by Emma Embellischer

The Valley has been buzzing lately. Growth and development is happening at a breakneck pace. Many Valleyans have been concerned that the growth and development could harm the natural beauty of The Valley. There has been a lot of talk among city and county officials in The Valley lately about ways to preserve some of The Valley for generations to come. The Strong River Valley Transportation Authority (SRVTA) voted at its latest board meeting to create a scenic highway or byway called 40B.

SRVTA board chairman, Mehate Teslaz, made the announcement yesterday at a press conference, and he was excited about the byway. Teslaz said, “We are super excited about 40B. We’ve been working on this project for some time now, and we’re ecstatic to get this project up and running. We got the go ahead with MDOT a couple weeks ago, and we secured millions in federal funding as well. This highway will be the Federal Highway Administration’s latest scenic byway, and it’s going to do a ton to showcase The Valley.”

The byway will meander approximately 8 miles along the Strong River and Hwy. 13 and Hwy. 43. It will start northeast of Mendenhall and end southwest of Mendenhall, and it will cross Hwy. 13, Hwy. 43, and the Strong River multiple times. The SRVTA set aside approximately 2 miles of the byway that will remain untouched and not open for development. Approximately $10 million was allocated for an interpretive center that will educate visitors about the flora and fauna of The Valley. There will be pulloffs with picnic tables and restrooms along 40B. There will also be boardwalks along some swampy areas including the infamous The Bottoms Swamp, and this will attract bird watchers from across the country.

Teslaz said, “We named the byway 40B because we envision The Valley to be bigger and better than 30A in North Florida. Some people will think we’re delusional, but I have a lot of faith in the SRVTA and the residents of The Valley. Just wait 30A! Give us 5-7 years, and you’ll see 40B stickers on all the Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus SUVs! We’ll have the sun and sand without the shark attacks.”

The SRVTA thinks the national scenic byway designation will bring in visitors from all across the U.S. Teslaz said, “40B will be the third scenic byway in MS, so that’s a big deal.”

The SRVTA board expects development along 40B to be huge. Two recent developments will be on 40B, and they should provide anchors to build and develop around- The Valley National Golf Club and Strong River Valley Camping Resort & Spa. Board members told me to expect multiple businesses and developments to pop up along 40B including a RV park, a gated mobile home park, a bait shop, farmers market, small condos, a fishing and noodling outfitter, a catfish restaurant, an indoor shooting range, a mini golf course, and more.

I talked to multiple Valleyans about 40B, and they were all ecstatic. One said, “I own land on the river, and I’m seeing dollar signs right now baby! Cha ching!” Another Valleyan said, “This is so exciting. I can’t wait to get my 40B window sticker and t-shirt. 30A ain’t got nothing on 40B baby! This is going to put The Valley on the map!”

This is definitely a watershed moment for The Valley. Construction on 40B will begin within the next couple months. The SRVO will keep you updated on the construction and development of 40B in the coming months.

by Pullyn Mylegg

Valley City always has a big community event on July 4th, and this year was no different. City officials estimated there to be 700- 800 people in attendance. Everyone was very festive, and people were decked out in red, white, and blue. It was Americana at its finest. There are always multiple events scheduled, and the fireworks show is always the highlight of the event. But, this year city officials planned a drone show instead of a fireworks show.

The festivities this year included a catfish filet eating contest, sweet tea chugging contest, and some vendor booths. There also was a cousin reveal station. There were representatives there from a company similar to 23andMe that had the capability to rapid genetic testing. They encouraged people to give saliva samples, and they did the cousin reveal at 7:00. Multiple people found out they were indeed cousins. The Huckabees, a married couple, found out they were actually 2nd cousins. They are from Alabama, so that’s all you need to know. One lady, who will remain anonymous, discovered that her dad was not actually her biological father. Her biological father was in attendance, and his name will remain anonymous as well. He was not informed about this revelation. She left the event very upset, and her mother has some explaining to do.

The catfish fillet eating contest was a hit. There were 8 contestants, and they had 10 minutes to eat as many filet as possible. All contestants had to sign a waiver saying they wouldn’t sue if they swallowed a bone. The catfish fillets were provided by Ricky’s on the River. Johnny Blue was the winner by one fillet; he at 39 fillets.

The sweet tea chugging contest was a hit as well. 7 contestants had one minute to chug as many 12 ounce cups of sweet tea as possible. Milo “Red” Diamond won the contest by chugging 11 cups of tea. It wasn’t really close; the next closest competitor only drank 8 cups.

