some far off war zone.” And if you have children, “Moms also tend to heap on a dose of worry about how the deployment is affecting our kids too. I think you can see a general theme here. Most wives and mothers I know tend to worry (a lot!). Military wives need to rely on their faith and give all their worries to God in prayer. Military spouses should also never be too proud to seek counsel from a
“Military wives need to rely on their faith and give all their worries to God in prayer. Military spouses should also never be too proud to seek counsel from a pastor, physician, counselor or friend.” Kerri Koehler Military Daughter and Wife Welcome Home to Pontotoc
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pastor, physician, counselor or friend.” Koehler said there is no better place to be than in Pontotoc when it comes to family support. “We call our friends in Pontotoc ‘framily’ because they are more like family than friends. I know I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else if Kevin is ever deployed again. Pontotoc is extremely supportive of military families. I would look out my window and an entire Sunday school class or my neighbors would be out doing yard work. Kevin’s closest buddies would stop by regularly to work on the ‘honey-do’ list.” That being said, Koehler said with these now deployed, it is the duty of those of us left here on the home front to be their sup-
port. “If you have a neighbor or church member who has a spouse deployed, please check on her regularly and offer to help with household repairs on the “honey-do” list. Organize a group of volunteers to load up and take care of yard work for her once a week. You can also offer to baby sit once a week so she can run errands or get a hair cut.” And because of the practical, you can have a deeper touch on the families life. “The most important thing you can do is pray for each soldier and their families. Also please be available to pray with a military spouse, offer a listening ear or a shoul-
der to cry on 24/7.“ The unit has a local Family Readiness Group [FRG] to help support the troops. “Hannah Beth Scott is in charge of this organization and if you would like to help in any way call her at 662-610-0310. The FRG is selling red ‘remember everyone deployed’ bracelets for $5 as a fundraiser to support families of soldiers who are deployed. “The Family Readiness Group is asking everyone to wear red on Fridays until the soldiers come home. I would also encourage everyone to hang up yellow ribbons all over Pontotoc to show your support until all of our Pontotoc soldiers. “
“The Family Readiness Group is asking everyone to wear red on Fridays until the soldiers come home. I would also encourage everyone to hang up yellow ribbons all over Pontotoc to show your support until all of our Pontotoc soldiers.” Kerri Koehler Military Daughter and Wife 96 | Welcome Home to Pontotoc
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EVERY SHIRT TELLS A STORY. For over 25 years we have been privileged to help tell dozens of stories every week, and to get to know the people behind them. We would love to tell your story. 2111 Hwy 15 North • Pontotoc, MS 38863
662-489-2741 www.imagescreenprinting.com
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We Honor
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Each year without fail in Pontotoc, we take time to honor those who serve our country and protect our freedoms. We pause to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice on Memorial Day those who have served and are continuing to serve our country on Veteran’s Day; and show our respect for those buried in the cemeteries with Wreaths Across America in December. And especially when it comes to those times when our own are going into harms way, we continue to show our support for those who serve under the red, white and blue.
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We Are Like
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There are a number of ways we get together to celebrate our love for these hills and to enjoy spending time under the trees or on the side of the road watching a parade or even enjoying watching the lighting of the community Christmas Tree. Those moments may be spent collectively or just quietly at home. Our senior citizens have two special days just to honor them with a spring and a summer luncheon. It gives them a chance to see and to talk to each other as large group. Also we enjoy a week of showing animals and riding the ferris wheel when the fair comes to town. And this past year, we gathered together to view a rare eclipse of the sun. From festivals to parades to enjoying our pets there is always something keeping us smiling.
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Get Connected: City of Pontotoc Whether you are moving into town or just changing addresses within Pontotoc city limits, sometimes you lose track of all the details that must be attended to in one move. This list will keep those much-needed numbers in one place so you can quickly contact all the right people at the right places to make the move to your new home much easier. Pontotoc’s utility department offers water/sewer, gas and garbage pick-up. Anyone applying for services must appear in person at Pontotoc City Hall with a state-issued identification card.
