by Emma Embellischer

Daylight saving time (DST) ends each year in November. We all have to “fall back” an hour every November, and the time change is very unpopular among Americans. We do gain an hour of sleep, but we lose an hour of daylight in the evenings after the time change in November. There has been talk for years in DC about keeping DST year round, but nothing has happened. There was a bill passed in the Senate in 2021 called the Sunshine Protection Act, and it would’ve made DST permanent. But, the bill did not pass the House. There are multiple states and US territories that don’t observe DST, and they include Hawaii, parts of Arizona, American Samoa, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Valley County just became the first US and Mississippi county to keep DST permanent. The county’s board of supervisors held an emergency meeting yesterday to discuss the matter. The media was notified about 15 minutes prior to the meeting, so the SRVO was not able to have a representative present. However, I read the minutes, and I was able to talk with multiple supervisors about the change.

Beat 1 Supervisor Ghittar Dunn said, “I’ve always wondered why we didn’t just keep DST year round. It should be pretty simple. Just about everyone I’ve ever talked with would like to keep DST year round, but no one in DC or Jackson does anything about it. Well, my wife kept complaining about how she hates when DST ends each November. I thought that I don’t like it either, and I’m gonna do something about it. I took an unofficial poll with the other supervisors and just about everyone I encountered on Sunday, and only one person didn’t want to keep DST permanent. Unfortunately, he’s a supervisor, but I still had the votes.”

Dunn garnered a ton of support for keeping DST year round, and he and other supervisors called the emergency meeting yesterday to discuss it. Four of the five supervisors were gung-ho about making DST permanent. Beat 5 supervisor, Diffy Culte, was the lone dissenter. According to Dunn, the meeting would’ve only lasted about ten minutes, but Culte took about 15 minutes voicing his opposition. Board attorney, Jonny Cockren, also discussed the potential issues and drawbacks to making DST permanent.

Culte said, “I’m just not in favor of it. Ghittar thinks he can run the county, but he doesn’t. We’re gonna stick out like a sore thumb. Media from all over the country is gonna start calling me and the other supervisors about this. I’m ok with keeping DST permanent, but you gotta consider all the fallout. Plus, Ghittar is only doing this for political reasons; everyone knows he wants to get more publicity and run for state representative.”

Board attorney, Jonny Cockren, did a good job of playing devil’s advocate in the emergency meeting like he always does. Cockren said, “You have to think about all the potential issues with this. Every time Valley County residents travel outside the county, the time will change. Will our residents like that? Also, when out of county residents travel to Valley County, the time will change. That could cause major chaos. I understand the intent here, but I’m not sure the fallout is going to worth it.”

The main concern for the board was whether cell phone providers would be able to accommodate the change, and all the major providers have said they can and will. Also, Cockren was notified after the meeting that it is illegal for states to keep DST year round. Cockren said, “I had no idea it was illegal for states to keep DST; the good news is the federal law doesn’t mention counties and municipalities. We could face a legal challenge; we’ll see what happens.”

All the Valley County residents I talked with were happy about keeping DST permanent. One Valley County father said, “It always sucks when the time changes in November, because it’s dark when I get home from work. So, I don’t get to play outside with my kids. I’m pretty pumped that we’re keeping DST permanently, and my wife and kids feel the same way.”

This has gotten a ton of publicity for Valley County and The Valley from state and national media, and the vast majority of the coverage has been positive. Multiple Mississippi political leaders are now discussing keeping DST permanent as well, so we’ll see if a bill is passed in the 2025 legislative session. It will be interesting to see if other Mississippi counties and cities follow Valley County’s lead.

by Tre McGyver

Hello my fellow Valleyans! It’s been a while since I wrote a story for you. I’ve been busy trying to keep the zoo we call Valley Meadows (the Valley’s premier mobile home covenant community) straight. It’s a tough job folks, but someone has to do it. Whatever is going on, I’ll always have to take time to tell you about Halloween at Valley Meadows. It’s always crazy, and this year was no different.

I’m sure you’ve seen the massive skeleton decorations this year. They’re about 12 feet tall, and you can’t miss them. Well, we decided to put one on each side of our entrance. The residents were so excited. It was a community event when we put them out; we had about 50 Valley Meadows residents out there helping me set them up. We put a lot of time into decorating those bad boys, and they look pretty scary. We made them even more scary by putting a MS State hat on one and a Saints hat on the other. Maybe, we just should’ve put paper bags over their heads! These weren’t the only huge skeletons in the neighborhood; there were 8 scattered throughout the neighborhood too. You wouldn’t believe how some of them were decorated.