The Dirtdobbers were performing live music at the event. At 7:30, everything was halted and everyone sat in their lawn chairs and listened to the Dirtdobbers. They performed multiple patriotic songs including “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless the USA.” It was a moving moment as attendees waved American flags during “America the Beautiful.” After the patriotic songs, the highlight of the event began- the drone show.

The smart kids from Valley Prep’s tech department did the drone show. It was amazing! The coordination of all the red, white, and blue drones was impressive. They formed multiples shapes and formations including an American flag which drew a big applause. The drone show was almost finished, and a couple drones were knocked out of the sky. Evidently, an owl did not like the red drones, and he/she attacked a couple and they fell to the ground, and one of the drones almost landed on an elderly lady.

The year’s Valley City July 4th Celebration was a great event. The cousin reveal and drone show were very interesting. I’m not sure the cousin reveal people will be invited back next year, but we’ll see. The SRVO will be there next year reporting on this great annual event.

by I. B. Lyon

Tipping has gotten out of control these days. You’re supposed to tip your hair stylist, barista, bartender, hotel valet, Uber driver, Doordash driver, baseball/softball instructor, dog walker, and more. Every restaurant in America now strongly encourages diners to tip. Many restaurants ask for tips before you receive service, and many restaurants that provide little to no service ask for tips as well. It has just gotten to be annoying and a little too much.

The Strong River Bend Police Dept. (SRBPD) has been thinking of ways to bring in additional revenue. The department has struggled for years with limited resources, and they are having issues keeping good officers. Strong River Bend (SRB) councilman, Tip O’Beal, recently suggested the police department should start accepting tips at a town board meeting. O’Beal said, “Just about all restaurants and many other places ask for tips these days, and it’s kind of gotten to be an expected thing you know. Why couldn’t our police officers ask for tips after traffic stops? It could bring in more revenue for the town, and it’ll help us attract more quality officers.”

The board meeting ran longer than normal because the town council members, the mayor, and the town attorney had to work out the details of the tipping program. City attorney, Parry Maison, said, “I have never heard of this before, so I wasn’t sure if it was legal. So, I left the room and did a quick Google search, and I found nothing that prohibited it. I just told the council and mayor to instruct their police officers to not coerce citizens to tip under any circumstances. Also, they should give 3 preset options like 15%, 18%, and 20%, and they’d need to give a custom option in case citizens wanted to tip a different amount or nothing at all. Plus, the amount of the fine or fee would have to be disclosed to the citizens when they are stopped.”

The council voted 5-0 in favor of the town keeping 75% of the tips, and 25% will be given the officer that received the tip. SRB police chief, Barney Kojak, is excited about the tipping program. Kojak said, “I’m pumped about this. This will help us attract new quality officers. It will also help us bring in more revenue to the town. The town will receive 75% of all tips, and our officers will definitely make more traffic stops to increase their likelihood of getting tips. Additionally, it will allow us to collect fines and fees when our officers give the citations. We won’t have to wait weeks to collect fines and fees. People will be able to pay their fines and fees during their traffic stop by check, credit card, Apple Pay, Android Pay, Venmo, CashApp, and Paypal. So, I think this will be a win-win for everyone.”

One important caveat to the tipping program is that a citation has to be given in order to get a tip. So, if a driver receives a warning, the officer can’t receive a tip. This will all be built into the department’s computer software called TipBlue. Also, cash cannot be accepted by officers as tips. SRB and Valley residents are torn about the new tipping program.

One Valley resident said, “Well, I guess I won’t be able to get my tickets fixed anymore. The officers gotta get you on something in order to get a tip, and they ain’t gonna want that tip taken away after the fact. I guess I’ll have to slow down and stop at the stop signs now. And, they’re gonna be pulling people over like crazy to get tips; I may have to avoid SRB now. Plus, we have to tip everybody these days, and now we’re supposed to tip cops? Come on man! I’m not happy with Ole Kojak about this.”

A SRB resident said, “I like this idea. Our officers don’t get paid much, and this will allow them to make more money. They work hard, and I think they should be able to get tips. It’s a good thing.”