GARBAGE PICKUP
Once weekly inside the city limits. $10.80 minimum. Anyone applying for services must appear in person at Pontotoc City Hall with a state-issued identification.
WATER/SEWER
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, Call 911
Water/sewer service provided inside Pontotoc city limits and to a small portion of the county. Water: $100 Installation/inspection fee (non-refundable/non-transferable).
FIRE CHIEF: 489-7805
Pontotoc Electric Power Association services almost 18,500 members in six counties, which includes most of Pontotoc County. The main office is located at 12 South Main Street, Pontotoc. Call 489-3211. For emergencies on nights, weekends and holidays, Call 489-6711.
The Pontotoc Fire Chief leads a staff of nine full-time firemen and 17 volunteer firemen at two locations in the city. Locations: 116 North Main and 150 Henry Southern Drive.
POLICE CHIEF: 489-7804
ELECTRICITY
NATURAL GAS
Pontotoc City Police Department employs 14 full-time officers and four certified part-time officers. Location: 225 West Reynolds
Service covers Pontotoc, Union and some of Lee Counties. Gas inside Pontotoc City limits: $100 Installation/ inspection fee (non-refundable/non-transferable).
In case of a storm or tornado, you may get to safety in one of the city’s eight public shelters:
New gas service inside city limits: $175 for owner occupied and rental property—installation fee (non-refundable/transferable).
• 116 North Main St. • 320 Clark St. • 206 Hud St. • 289 Lake Drive • 374 Highway 15 South • 472A Vance Street • 290 Eighth Street • 1814 Highway 15 North For storm alert information, visit www.alertfm.net/ms/pontotoc. To be alerted of a storm in your community by phone sign up at www.trpdd.com/codered. This is at no cost to you.
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Above fees cover first 200 feet of service line plus installation of gas meter. If new service line is more than 200 feet, extra footage will be charged $1 per foot (2-inch line = $2 per foot) and will be billed separately. If you have any questions, you may call City Hall, 489-1722 (night or weekends, 489-7805). Office hours are Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wed., 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
CALL BEFORE YOU DIG Call 811 from any phone
Pontotoc County NATURAL GAS
:Get Connected GARBAGE PICK-UP
Service from the city of Pontotoc covers most of Pontotoc County. To find out if natural gas is available in your location, you may call Pontotoc City Hall, 489-1722 (night or weekends, 489-7805). Office hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Garbage is picked up once a week door-to-door. To find out when your garbage day is or ask questions about your bills, call 489-3913.
WATER
Call 811 from any phone
Pontotoc is serviced by 11 rural water associations, located all across Pontotoc County. • • • • • • • • • •
East Pontotoc Water Association: 489-0776 Town of Ecru Water Association: 489-3881 Mud Creek Water Association: 489-6851 Oak Hill Water Association: 489-3692 Randolph Water Association: 489-8641 or 489-8820 Toccopola Water Association: 489-6537 Thaxton Water Association: 489-6537 Troy Water Association: 489-1425 Algoma Water Association: 489-8351 Sherman Water Association: 842-6366
ELECTRICITY
Pontotoc County is serviced by five electrical power associations. The Tennessee Valley Authority is the regional electric provider. Call (662) 690-3400, (662) 690-3600, (662) 690-3500. Pontotoc Electric Power Association services almost 18,500 members in six counties, which includes most of Pontotoc County. The main office is located at 12 South Main Street, Pontotoc. Call 489-3211. For emergencies on nights, weekends and holidays, call 489-6711. Natchez Trace Power Association services the south central part of the county toward the Chickasaw County area. Call (662) 456-3037. Tombigbee Electrical Power Association services the southeastern part of the county toward the Lee County area and Sherman. Call (662) 842-7635. Northeast Electrical Power Association services the northwestern part of the county toward the Lafayette County area. Call (662) 234-6331. The City of New Albany services the northern part of the county near the Union County area. Call (662) 534-1041.