We had a ton of vehicles driving thru Valley Meadows again this year checking out the decorations. No one cares about Valley Meadows until Halloween every year, but we’ll take it. I sent a Facebook message to our Valley Meadows group begging our residents not to scare the crap out of the visitors. Evidently, no one read it. I know of four incidents where some of our teenagers hid behind vehicles, and they ran up to visitors’ cars trying to scare kids in the backseats. One poor grandmother got so startled that she drove her car into a tree, and she almost had a heart attack. Luckily, no one was hurt, but her grandkids were scared to death too. I had to threaten the teenagers and tell their parents.

This year, we started a Halloween party exclusively for our residents the day before Halloween. We had a ton of fun, and it got a little crazy. I did a Halloween costume contest for the first time, and the winner won $100 cash. People went all out for it! Little Billy Buford won the contest; he was dressed as Donald Trump. The hair did it for him; he and his mom nailed Trump’s hair. Little Sally Sellers came in a close second, and she was dressed as Taylor Swift. I don’t like Taylor Swift, so I chose Billy as the winner. I’ll definitely do the costume contest each year going forward.

I probably need to try to find a mobile pediatric dentist to visit Valley Meadows in November or December every year, because these poor kids eat a ton of candy for Halloween. If a dentist came to us, they could make a killing after Halloween. Y’all contact me if you know of one.

Valleyans, I hope to bring you another story about the zoo called Valley Meadows soon. Y’all come see us; it’ll be a life-changing experience!

by SRVO Editorial Board

The SRVO normally does not endorse political candidates. That’s been a longstanding unofficial policy of our organization even though our endorsement has been sought from many local and national politicians. We just like to report the news, and we’ll let you, the reader, decide. But, we felt compelled to endorse a candidate for President of the United States this election cycle, because this is the most important election of our lives (because it’s the next one of course). And, what can be, unburdened by what has been.

There’s never been such a binary choice for President. Man or woman, orange man or black/Indian woman, old or young (somewhat), East Coast or West Coast, Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, middle class elite or rich elite, business owner or career politician, and we could go on and on. Our editorial board had a long spirited debate (about 30 seconds), and we made the decision to endorse Donald J. Trump.

We lined out 10 reasons for endorsing Trump, and they are listed below.

• He’s worked a normal job longer than Harris. See the recent picture above at McDonald’s.
• Harris and Trump both lie (they’re politicians after all), but Trump’s lies aren’t outright lies. There’s generally a shred of truth with his lies.
• Even though Trump doesn’t speak in complete sentences and constantly repeats himself, he has more substance to his statements than Harris. Harris speaks quite a bit, but doesn’t really say anything.
• We like Harris’s joyful demeanor, but we’re not sure the country can take her uncontrolled and sometimes spontaneous laughter for 4 years. We’re not sure how Putin and Xi would respond to her laughter.
• We can’t take 4 years of “I grew up in a middle class family” memes, and we can’t take that excuse from Harris every time she fails over the next 4 years. Trump isn’t humble, and he will never accept blame or admit he failed. But, we’ll take that over “I grew up in a middle class family.”
• If Harris wins, America may not have any middle class families in 4 years.
• Trump is not in favor of tampons in men’s bathrooms.
• Vance > Walz (nice beard)
• Trump just makes things more interesting, and that’s good for the news business.
• We’re pandering. The vast majority of our readers support Trump, and we don’t want to make them mad.

We hope you respect and understand our decision to endorse Trump. Regardless of which candidate you support, we hope you’ll continue to come to us for the news of the Strong River Valley. We appreciate your readership, and we’ll continue to report the news.

by “Stretch” DeTrooth

College sports, especially football and basketball, have been changed dramatically by NIL (name, image, and likeness). Many players simply choose their college based off which college will pay the most NIL money. In addition to NIL, the transfer portal is making a huge impact on college sports. Players can switch schools freely with no restrictions. Players are basically free agents each year, and many leave a school because another one will pay them more money.

Just about all major Division 1 colleges have NIL collectives, and some smaller schools have collectives as well. Now, some community colleges have formed collectives to pay their athletes. But, the trend really hasn’t trickled down to high schools across the country. I’ve heard about a few high school athletes receiving NIL money, but it’s rare. That is about to change in The Valley.