This program will begin on Monday. It will interesting to see in the coming months how much revenue this generates for SRB. If the program does well, I expect more towns to follow suit. The SRVO will keep you updated on the tipping program.

by I. B. Lyon

There is a huge push worldwide right now to cut down on carbon emissions. We are all urged to go green to save the planet. There is also a big push for everyone to buy electric vehicles (EVs). Many countries in Europe have banned vehicles with internal combustion engines after specific dates in the future. Also, multiple countries in Europe have established low emission zones where drivers that have gas guzzlers have to pay a fee to enter the zones. Well, that’s not going to happen in The Valley.

The Strong River Valley Transportation Authority (SRVTA) board recently passed a ground breaking rule. The new rule will require EV drivers to pay a $1 fee per day to pass through the SRVTA’s jurisdiction. The new rule is being dubbed the “EV fee.” I spoke with the board’s chairman, Mehate Teslaz, about the new rule. Teslaz said, “The SRVTA tries to be proactive and not reactive, and we try to stay ahead of the curve. As far as I know, this is the first rule of its kind in the world. We’ve seen a large increase of EVs passing through our jurisdiction in the past few years, and the extra weight of these EVs really takes a toll on our roads, highways, and bridges. A year ago, we were seeing 7-8 EVs using our roads and highways each day, but that number has doubled to 15-16 EVs per day. We felt this rule was needed.”

Implementation and enforcement of this new rule is going to be interesting. The SRVTA did not provide any details of how they planned to implement the rule, and no one knows how they will collect the fees. Teslaz said, “The rule will go into effect in 6 months, so that gives us time to implement everything we need. We’ve talked about different ways to implement it, and one that seemed popular and plausible was requiring EV owners to register their vehicles with the SRVTA. We’d gather their personal and vehicle info, and we’d require them to install a RFID device to be scanned any time they entered the SRVTA jurisdiction. That will allow us to know their whereabouts, and we’d require the EV owners to link a payment method (credit card, Apple pay, Venmo, etc.) to pay their fees. We’d like the input of Valleyans, but the board will finalize everything in the coming months.”

This is going to be a polarizing issue. One Tesla owner I talked with was very upset about the new rule. He said, “This new rule is an egregious abuse of power. Teslaz is just trying to help his reelection chances; he’s just playing to his base. There is no need for this. How much revenue is this going to raise each year? $750? I think he’s just trying to get his country club dues paid for. I will be filing a lawsuit against the SRVTA, so I’ll see them in court.”

Another Valleyan I talked with had a different view on the rule. He said, “I like it. The SRVTA plays offense baby. They don’t play defense. We don’t like these liberal latte sipping EV owners, and we’re gonna make them pay. Teslaz for President!”

The SRVO will keep you updated on the EV fee. The coming debates and implementation are sure to provide a lot of fireworks, and we’ll be here to cover it.

by Offe Hisczrocher

You often see videos on social media of different types of animals that are friends or play together. Often, you’ll see dogs and cats that are friends. Occasionally, you’ll see vastly different animals that have a bond like a dog and a squirrel. But, Jackie Hanna has a couple animals at her house whose relationship is hard to believe it until you see it.

Jackie has a gray cat named Smoky that she got around 3 years ago. She was having issues with mice, and she wanted a cat to keep the mice away. An added benefit of Smoky would be that he’d keep snakes away as well. Last spring, Jackie noticed a speckled king snake in her flower bed, and she noticed that Smoky was not aggressive toward the snake. Jackie said, “I could tell Smoky knew the snake was there, but he acted like the snake didn’t bother him at all. I thought that was weird. I saw the snake 4-5 more times last year, and Smoky never attacked or bothered it. It was baffling. I thought cats were supposed to keep snakes away. Smoky wasn’t doing his job.”

A couple weeks ago Jackie figured out why Jackie didn’t bother the snake. Smoky and the snake are buddies. Hanna said, “I was watching Smoky out my kitchen window, and I saw that he had caught a frog. He was walking along the flower bed with it in his mouth, and he walked into the flower bed and dropped it. All of the sudden, the snake stuck his head out of a shrub and gobbled up the frog. I saw Smoky do the same thing again a few days later. I kid you not! I couldn’t believe it.”

The story gets even more crazy. Hanna said, “On Friday of last week, I walked out in the garage and Smoky was sitting by the snake. I just about fell out, but I managed to take a picture. He acted like he didn’t want me to get close to the snake; it was like he was protecting the snake. It gets even better. Smoky caught a small rat snake this Monday on the back porch. The snake was about a foot long. I saw him carry that snake to the king snake in the flower bed. I went outside, and I watched the king snake gobble up that poor rat snake. It was something else. I decided to name the king snake Speck. Ole Speck is going to get fat because of Smoky!”