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IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, Call 911 PONTOTOC COUNTY FIRE COORDINATOR: 489-3111 The Pontotoc County Fire Coordinator works with more than 200 volunteers who give their time in 12 community fire departments across Pontotoc County. SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT: 489-3915 Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Department employs 17 full-time officers, 12 jailers and two school resource officers. To reach the jail, you may call 489-3915, 489-3165 and 489-3182. In case of a storm or tornado, the county has shelters in almost every community • Algoma - 2 shelters: Both at 1310 Algoma Road • Ecru - 7 shelters: Five at 176 Main Street; Two at the park on Central Avenue • Sherman - 7 shelters: 161 6th Ave.; 9 East Lamar Street; 600 Highway 178; 1041 Cr. 292; 213 First Avenue; 49 E. State Street; 26 West Lamar Street • Thaxton - 4 shelters: 2 at 10260 Highway 336; 10632 Highway 336; 10489 Highway 336 (Thaxton Baptist Church) • Toccopola - 2 shelters: Both located near the fire department at 3100 Toccopola Jct. Rd. • Turnpike Community - 1 shelter: 370 Cane Creek North (Turnpike Baptist Church) • Beckham - 1 shelter: 414 Beckham Road • Hurricane - 1 shelter: 7600 Highway 346 • Longview - 1 shelter: 3497 Longview Road • Randolph - 3 shelters: Two are located at 240 Topsy Road; one at 11800 Hwy. 9 South (Carey Springs Baptist Church) • Troy/Woodland - 2 shelters: 175 Rock Hill Road, 3601 Woodland Road
For storm alert information, visit www.alertfm.net/ms/pontotoc. To be alerted of a storm in your community by phone sign up at www.trpdd.com/codered. This is at no cost to you. Welcome Home to Pontotoc
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Houses of Prayer ASSEMBLY OF GOD
FIRST ASSEMBLY OF GOD 2448 Hwy. 15 North 662-489-0209
BAPTIST
ALGOMA BAPTIST Hwy. 124 W., Algoma 662-489-5846
ANTIOCH FREEWILL BAPTIST Toccopola, MS 662-242-0379, 662-801-8815
DISCOVERY CHURCH 3950 Hwy. 336, Pontotoc www.discoverychurchms.com
LEE MEMORIAL BAPTIST 208 Lana St. 662-489-7285
RANDOLPH BAPTIST Topsy Road, Randolph 489-4992
EAST BAPTIST 329 Clark St. 662-489-7151
LIBERTY BAPTIST 7974 Hwy. 341 662-489-1943
SCHOONA CHAPEL BAPTIST Hwy. 341, Pontotoc
ECRU BAPTIST 550 Main St., Ecru 662-489-3091
LOCUST HILL BAPTIST 1745 Locut Hill Road
ECRU SECOND BAPTIST Ecru, 662-489-5361
BEECH SPRINGS FREEWILL BAPTIST Beech Springs Rd., Ecru 662-844-0792
FIRST BAPTIST 31 E. Washington St. 662-489-1346
BELLEVUE BAPTIST Hwy. 6 West, Thaxton, MS 662-509-9235
FIRST BAPTIST OF TROY 145 Rockhill Rd. 662-489-4624
BETHANY PRIMITIVE BAPTIST 4905 Hwy. 346 662-489-0222
FRIENDSHIP BAPTIST Country Road 134 662-489-7070
BETHEL MB 2905 Hwy. 342 662-509-9924
FRIENDSHIP BAPTIST 85 Friendship Road, Ecru 662-489-4056
BETHLEHEM FREEWILL BAPTIST 115 Bethlehem Lane 662-489-6848
FURRS BAPTIST 9011 Hwy. 6 E. 662-840-1705
BUCHANAN BAPTIST 4815 Friendship Rd. 662-489-3405
GERSHORM BAPTIST 240 Baptist Bend, Houlka 662-488-4033
BY FAITH BAPTIST 2220 Hwy. 15 N. 662-489-7701
GREEN VALLEY BAPTIST 265 Old Airport Rd. S. 662-489-6047
CAIRO BAPTIST 2610 Cairo Rd., Ecru 662-266-4359
HARMONY BAPTIST 3534 Hwy. 345 662-489-1070
CAREY SPRINGS BAPTIST Hwy. 9 SW 662-489-1265
HEBRON BAPTIST 71 Hebron Rd., Randolph 662-489-6103
CENTER HILL BAPTIST 591 Brassfield Rd. Pontotoc
HOPEWELL PRIMITIVE BAPTIST Robbs Road, Randolph 662-844-9633
CHERRY CREEK BAPTIST Cherry Creek 662-489-6002
HORTON MEMORIAL BAPTIST 2120 Hwy. 346, Pontotoc
CHERRY CREEK MB Cherry Creek Rd. 662-489-7009 COOKE MEMORIAL BAPTIST 5962 Redland-Sarepta Road Houlka, MS 38850 COUNTY LINE BAPTIST 14616 Hwy 9 S., Randolph 662-489-7363
An important and integral part of our community life are the moments we spend in quiet reflection and prayer at our local sanctuaries of worship. Pontotoc county is blessed to have more than 100 churches scattered in the hills and hollows that call people to their sacred halls for a time of Bible study, prayer and sharing our struggles and victories.