Valley Prep’s boosters have recently formed a NIL collective called The Standard Collective. Valley Prep’s motto is “Set the Standard”, so the collective name comes from their motto. From my recent story about Valley Prep, you know that athletics are not a big focus for the school. The Standard Collective will not be for athletics; it’s going to initially be for Valley Prep’s chess and debate teams.

Valley Prep’s chess team is the best in the state bar none. They have won the state championship 7 out of the past 8 years, and 5 times in a row. Valley Prep’s debate team is also the best in the state; they’ve won 4 consecutive state championships and 5 out of the past 6. These mental athletes are the top performers at Valley Prep, and they’re some of the most sought after students in the state. Most receive scholarship offers from Ivy League schools and other prestigious universities. As Valley Preppers say, “From The Valley to the Ivy.”

The Standard Collective was formed 3 weeks ago, and it was spearheaded by Bobby Fisher. Fisher said, “We’re very excited about the Standard Collective. We have some of the best mental athletes in the state and in the country, and we want to do everything to keep them at Valley Prep. Many of our chess and debate team members have gotten offers from other schools, and the Standard Collective will help keep our talented students at Valley Prep. It will also help us attract even more mental athletes to Valley Prep. The future is bright for Valley Prep and the Standard Collective. As we say here at Valley Prep- “We set the standard.”

This is the first NIL collective in the state for high schoolers, and it’s interesting that it’s not even for football or athletics. I talked with multiple Valley Prep stakeholders, and the feedback I received about the Standard Collective was mixed.

One Valley Prep football player’s father told me, “To be honest, I think this is a load of crap. Our football team is horrible and has been horrible for a while; the collective money needs to be used for football. The chess and debate teams are already stacked, so they don’t need help. The football program needs help Mr. Fisher! Come on man!”

I talked with Valley Prep’s Director of Academic Achievement, Cornell Brown-Yale, and he said, “We are so excited about the Standard Collective. This will help our mental athletes get the compensation they deserve, and it will help us attract even more top notch chess players and debaters in the state. Some may feel this is a little much for high school students, but we think this will become more common in the future. As usual, Valley Prep is setting the standard.”

The Standard Collective will begin accepting contributions next month. They are urging Valley Prep alumni to donate to this trend-setting organization. It will be interesting to see if other schools in The Valley and the state start paying high school athletes. As usual, you can count on the SRVO to keep you informed, and we’ll do that about Valley Prep and the Standard Collective.

by Mack Speed

Hello Valleyans! We had a great night at The Valley Motor Speedway Saturday night. It was the final race of the season, so it was a playoff-like atmosphere. We had a huge crowd; I think it was the biggest crowd we’ve ever had. Next season, we’ll have to start counting cars and keep track of attendance to know how many we have each race.

Just when you think you have the parking thing down, things go haywire. My parking guys didn’t have a good night. I talked with my head parking guy, and he said some of it was the fans didn’t care what the parking guys said. He also said two of his take charge guys were out, and I guess his replacements didn’t know how to take charge. If you’re not assertive and forceful, these people will just park wherever and however they please.

The vibes at the track were electric. It had the atmosphere of a big SEC football game. We had more tailgaters than ever, and everyone was having a good time. The MSU and Ole Miss fans were tailgating together again, and you love to see that. There were tons of kids running around, and that made me feel good. The Coach O impersonator was back! He has become a celebrity at the track. He was even taking selfies and signing autographs Saturday night.

Rusty Moore and the sports book was on fire this week. We had more betting than ever. Rusty made money for the track last week, and he did really well for the track this week. We might be able to get him some help next season, and I think we made enough money to get him out of the old shooting house and get him some new digs. We’re going to have to do more to promote Rusty and the sports book next season, so y’all look out for that next year.

To the races! My boy, Dale Earnhardt Speed, bounced back after his first ever loss. I told him it’s all about how you respond when you get knocked down. He was locked in from the jump, and it wasn’t even close. He sent a message to Juan Pablo Lagano and the others that he owns the junior league, and it’s gonna stay that way going into next season.

Jimmie Stewart was back this week after serving his one race suspension from gambling on his race. He was locked in from the jump, and he managed to eke it out in the end. It was a tough race, and the guys were bumping and grinding the whole race. I was worried that it might get out hand, but it never did. It was just old fashioned tough racing, and I liked it. The fans were even mouthing back and forth at each other. It was good stuff, and that’s what it’s all about.