I talked to herpetologist, Coral Rattler, about the relationship. He said, “I’ve never heard of a relationship like this. I’m really at a loss for words. I want to visit Jackie just to see it in person. It I had to hypothesize, I would say their relationship is the result of climate change.” Of course, just about everything these days is caused by climate change. Some economists are even saying that inflation is caused by climate change.

This is truly a unique relationship between Smoky and Speck. It will be interesting to see if they can stay friends as Speck continues to grow. The SRVO will be sure to do a follow up story next spring to give you an update on this unique relationship.

by Ima Phibber

Kids love summer camps. They love the outdoor activities, the games, and the camaraderie with their friends and fellow campers. There’s nothing like a good experience at a summer camp. Kids will remember things they learned and things that happened at summer camp for the rest of their lives. Camp can be good for mom and dad as well; they look forward to unloading their kids off at camp for much needed breaks.

Retired Army Colonel Dwight Patton is a well known and respected Valley resident. He’s struggled for a couple years to decide on what he was going to do in retirement after his decorated military career, but Patton recently made a decision about his plans in retirement. Col. Patton said, “I own a lot of land, and I wasn’t really putting any of it to use. I attended summer camp growing up, and I loved it. Now, I have a passion for kids and helping kids. I had the thought of starting a summer camp for kids, and the thought of it continued to grow on me. So, I recently decided that I was going to give it a go. I’ve been working on everything for about 9 months now, and it’s great to see it all come to fruition.”

Col. Patton’s camp is going to have the look and feel of a traditional summer camp, but it’s going to be different in some ways. He’s going to have cabins with bunk beds, and he’s going to have a big mess hall. He’s also going to have traditional camp activities like swimming, canoeing, archery, and camp fires. He’s going to have an emphasis on survival skills and living off the land. He’s also going to spend a good bit of time teaching the campers counter bullying techniques and strategies. But, what’s really going to set his camp apart is his old school, no nonsense approach of his and his staff’s treatment of the campers. Patton has named his camp, Camp Ayntnocissy, after a Choctaw word meaning tough guy.

The 3 guiding principles of Camp Ayntnocissy will be Responsibility, Accountability, and Toughness. Col Patton said, “You’ll hear me and my staff say RAT repeatedly. That’s an acronym for our guiding principles. Campers and parents might think we have a rat infestation to begin with, but it won’t take them long to pick up on the RAT mantra.”

Col. Patton said, “I have 3 grandkids, and I love them do pieces. But, they’re as soft as tissue paper, and it really bothers me. Most kids these days are in the same boat, and I blame a lot of it on these millennial helicopter parents. Well, our aim at Camp Ayntnocissy is to make these kids mentally and physically tough. There will be no sissies at Camp Ayntnocissy!”

Col. Patton has assembled a group of retired military members and retired coaches to be his staff and counselors, and they aim to whip these kids into shape. Col. Patton added, “When you drop Little Johnny or Little Jane off for the week, they will be different kids when you pick them up a week later. We promise you that.” Camp Ayntnocissy has a long list of rules that parents and campers have to agree to abide by, and some are listed below. Violation of one or more of these rules by the camper or the parent will result in the child being dismissed, and there will be no refunds.

• No screens- no cell phones, no iPads, no Nintendo Switches, no televisions
• No complaining or whining
• You will not have any contact with your child unless he/she breaks a bone, has a concussion, or obtains a flesh eating bacteria. We will not send you any pictures or videos of your child.
• Other than breaking a bone, getting a concussion, or obtaining a flesh eating bacteria, crying is allowed only one time. A second crying spell will result in dismissal.
• Your child will have to walk around barefooted occasionally.
• Your child will perspire and often perspire profusely.
• Your child will drink water out of a water hose.
• Your child will use sharp objects such as knives and machetes.
• Your child will get his/her hands dirty, and hand sanitizer is not allowed.
• Your child will be responsible for his/her belongings and actions. A counselor or staffer will not keep track of your child’s belongings.
• Your child will be expected to eat the food provided in the mess hall. No special dietary preferences will be taken into account.
• The words “I’m bored” are not allowed to be uttered.