LONGVIEW BAPTIST 406 Dozier Hill Road, Belden 662-489-5733
SAREPTA BAPTIST Randolph, 662-414-7451 SECOND BAPTIST 189 N. College St. 662-489-1274
MACEDONIA BAPTIST 3996 Macedonia Rd., Houlka
SELAH BAPTIST 5720 Hwy. 15 N. 662-488-8242
McGREGOR’S CHAPEL FW BAPTIST CHURCH Hwy. 6 West, Pontotoc, MS
SHADY GROVE BAPTIST 1000 Shady Grove Baptist 662-489-7842
MIDWAY BAPTIST 8773 Hwy. 15 S. 662-489-5664
SHERMAN GROVE BAPTIST 209 First Ave., Sherman 662-372-2661
NEW HOPE BAPTIST New Hope Rd., Pontotoc 662-419-7946
SPRINGVILLE BAPTIST 64 S. Pontotoc Rd. 662-488-0013
NEW LIFE FREEWILL BAPTIST 4449 Wallfield Road, Houlka, 568-2072
SPRINGVILLE CHAPEL MB 1870 Palestine Rd. 662-509-9511
NEW RESIDENT BAPTIST 996 Floyd Rd. 662-488-8843
ST. PAUL BAPTIST 360 Cairo Loop 662-489-8417
NEW SALEM MB Hwy. 6 E., 662-489-8791
THAXTON BAPTIST 10507 Hwy. 336, Thaxton 662-489-8534
OAK DALE BAPTIST 7230 Hwy. 346 Pontotoc, MS 38863 OAK HILL BAPTIST 5830 Hwy. 9 N. 662-489-1897 GREATEST MISSION BAPTIST 125 Old Airport Rd., Pontotoc 419-1797 PLEASANT GROVE FREEWILL BAPTIST 7705 Hwy. 336, Thaxton
THE ANCHOR BAPTIST 4495 Hwy. 9 North, Pontotoc 662-489-9241 THE VINE BAPTIST 125 Old Airport Rd., S. Pontotoc 662-401-2218 TOCCOPOLA BAPTIST P. O. Box 304 489-7504
662-488-6042
TOXISH BAPTIST 1841 Toxish Rd. 662-489-5839
HURRICANE BAPTIST 7975 Hwy. 346 662-489-1481
PINEY GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH Piney Grove Road 662-489-5825
TROY BAPTIST 8272 Hwy. 41 662-489-5770
IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH 2681 Rowland Road 662-489--4832
PINEY GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH 507 S. Gilmer Road, Pontotoc
TURNPIKE BAPTIST Cane Creek Rd. - Pontotoc 489-1923
IN GOOD FAITH BAPTIST 685 Rocky Ford Rd. 662-489-7161
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PLEASANT GROVE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH Corner of Hwy. 41 & Pleasant Grove Rd., Pontotoc 662-489-8784
VALLEY GROVE BAPTIST 3282 Kings Hwy., Tupelo 662-419-0801
WATCHMEN BAPTIST 13013 Hwy. 336 662-489-5560 VICTORY BAPTIST 382 South Main Street 662-489-5900 WEST HEIGHTS BAPTIST 328 W. Oxford St. 662-489-1200 WILSON CHAPEL BAPTIST CHURCH P. O. Box 906 Pontotoc, MS WOODLAND BAPTIST 1257 Pontocola Rd. 662-489-9391 ZION BAPTIST 459 Valley Rd. 662-489-2196
CATHOLIC
ST. CHRISTOPHER CATHOLIC CHURCH 431 Pineridge Dr., Pontotoc 662-489-7749
CHURCH OF CHRIST
BUCKHORN CHURCH OF CHRIST 13675 Hwy. 341, Randolph 662-308-1229 CHURCH OF CHRIST 276 Hwy. 15 Bypass 662-489-5020 CHURCH OF CHRIST 369 Church St. 662-489-1136
METHODIST
ALGOMA UNITED METHODIST 1161 Algoma Road, Pontotoc 662-760-34998 BEULAH GROVE UNITED METHODIST Beulah Grove Rd. 662-844-6021 EBENEZER UNITED METHODIST 1411 Hwy. 342, Pontotoc 662-760-3499 ECRU UNITED METHODIST Church Street Ecru, MS FAIRVIEW METHODIST Hwy. 341 662-489-6979 FIRST UNITED METHODIST 68 S. Main St. 662-489-3076 McDONALD UNITED METHODIST 194 College Street 662-489-1020 MOUNT NEBO UNITED METHODIST 1221 Campground Rd. 662-489-7020 NAYLOR CME 326 Clark St. 662-489-6082 PALESTINE UNITED METHODIST 2181 Palestine Road, Pontotoc 662-760-3499