Valleyans, thank you for coming out to the track this season! We had a great season, and I can’t wait for next year. We’re gonna continue to grow the SRVMRL, and we appreciate your support. See you next season!

by Offe Hisczrocher

Have you wondered why so many Jeeps have rubber ducks sitting on their dashboard? I’m sure most of you have noticed the rubber ducks on the Jeep dashboards by now. But, I had no idea why so many Jeeps have ducks sitting on their dashboard. Are they Free Masons, members of a secret club, or possibly members of a cult? Well, the practice is called “ducking.” Fellow Jeep owners acknowledge each other for multiple reasons, including just having a nice Jeep to just an act of kindness, by putting a duck on another person’s Jeep. There’s nothing sinister about it; it’s actually a neat practice or trend.

Someone in The Valley has started a similar trend. It appears the originator/s of this trend seeks out older model Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys, and they put mini Energizer bunnies on these cars. No one knows who started the trend, but it’s catching on. I’ve personally noticed 5-6 Accords and Camrys with small Energizer bunnies sitting on their dashboards.

It’s the talk on social media among Valleyans right now. People are trying to figure out who started the trend, but no one knows. The practice is being called “bunnying” or “getting bunnied.” One can assume the Energizer bunny symbolizes that these two car models are durable, and they just keep going and going like the Energizer bunny.

One Valleyan said, “I think this is hilarious. My Accord is 12 years old, and she’s still running strong. I’m going to drive her to the wheels fall off. I’ve been “bunnied” 3 times now, and I’m proud to display those bunnies on my dash. Hopefully, my car will still keep going strong for years to come, and I can fill my dash up with bunnies.”

A Valley Jeep owner said, “I’ve been ducking for years now, and it’s fun. But, I really enjoy bunnying Accord and Camry owners. I’ve bought a ton of mini bunnies, and I’m putting them out everywhere. It’s a riot to see these old cars driving around with bunnies on their dashes.”

This a fun trend, and the intrigue about the originator/s is very funny. The trend hasn’t really caught on outside The Valley yet, but I’m sure it will soon. No one noticed those older Accord and Camry’s until now. Take a backseat Jeep owners! It’s time for these old Accords and Camrys to shine!

by Emma Embellischer

The world is changing at a fast pace, and if you don’t keep up, you can easily get left behind. The Internet/Social Media Age has changed many things for the better. And, some things have changed for the worse. I could write a book about that, and we could discuss it for days. One thing that has significantly changed in the Internet/Social Media Age is communication. Communication is now instant. There are also so many new communication channels: social media, instant messaging, text messages, email, and more.

Unfortunately, many senior citizens and adults have gotten left behind in this instant communication world. Most senior adults have adopted email and text messaging, and more and more have started using social media (mostly Facebook). Now, social media platforms/apps like Tiktok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, X, and more are the preferred communication channels for most young people these days.

Not only are they using these new communication channels or applications, their method of communicating has changed. These youngsters may be communicating in 3 different apps with 3 different people at one time, so they want to make things as quick and easy as possible. So, words or phrases have been shortened or abbreviated. For example: Thank you= TY, You’re Welcome= YW, I Don’t Know= IDK, and many more. This has caused many adults to be left behind in this modern world of communication.

Valley Technical Institute (Valley Tech) is a community college in Valley City, and they do a great job of serving the citizens of The Valley. Valley Tech sociology and psychology instructor, Benji Rush, recognized this communication issue among older adults and teens and 20 somethings. Rush said, “I approached our dean about creating a communication course to educate adults about communicating in the modern world. They were on board, so I started working on the curriculum. I’ve worked on it for about 3 months, and we’re going live with the course next week. The name of the course is “Communicating in the Modern World.” The course will educate adults on using social media, learning abbreviated words and phrases, and learning current slang words and phrases, and it will last 6 weeks. Right now, we have 11 people signed up, and the average age of the students is 65. I’m really excited about it.”

I was able to catch up with a couple of the students, and they were excited about the course. Billy Bean, a retired truck driver and grandpa, said, “Look, I just got a smart phone 6 months ago; I had a flip phone forever. I have been overwhelmed with all this technology. I got on Facebook about a month ago. My kids and grandkids text me, and I don’t know what half the crap they text me means. So, I decided to take this course to learn more.”

Karen Krasczinsky, a retired secretary and grandma, is also taking the course. She said, “I’ve embraced texting and social media. I’m on Facebook, and I recently got on Tiktok. I think I’m a pretty cool and hip grandma, but I need to learn more. I listen to my grandkids talking to each other and their friends, and it’s almost like they’re talking in a different language. I wanna learn more about the current slang of youngsters, and using and mastering hashtags.”