Many parents and grandparents are excited about Col. Patton’s new camp. One Valley grandmother told me, “I really want to send Ethan to the camp. I love my grandson, but he’s a wimp and he stays inside all the time. I hope Col. Patton and his people can toughen him up. But, his mom will probably not want him to go; she’ll be upset that she can’t talk to him and baby him for a whole week.”

It will be interesting to see how Col. Patton’s old school, no nonsense approach works with the kids of the current generation. But, the parents and grandparents of The Valley seem to think this is really needed. Camp Ayntnocissy will welcome it’s first campers on Monday. We’ll see how it turns out.

by “Stretch” DeTrooth

T-ball is normally a circus; some would call it cat herding. Generally, the kids have no idea what’s going on. They’ll pile on each other going after the ball. They’ll sometimes run to the wrong base. Little Johnny will be sitting down playing in the dirt. It’s just adorable and hilarious.

The above is what you see with most t-ball teams, but that is not what you’ll see with Coach Bobby Cox’s team. Coach Cox has tryouts for his team. Kids on his team have to know the fundamentals, and they have to be able to pay attention. You won’t see a kid on his team playing in the dirt. He practices for 2 hours 3 times per week, so he takes it serious.

Cox said, “You see all this travel ball, and it normally starts with 7 or 8 year olds. That’s fine, but I felt I needed to up the ante a little bit. Why not start a travel or select t-ball team? A lot of these t-ball parents are serious about their kids learning the game, and I don’t think you can start too early. So, I decided to form the Termites. We’re the only travel t-ball team in The Valley and the state that I’m aware of. Once, people hear about the Termites, I think more coaches will form travel t-ball teams too. I’m going to do a t-ball tournament soon, and hopefully it will kickstart travel t-ball in The Valley.”

Currently, the Termites don’t have any other travel or select t-ball teams to play against. They’re just practicing 3 nights per week hoping the tournament will help them find some teams to play. The parents are very excited about the Termites and what Coach Cox brings to the table.

One Termite Mom said, “I’m so excited for Little Timmy and the Termites. These kids are working so hard, and they are improving so much. I can’t wait to cheer on the Termites each weekend! We want Timmy to specialize in baseball, and the Termites is a great start. A lot of people think I’m crazy for doing this, but you can never start them too young.”

One Termite Dad said, “Coach Cox is what these boys need. He expects excellence, and he won’t take anything less. He doesn’t allow crying, and he makes the boys pay attention at all times. No parents are allowed in the dugout. If a kid’s not paying attention, he makes the kid do 10 push ups. That’s old school, and kids need that these days. Coach Cox is already working with Little Johnny on batting from the left and right sides. He also works with the boys on back handing ground balls too. They all can catch pop ups. Being on the Termites is only going to help Little Johnny get on a really good travel team when he turns 7, and that’s what we want.”

Some people think a travel t-ball team is over the top, but Coach Cox and his parents feel otherwise. Coach Cox said, “Some people think we’re crazy, but we’re not. We’re just passionate about the game. I just saw a need and filled that need. Parents wanted to start their kids out young learning the game, and that’s what the Termites is all about. I’m hoping this travel t-ball will really take off, but we’ll see.”

We’ll see if this travel t-ball will take off like Coach Cox and the Termite parents hope it will. Time will tell, but I have my doubts. The SRVO will keep you updated about Coach Cox and his little Termites.

by “Stretch” DeTrooth

The 2nd Annual Strong River Valley Pickleball Open took place on Saturday at the Valley City Municipal Complex pickleball courts. There was a big raucous crowd, and everyone was excited about this event. Pickleball fever has finally found its way into The Valley, and it’s not letting up anytime soon. Last year, most of the players were from central MS, but this year’s tournament drew players from all across MS. The SRVO is thrilled to sponsor this tournament, and we look forward to supporting it for years to come.

Last year’s tournament was only for women, but men were allowed to play this year. Men’s singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles divisions were added to this year’s event. So, there were more than double the participants in this year’s tournament. This year’s tournament results also went toward the MS Pickleball Tour’s rankings, so that was a big draw for the players.

The Valley fans were amazed with all the BMWs, Mercedes, and Audi vehicles with Hinds and Madison County plates. There were more 30A stickers than you could shake a stick at. The pickle ballers and their fans from outside The Valley were amazed at the mullets, tattoos, and vaping of the Valleyans. It’s quite a contrast, but it’s a beautiful thing.