USHER VALLEY UNITED METHODIST 754 Moorman Rd. 662-489-8020
PENTECOSTAL
BLACK ZION PENTECOSTAL Hwy. 342 662-489-0068
LIGHTHOUSE APOSTOLIC CHURCH 233 White Gold, Pontotoc 662-419-7271 THAXTON UNITED PENTECOSTAL 265 Wells Road 662-231-1197 WEST PONTOTOC PENTECOSTAL CHURCH 266 Hwy. 341 S., Pontotoc 662-489-6700
PRESBYTERIAN
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN 124 S. Main St. 662-489-2183 MAPLE DRIVE PRESBYTERIAN 146 Maple Dr. 662-488-0401 WHITE ZION PRESBYTERIAN Hwy. 6 East 662-840-6589
OTHER
ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN CENTER 267 W. 8th St. 662-489-8409
RANDOLPH CHURCH OF CHRIST Corner of Topsy Rd. & Indian Creek Tr.
PLEASANT GROVE UNITED METHODIST 205 Martin Lane 662-489-2087
SHERMAN CHURCH OF CHRIST 2303 St. Hwy. 178 E., Sherman, 662-844-4593
THAXTON UNITED METHODIST 10326 Hwy. 336, Thaxton 488-8178
CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY CHURCH 5206A Hwy. 15, Ecru 539-0040
UNION GROVE UNITED METHODIST Beulah Grove Rd. 662-844-6021
CHURCH OF GOD OF PROPHECY 1528 Hwy. 341 662-660-0406
JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
KINGDOM HALL OF JEHOVAH’S 112 Old Airport Rd. 662-489-7815
CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD 320 Stark Rd. 662-488-8256 CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD 127 County Rd. 433, Thaxton 662-236-5948 COLLEGE HILL 7027 Hwy. 6 E. 662-488-4060 ECRU CHURCH OF THE LORD JESUS 259 Old Hwy. 15, Ecru 662-489-4319 GOOD SHEPHERD 184 W. Bolton St. 662-489-2205 HARVESTER CHURCH 686 Royal Oak Drive, Pontotoc 662-489-4677 HARVEST TIME CHURCH OF GOD 289 8th Street, Pontotoc 662-509-2517 HEAVEN BOUND CHURCH 110 Jericho Road, Pontotoc 662-308-7663 OASIS OF LOVE FELLOWSHIP 1195 Kings Hwy. 662-690-1920 PONTOTOC APOSTOLIC 248 Apostolic Circle 662-489-7121 REYNOLDS CHAPEL 6498 Hwy. 9 S. 489-3711 TEMPLE OF GLORY RESTORATION CHURCH 364B East Oxford St. Pontotoc, MS THOMPSON CHAPEL CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH 937 CR 308, Houlka, MS 662-568-2680
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Official Contacts CITY OF PONTOTOC Mayor Bob Peeples, Office in city hall 489-4321 ALDERMEN Lena Chewe, ward one 489-5374 Tommy Patterson, ward two 489-7018 D. R. Simmons, ward three 419-1903 Rayburn Mapp, ward four 489-2631 David White at-large 419-0107 How to call: 662-489-4321 The Pontotoc City Board of Aldermen meets the first Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. PONTOTOC COUNTY Chancery Clerk’s Office – 489-3900 Ricky Ferguson The chancery court clerk handles documentation on divorces, property line disputes, adoptions and youth court. Circuit Clerk’s Office – 489-3908 Melinda Nowicki The circuit clerk handles documentation on marriages, voter registration, criminal and civil cases and notary public. Tax Assessor/Collector – 489-3904 Van McWhirter MUNICIPALITIES ALGOMA - Mayor Harry Corder, 489-5696 Board meets first Tuesday, 7 p.m. ECRU - Mayor Jeff Smith, 489-3881 Board meets first Tuesday, 6:00 p.m. SHERMAN - Mayor Mike Swords, 840-9185 Board meets first Tuesday, 6 p.m. THAXTON - Mayor Johnny Coleman, 419-2665 Board meets first Tuesday, 7 p.m. TOCCOPOLA - Mayor Nick Brewer II, 4896122 Board meets first Tuesday, 7 p.m. SUPERVISORS District 1: Wayne Stokes – 489-7341 District 2: Mike McGregor - 419-5685 District 3: Brad Ward - 419-0497 District 4: Ernie Wright – 844-0208 District 5: Dan McKnight - 419-2277 The supervisors oversee the budget for