Rush has a couple parents under 40 in the class, so it’s not just senior citizens and grandparents that are struggling with modern communication. Rush also expects this course to be offered more in the future. If you’re struggling with communicating in this crazy world, consider taking Rush’s class at Valley Tech.

by Mack Speed

Hello Valleyans! We had a great night at the Valley Motor Speedway Saturday. Again, we had a big crowd, and I saw car tags from all over the place. Evidently, word is getting out about the great environment at the SRVMRL.

Parking was good this week; we had no major issues with parking. However, we did have a couple fender benders. One Lexus SUV owner from Madison Co. had a barely visible scratch after the fender bender, and they called the police to file a report for their insurance. Of course, everybody turned into rubberneckers when the cops showed up. It was ridiculous to be honest, and the police officer thought it was ridiculous too.

The atmosphere was great Saturday night. We had a ton of tailgaters. Some of the MSU and Ole Miss fans were even tailgating together. After Ole Miss’s recent loss, I guess they can now feel MSU fans’ pain. They even invited USM fans to join with them too. I think I may have heard some of them singing Kum Ba Yah. Maybe this is a sign that people are coming together. Maybe the Democrats and Republicans can come together. Peace in the Middle East is a probably a stretch, but who knows. I’ll take this as a good sign, but I’m probably off base. Oh yeah, Coach O was back again this week! You gotta love Coach O! He greeted me. I heard “Hey Mack! gajgoadjfj oajfdoajoadjoa agjoajoajo.”

The sportsbook was buzzing. People were placing bets on the races like crazy. I think Rusty’s handicapping is getting better after watching a few races and getting to the know the drivers. I mentioned an issue with our last race, and I think I’ve figured out what happened. My investigation resulted in Jimmie Stewart being suspended from Saturday night’s race.

Jimmie’s brother placed a big bet on Tony Johnson the last race, and Jimmie seemed to not be concerned about winning. Jimmie came clean to me on this; he was honest about it. Jimmie’s brother won hundreds of dollars by betting on Tony in the last race, and he placed the bet for Jimmie. Jimmie wanted new rims for his mower, so he got his brother to place the bet. I told Jimmie that his fans will have to wait until the next race to see those nice new rims because he ain’t racing Saturday night. I also told him that I’d ban him from the Track if he did this again.

Now, to the races. My boy, Dale Earnhardt Speed, finally lost a race. Juan Pablo Lagano barely beat him. Dale was devastated, and I did my best to console him. I told him to remember this feeling and how bad it hurts, and I told him it’s all about bouncing back. It’s all about how you respond. When you get knocked down, you gotta get back up off the mat and fight. We’ll see how he responds, but I think it’s good for him. Everyone needs to face some adversity; everything in life is not going to be easy all the time.

To the adult race. With Jimmie Stewart being out, that opened up things quite a bit. We had a heck of race between Jeff Petty and Tony Johnson. They were going at it all night, but Petty won in the end. It was probably the best race we’ve had at the Track. They were bumpin and grindin the last 2 laps, and it was great racing. Those two were having words after the race, and I thought it might get physical. But, nothing ended up happening. It will be interesting when Jimmie Stewart returns next week with his new rims.

Well, we only have one race left in the season, and that’s hard to believe. It should be a lot of fun. We’ll see you at the Valley Motor Speedway in a couple weeks.

by “Stretch” DeTrooth

Strong River Valley (SRV) Records has been doing work lately. They are a brand new record label located here in The Valley. Bubba Swompz was the first artist they signed, and he is doing big things with his album “Valley Born & Bred.” Now, SRV Records has signed their second artist- Lily of the Valley. Her single “Dad Bod Pride” was released on all the major platforms last Friday, and her debut album “Wife/Mom Life” will be released tomorrow! I was able to catch up with Lily this week, and I’ve included some of our Q&A session below.

Q. Your actual name is Lily Williams. Where did Lily of the Valley come from?

A. Well, that’s a fairly new nickname for me. I have lived in The Valley my whole life, but I’ve always just been Lily. I started doing a few gigs here and there in and around The Valley a few years ago. I had a couple guys start calling me Lily of The Valley one night, and it just kind of stuck. They probably had no idea that the lily of the valley is actually a poisonous plant. That’s pretty funny. Now, that’s what all my fans call me. I like it. But, to my husband, family, and friends, I’ll still just Lily.

