Smoke Signals and other news

Time is running out to sign your children up for baseball, tee ball, and softball in the county. Practices for most should start around the first of March, weather permitting. Yes, if you play with Byhalia, Potts Camp, or Holly Springs, you will play some home games and some at other fields. Until individual communities have enough players sign up to play only in their community, it is the only solution we know. The furthest baseball fields are only about twenty minutes apart. The season only lasts a couple of months. There are so many positive aspects to playing in the local league. Children and parents meet so many new friends. If these sports are not what your child loves, find what they are passionate about and support them.

After a serious wreck at Stonewall Road and Highway 309, Mitch Turner, from MDOT, ordered a study to determine if a traffic light is needed to help handle the high traffic in the area. Those that travel that intersection already know it is needed.

Standard Construction has won a bid to redo Highway 309 North starting in March. The road will have to be milled. Again, this portion of the highway is the responsibility of the State of Mississippi, not the Town of Byhalia.

Please take a few minutes to log on to the State of Mississippi website and look at their unclaimed property page. Search for your name or the name of relatives. If you have money there, you can file a claim for it. I recently received a small check. I also helped a cousin claim almost $400. Make sure you are on the actual Mississippi government site and not one that charges a fee. The real one is free. The site will not tell you the amount, only if it is over or under $100. It does take several weeks for it to process.

The Byhalia Police Department has several exciting events planned each month for the area this year starting in May, including a Citizens Firearms and Safety Class, a BBQ Cooking Contest and Blue & Red Softball Game, a Citizens Ride Along, a Police Fitness Challenge, a Public Safety Night Out, and a Chili Cooking Contest.

If you enjoy reading and don't have time to get to the library, Byhalia has a Little Free Library at the entrance of the walking track. There is a children's shelf and an adult shelf.

If anyone would like to understand how government works in the Town of Byhalia, I would encourage everyone to attend the Town of Byhalia Board meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. At the Byhalia Town Hall.

History moment: Wilson Durrum (sometimes spelled Durham) came from Perry/Overton County, Tennessee, and was said to be one of the first white men to reside in Marshall County in 1833. He was a prosperous landowner. A generous supporter of the Baptist Church, he donated the land and building where the older part of the church now stands. The Eason family came to Byhalia from Anson County, North Carolina, in the early 1850s. Harris H. Eason was born in Anson County in 1803 and died in Byhalia in 1859. He had two sons: Abner James (who married Mary Seago) and John H. Eason. John H. was recorded as a property owner in Byhalia in 1854.

Please share your news with me at jchwagg@gmail.com or text or call 901 246-8843. Please do not message me on Facebook.