Mary Grace Evert was back to defend her women’s singles title from last year. She is currently ranked #1 in MS. She breezed through the draw, but she did face a battle in the final. Valleyan, Veanus Vanderford, gave her a scare in the finals, but Evert pulled through in the end.

The Valley’s favorite women’s doubles duo, Sarena Smith and Veanus Vanderford, showed out again this year. They were determined to win it this year; they’ve been working hard since they came up short last year. Their hard work paid off, and they brought home the trophy this year. The duo’s fans were instrumental in their run; they were raucous and they willed them to the title. Smith said, “I’ve worked hard on my fitness, and I’ve cut out gas station pizza and fried catfish. It paid off! I’m so happy!” Vanderford added, “Sarena inspired me, so I stopped vaping and got my act together. We’ve worked so hard! We’re the champs!”

The men’s doubles draw was the one to watch. There was a ton of drama. Jonny McEnroe and Steve Edberg breezed their way to the final. The attorneys from Madison are the #1 ranked team in MS. They faced the young upstarts from Strong River Bend, Ethan Burnham and Owen Patrick. The teens are baseball players that have recently picked up pickleball as a hobby to try to pickup girls. No one expected the teen duo to do well, but they played very hard and made their way to the final. Valley fans were not fond of the smug duo from Madison, and the attorneys seemed to relish in the crowd’s animosity. At one point, the young duo’s supporters started a Let’s Go Brandon chant that briefly halted play.

The young duo got off to a hot start on McEnroe and Edberg. The boys’ families and friends were so pumped and loud, and it was clearly affecting the attorneys from Madison. But, in the end, the experience of the elder duo paid off, and they won a tight match. McEnroe said, “It got a little crazy, but we pulled through in the end. These fans from The Valley are insane. I’ve never seen so many mullets, tattoos, and vaping in my life. The only thing that could possibly be worse than listening to these fans would be attending a Florida Georgia Line concert. And, they had more than water and sweet tea in those red Solo cups. But, we’ll be back by popular demand next year to defend our title.”

Owen Patrick said, “We didn’t know what to expect; we were just out here having fun. Our fans were awesome, and we can’t wait til next year! I got a couple Madison girls’ numbers and IG follows, so that was a good thing too. I think it’s my mullet perm. Those lawyers from Madison better be ready next year. We coming baby!”

A tournament goer nicknamed the Valley fans the Solo Cup Brigade. A ton of them were walking around with red Solo cups sipping on something. Alcohol is prohibited on the grounds of the Valley City Municipal Complex, so we there’s no way it could be alcohol right? One Valley fan said, “The Solo Cup Brigade! I love it baby! We’ll have red t-shirts next year with that on it. They’ve created a monster!”

The men’s singles title was won by Rafie Jokavich, and that was no surprise. The #1 ranked male in MS breezed through the draw while barely breaking a sweat.

I left before the mixed doubles final was over, and I haven’t received the results. No one cares to be honest; no one was watching the mixed doubles matches anyway.

We’ll see you next year at the SRV Open. This event is going to be a big draw going forward, and the SRVO is just honored to be a part of it.

by Ben BeEssen

Ricky’s on the River has been a popular restaurant on the Strong River for years. Valleyans love their fried catfish and seafood, and the place is always buzzing on Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays nights. Ricky decided to take advantage of the crawfish craze this year and have a crawfish eating contest. He publicized the contest on social media, and they had a great crowd this past Saturday night for the festivities.

The first annual Ricky’s on the River Mudbug Mayhem was held Saturday night. It was a huge event, and there was a large raucous crowd. The Dirtdobbers were performing live music, and the place was crazy. There were 8 eaters that signed up for the contest. The overwhelming favorite was Billy Boudreaux; he’s well known in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region for consuming other worldly amounts of crawfish. He’s known as the Joey Chestnut of competitive crawfish eating. He travels around to any crawfish eating contest he can find. The other 7 contestants had no competitive eating experience, so no one gave them a shot.