Q. How long have you been singing?

A. Oh, I’ve been singing since I was a little girl. I’ve loved singing as long as I can remember. I grew up singing in church and pageants. As I got older, I also sang in the school choir and show choir. In college, I’d go out with my friends, and I’d always end up singing karaoke. After getting married and starting a family, I would just sing in church occasionally, but 4-5 years ago I started singing in local restaurants and parties when I could. My family and friends started pushing me to do an album about a year ago, so I’ve been working on it for about a year. I’m so happy to share it to the world.

Q. What artists have influenced your musical style?

A. I love me some country music, so most of the artists that I’ve looked up to are country singers. I grew up when country music was actually country music. Shania Twain is probably my favorite artist of all time. I also love some Reba and Wynonna Judd. I like Gretchen Wilson too. Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood are a couple younger artists that I really like. I also like Aaron Tippin, Collin Raye, and Johnny Cash.

Q. What is your debut album “Wife/Mom Life” about?

A. I’m a wife and mom to 3 wonderful kids, and our life is crazy like most families these days. I wanted my album to be relatable to other moms, wives, husbands, and dads. The album is about the everyday struggles and things us busy moms and wives have to deal with, and I tried to put a fun twist on it. I think I’ve put together a good album with some good, fun songs. It’s for all you moms and wives out there!

Q. What is next for you Lily?

A. Nothing is going to change on the mom/wife front. I’ll still be taking care of my family and animals, and living this crazy wife/mom life. I won’t be going on tour anytime soon. My family takes precedent over everything else, and that will always be the case for me. We’ll see what happens with the album. Hopefully, people will like it; I’ve put a lot of time and effort into it. Y’all check it out on Spotify, AppleMusic, YouTubeMusic, and more!

by I. B. Lyon

Black panthers are controversial creatures. Many people say there is no such thing as a black panther, and there are definitely none in The Valley. Other people swear they’ve seen one, and they say they’re absolutely real and they live in The Valley. Evidently, they are real, and there is one roaming the Strong River Bend (SRB) area. There have been multiple sightings by five different people recently, so I set off to investigate the situation.

I called the MS Dept. of Wildlife, Parks, & Fisheries, and I talked to their big cat expert, Ima Kouger. She has been with the agency for 25 years, and she’s been studying big cats for many years. Kouger said, “We do not have black panthers in MS. I know people swear we do, but there is no such thing as a black panther. They are not a species or sub species. Of course, there is the Florida panther that has a tan colored coat, and its range is in south and central Florida. But, the black panther is just a myth or urban legend.”

I also joined 2 black panther sightings/stories Facebook groups. To be honest, I didn’t gain much from these groups. People would tell stories of seeing a black panther 25 or 30 years ago, and they would have no pictures. Also, people would post pictures of black house cats, and try to make them look bigger than they actually were to fool people into believing they were panthers. After a couple weeks, I left the groups, but I did have some really good laughs in those couple weeks.

After talking with Ms. Kouger and perusing panther Facebook groups, I set out to talk with the Valleyans that have supposedly seen the big cat recently. I tracked down all five people, but two people declined to be interviewed. The three SRB residents that I talked with were adamant that they’d seen a black panther. All three people managed to get a picture of the cat.

I talked with Billy Ray Pheline first. Pheline said, “We were hanging out at the Strong River a couple weeks ago, and it was around dusk. We were getting ready to leave, and we heard something splashing in the river a ways off. We looked and that thing was swimming in the river. We couldn’t believe it! We watched it for about 30 seconds, and it got out of the water and ran off. We were able to get a picture of it drinking water before it ran off. Unbelievable! I didn’t believe in them, but now I do.”

Next, I was able to catch up with Khitty Jones. She said, “Recently, we’ve heard our dog playing with something in the back yard at night. We tried a couple times to see what it was, but we never saw anything. 3 nights ago, we finally saw what Buster was playing with. It was a black panther! Our jaws hit the floor when we finally saw it. Evidently, Buster and the panther have formed a friendship, and they like to play at night. We were able to get a picture before it ran off into the woods. It was so neat!”

Last, but not least, I talked with Jagwyre Black. Black said, “We’ve had a problem with a fox or other critters getting our chickens at night. But, we haven’t lost one in a while, and I wondered why because we haven’t changed anything. I think I figured it out. I’m pretty sure a black panther has been hanging out by our barn and coup, and I think it’s protecting our chickens. I know that sounds crazy. I saw it one evening by the barn, and I setup a game camera. Believe it or not, I was able to get a good picture of him about a week ago. People think I’m crazy, but it is what it is.”

At the SRVO, we just give you the facts, and let you decide. Do we have black panthers in MS and in The Valley? We’ll let you decide.