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the entire county, make decisions on improvements county-wide including buildings, fire protection and emergency management. They also see that roads and bridges are repaired. The Pontotoc County Supervisors meet the first Monday of the month, the 15th of the month and the last day of the month at 10 a.m. If the 15th or the last day falls on the weekend, the board meets on the Friday before. JUSTICE COURT JUDGES East District: David A. Hall – 489-3921 West District: Scottie Harrison – 489-3921 Justice court judges set bonds on all county crimes, and hear cases that aren’t heard by the circuit court judges. CONSTABLES East District: Tommy Corbin West District: L. D. Gillespie Constables are responsible for serving court papers and helping to keep the peace in their district. Contact them at Justice Court, 4893921. OTHER NUMBERS Airport – 489-3950 Extension Office – 489-3910 Library – 489-3960 Veteran’s Office – 489-3907 Youth Court Service – 489-3936 Agri-Center – 489-3946
Calhoun, Chickasaw, 1601 CR 410, Okolona, MS 38860, (662) 447-5719 E-mail: psullivan@house.ms.gov STATE SENATOR Nickey Browning: District 3 - Pontotoc, Union, Calhoun, P.O. Box 1051, Pontotoc, MS 38863, (662) 489-5979 E-mail: nbrowning@senate.ms.gov FEDERAL OFFICIALS Senator Thad Cochran Contact Sen. Cochran in Washington: U.S. Senate, 113 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510 Phone: (202) 224-5054 Fax: (202) 224-9450 In Mississippi: 2012 15th Street, Suite 451 Gulfport, Mississippi 39501 Phone: (228) 867-9710 Fax: (228) 867-9789 E-mail: senator@cochran.senate.gov Web site: www.cochran.senate.gov Senator Roger F. Wicker Contact Sen. Wicker in Washington: 555 Dirksen, Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-6253 Fax: (202) 228-0378
STATE OFFICIALS GOVERNOR Phil Bryant, (877) 405-0733
In Mississippi: P.O. Box 1482 Tupelo, MS 38802 Phone: (662) 844-5010 Fax: (662) 844-5030 Phone: (601) 965-4644 Fax: (601) 965-4007 Web site: www.wicker.senate.gov
STATE REPRESENTATIVES Mac Huddleston: District 15 - Pontotoc County P.O. Drawer 300, Pontotoc, MS 38863, (662) 489-5157 E-mail: mhuddleston@house.ms.gov
Congressman First District Trent Kelly Contact Congressman Nunnelee in Washington: 1721 Longworth, House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4306 Fax: (202) 225-3549
Margaret Ellis Rogers: District 14 Pontotoc, Union Counties 619 Owen Road New Albany, MS 38652, (662) 534-8886 E-mail: mrogers@house.ms.gov
In Mississippi: 431 West Main Street, Ste. 450 Tupelo, MS 38804 Phone: (662) 841-8808 Fax: (662) 841-8845