Contestants had 15 minutes to eat as many crawfish as possible. There were 3 judges, and the judges inspected the final trays and made sure all the crawfish were eaten. With only 15 minutes, the contestants had to be efficient in popping or peeling the tails and getting to the meat. That’s where Billy Boudreaux really separates himself. He can pop those tails off in his sleep; he’s an absolute machine. As you would expect, Boudreaux started off strong and really ran away from the competition. About 5 minutes in, all the contestants stopped for a moment and just watched Boudreaux. He was in an absolute zone. He ended up stopping around the 8 minute mark, because he knew the competition was basically over and he wasn’t feeling well. He sat back and sipped on a Coors Light. He ended up eating 159 crawfish in the allotted 15 minutes. His nearest competitor, Ron Reddclaw, ate 127 crawfish. Boudreaux could’ve easily eaten over 300 if he wouldn’t have had an upset stomach.

Things got interesting after the contest was over. Evidently, no one read the fine print. One contest rule stated that contestants would be disqualified if they vomited within 5 minutes of the end of the contest. Boudreaux hadn’t felt his best that day. He vomited violently two times right after the contest was over. He said, “Something was off with my stomach; I don’t know what it was. But, athletes sometimes have to play injured, and that’s what I did. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hold em down after it was over. I had no idea about this 5 minute rule. It’s a bunch of bs. I won it fair and square and everybody knows it. They are just jealous, and they didn’t want me to win in the first place. They didn’t want a Cajun coming up here and dunkin on em.”

Boudreaux yelled obscenities at the judges after he was informed he was not the winner, and he had to be restrained by his handlers. A few of his Cajun friends had some not so kind words for the judges as well. When asked what the Cajuns said, a couple bystanders said that they weren’t sure, but they know they were really mad. The event organizers said they’ll have security present at next year’s contest. Reddclaw was announced as the winner. Boudreaux said, “They better be glad I wasn’t feeling well, cuz I would’ve opened a can on em. It wouldn’t have been pretty. I’ll be back next year, and I can’t wait!”

Reddclaw reluctantly accepted the trophy. He said, “I won on a technicality, but I won. My name is on the trophy. No one will ever be able to take that away from me.” The first annual Ricky’s on the River Mudbug Mayhem was a big hit, and I’m sure it will only grow in popularity in the coming years. The SRVO will be back at Ricky’s this time next year to give you the rundown.

by Emma Embellischer

Rompers or jumpsuits have taken the fashion world by storm this year. Love them or hate them, you see them everywhere. Valley fashionista, Coco Prada, has decided to take advantage of the romper mania and open a store on Main St. in Valley City. Prada’s store, called Romper Realm, will sell rompers and a small number of fashion accessories.

Prada said, “I was surprised when rompers came back in style this year. The things are hideous. But, I thought I could take advantage of the madness and open a store that sells only rompers. I know we’re the only storefront in The Valley that sells rompers only, and I’m pretty sure we’re the only one in Mississippi and the South. You have to differentiate yourself in the fashion market today, and that’s what I think I’ve done.”

Prada’s store will have just about every romper imaginable. She’ll have some with sleeves, no sleeves, short rompers, and long rompers. She’ll carry many different fabrics and many different styles, and she will have competitive prices. She will also sell rompers and other items on her website- www.romperrealm.com. Additionally, she will carry rompers for men. Prada said, “Believe it or not, men are buying rompers these days, so we wanted to carry some for men. We’ll have some American and patriotic themed rompers for men to get them in the door. I’d never date a guy that would wear a romper, but that’s just me.”

Another draw for Prada’s store is that it is pet friendly, so shoppers are encouraged to bring their dogs, cats, and other animals in the store. She will also have one of those cool photo booths that the yuppies love these days. That will be a big draw for the young ladies to come in and shop and take pictures in the booth.

Prada will host a Facebook live event next Friday night at the store to showcase her rompers. She’ll have models to show off the rompers, and she plans to generate a lot of excitement and anticipation for the grand opening which will be in 3 weeks. However, she is having trouble finding any men to model her male rompers. She’s willing to pay a few men to model for a few hours, so contact Prada if you’re interested men.

Valleyans are mixed about Romper Realm. One young female said, “I’m so pumped about this store! I love rompers, but they’re not always true to size on me. So, I’m so happy that I’ll be able to try some on before I buy them.” A middle aged female said, “I know I’m a grandma, but I’m single now. A nice romper will really catch the eyes of younger single men. I’ll definitely be shopping at Romper Realm.”

One young husband said, “My wife thinks she has to keep up with the latest fashion trends, but she hasn’t bought a romper yet. I know she’ll want one now. The things are hideous, and they should be outlawed.”

Romper Realm is already generating a lot of buzz. The SRVO always roots for local small businesses, and we hope it thrives.