Preston Sullivan: District 22 - Pontotoc,
Clubs & Organizations Some clubs are by invitation only. Please call the contact person for more information. CHILDREN OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Martha Jo Coleman - 308-1219
PONTOTOC 4-H CLUB Sherry Thompson - 489-3910
CONCERNED CITIZENS David High - 489-5319
CIVITAN CLUB George Stegall - 489-2052
PONTOTOC COMMUNITY THEATER Kim Sauerwein - 297-6654
PONTOTOC WOMAN’S CLUB Michelle Sutton - 231-2707
COSMOPOLITAN CLUB Joyce Odom - 489-4365
PONTOTOC HOMEMAKERS Linda Smith - 489-3910
FINE ARTS CLUB Lois Umphress - 840-8291
PONTOTOC MUSIC STUDY CLUB Patricia Henry - 488-1640
PONTOTOC CO. HISTORICAL SOCIETY Martha Jo Coleman - 308-1219
PONTOTOC ROTARY Brooks Corder - 489-1631
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Millicent Seawright - 488-1576
TALE-TELLERS B. T. Simms Senior Bldg. - 489-6557
TOWN AND COUNTRY GARDEN CLUB June Haulcomb - 419-1712 PONTOTOC AMERICAN LEGION, POST #16 Davis Barton - 489-0094 PONTOTOC VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS Johnny Reece - 231-8735 PONTOTOC ARTISTS GUILD Dr. Lee Waltress - 509-2091
HOW WE GIVE BACK Pontotoc County residents give of their time and talents to charitable organizations local and nationwide; to clubs and any local benefit, giving hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to help those in need. These organizations give folks an opportunity to give from Pontotoc to all points of the globe. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY Pontotoc Habitat for Humanity has built scores of homes in Pontotoc for those who need affordable housing. Volunteers from all walks of life come together to hammer and saw a house into a future home for a needy family. Call 488-9090 for more information or to volunteer. PONTOTOC FOOD DEPOT Through the Pontotoc Food Depot, those who wish to receive food on a monthly basis sign up the first Saturday of each month at the food depot office from 8-10 a.m. The office is located at the corner of Marion and Liberty Streets beside Cornelieson Law Office. Those who are signed up collect their food on the third Saturday. PONTOTOC FOOD PANTRY When your house is destroyed by fire or a sudden job loss occurs, the Pontotoc County Food Pantry is there to supply the immediate need. The organization helps to supply food to an average of 30-50 families a month and is open from 9 a.m.-12 noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays and is located on Reynolds Street. Call 489-5042 for more information. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR Love Your Neighbor began as a project to help neighbors in need during the summer. This group has cleared brush, repaired roofs and built porches for those who need it. They spend one week in the summer working on various projects to teach the youth and adults alike to look in their own back yard first for those who may be in need. For more information about this annual week-long project call Friendship Baptist Church at 489-4056 or send a message to contact@fbcecru.com.
FEEDING OF THE 5,000 A week before Thanksgiving churches from across the county come together to pack a meal for the home bound and elderly. The list and man power comes from the different county churches. They come together at First Baptist Church because it is in the center of the county. This even begins being organized by early October each year. If your church wants to participate please call First Baptist at 489-1346. SALVATION ARMY When disaster strikes in any form, the Salvation Army is there to give hope and help. A thrift store is open to aid people in the community. Volunteers also ring the bell at Christmas to collect monies in the red kettle. Call 509-9400 for more information. OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD Churches across Pontotoc participate in bringing brighter smiles to children all over the world by packing shoe boxes and sending them to Samaritan’s Purse to be distributed by boat, mule, bike, trike and any other means to give hope to a child in need. Call Angie Kennedy at 488-2035. HAMMERS OF HOPE Hammers of Hope repairs & rebuilds homes of those in need whether affected by natural disaster or life circumstances while sharing the love of Christ. Born out of a desire to help people here at home whose homes need repair, Jeff and Kim Cooper along with volunteers make their hands busy helping those in need. Soon to be a 501-3c organization please contact them at 662-871-1605 or go to hammersofhopems.org. Faithful Servants Working ‘Til Jesus Returns! Hebrews 3:1-6
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JULY - Independence Day Parade
Calendar
AUGUST - County Wide Pep Rally - Rebel/Bulldog Challenge - Pontotoc County Fair OCTOBER - Algoma Crosstie Festival - Bodock Festival - Harvest Walk NOVEMBER - Veteran’s day ceremonies on Court Square - Christmas Open House Sunday before Thanksgiving- 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.
JANUARY - Martin Luther King Day parade and celebration MARCH - Customer Appreciation Day APRIL - Easter egg hunt at Howard Stafford Park - Art Guild Spring Gala MAY - Habitat for Humanity Women’s Build - North Pontotoc High Graduation - South Pontotoc High Graduation - Pontotoc High Graduation - Memorial Day Ceremonies
DECEMBER Other events through the year include Relay for - Pontotoc, Thaxton, Ecru, Sherman and Toccopola Life and Chamber of Commerce Banquet. Check Christmas Parades the Pontotoc Progress for dates on these events. - Rudolph run - Wreaths Across America
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Business & Industry Members Where Family Comes First & We Love Every Second 1st Choice Bank Aflac Robert C. Ruth Alfa, Henry Payne Ashley Furniture Industry B & B Concrete BancorpSouth Bank of Pontotoc Bessie Givhan Boondock’s Grill Browning Funeral Home Capital Loans of MS Carnes Farmes INC Chuck & Ensley Howell Denise Sojourner, MD Don/Michelle Benjamin Double B Farms & Gin Engineering Solution INC Ernie Wright Farmers Marketing Assn First Choice Insurance Flava West-Huddleston, MD Fred Wicker Happy Days Café Hudson Management Corp Image Screen Printing J.Greg Brown John Max Lauderdale CPA Keith Auto Recycles LLC KARS Kenneth & Patsy Rackley Lep’s Bar B Que MaxSouth Broadband McCoy’s Grocery INC Mississippi Care
Montgomery Drugs NorthEast MS EPA P.E.P.A. Piggly Wiggly of Pontotoc #222 Pontotoc County Farm Bureau Pontotoc Health Services INC Pontotoc Loan INC Pontotoc Progress Pontotoc Springs Premiere Printing R & R Financial Services Red Med Urgent Clinic Reeder Farm Supply Renasant Bank Rex Ashley, LTD Gina Bridgman Ridgecrest Insurance INC Seafood Junction Shannon & Graham Eye Clinic Simon Family Properties South Main Dental Clinic, LLC Three RiversPlanning & Dev Toyota Traceway Eng & MFG Inc True Blue Boutique True Value Tud & Kitty Pittman, Jr V2,INC. Wade, Inc. Watkins, Ward & Stafford PLLC Wilder Inc./Johnny Wilder William D Parker, Architect Wood, Carlton, & Hudson Welcome Home to Pontotoc
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