BY jack criss
DBJ Executive Editor

The residents of Batesville know they have something special going on. It's a town with a quaint, laid-back approach, where folks all know each other and share a hardy "Hello" when they pass in the street. It's also a town with some of the most innovative, and unusual, businesses in the region. This juxtaposition may seem like a paradox (small-town friendliness combined with top-notch industry?) but the town of Batesville is a living testament to the rare possibility of the best of both worlds. And not only do the citizens here in this town of approximately 6,500 know it; they revel in it.
Long known for being rich in natural resources; Batesville and Panola County are abundant in minerals produced such as clays, sand, and gravel, hardwoods and pine timber types, and cotton, soybeans, corn, rice, etc.; the community just 55 miles south of Memphis is increasingly becoming known as an industrial powerhouse. Several important examples abound.
LS Power, LLC, located in Batesville's Industrial Park, has constructed a $300 million natural gas power plant that will soon be distributing electricity on the open market. Parker-Hannifin Corporation, in business for 26 years in Batesville, manufactures air conditioning hose assembly units for automobiles and other road equipment. Muscle Shoals Rubber Company makes all of the baseball cores for Major League Baseball and has done so since 1948, from Batesville since 1965. (Incidentally, company officials say that the balls have the same core today that they always have had!). Insituform Technologies, Inc. rehabilitates pipelines with proprietary trenchless technologies that make it possible to rehabilitate underground sewers and other pipelines without digging or disruption. The products the company makes are jointless, leakproof and corrosion resistant. Insituform serves wastewater, gas, and industrial companies and customers worldwide.
The leading producer of hardwood caskets in the United States is also located in Batesville. Batesville Casket Company employs over 250 people, and produces approximately 500 caskets a day. Air-Kontrol, Inc. manufactures air filtration products that are distributed to companies worldwide. The company distributes to retail, wholesale and industrial customers and has been in Batesville for 19 years. Also noteworthy, and very interesting, is the Tucker Manufacturing Company which manufactures and distributes sporting and athletic equipment used in football, such as helmets and shoulder pads. Yes, Virginia: all of these companies, and many more, are based in Batesville. And the surface has just been touched.
Tom Underwood, general manager of the Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association, says that Batesville has always been a very progressive community and that this mindset fits perfectly with the mission of the electric cooperative he oversees. This community is made up of good, hard-working people, and that makes a whole lot of difference, Underwood says. "When industrial prospects come here they can sense that work ethic, as well as the hospitality we show. Tallahatchie Valley EPA is proud to be a part of that.
"We are a co-operative, meaning we are owned by the people and businesses we serve," Underwood says when asked about Tallahatchie Valley. "We are also a non-profit organization, which means we don't have to return a profit to shareholders. Consequently, we're able to offer some of the lowest electric rates in the Southeast and in the nation," Underwood states.
TVEPA serves over 25,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in nine north Mississippi counties, according to Underwood, primarily Tate, Panola, Tallahatchie and Yalabousha. TVEPA is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors that is elected by members-owners who are served. The co-op has personnel stationed in Senatobia, Coffeeville, and Charleston, and employs over 100 full-time employees.
"We purchase our power from the Tennessee Valley Authority and, in turn, sell that to our members and clients," Underwood says. He is extremely proud of the low rates that the TVEPA can offer, as well as the community of Batesville he lives in. "This is a wonderful place to live and raise your kids," Underwood says. "I've lived since 1978 and wouldn't dream of moving anywhere else."
Richard Manning, administrator at South Panola Community Hospital (soon to be renamed Tri-Lakes Medical Center) echoes Underwood's sentiments concerning Batesville: "This town is really in a strong growth mode," Manning says. "There is lots of new industry that has come in over the past several years and the population is swelling." He laughs and says he is curious as to what the latest census will show. "I've been living here since 1991, and I can assure you we've grown tremendously!"
The plans for the new Tri-Lakes Medical Center began as early as 1993 Manning says. "Actually, when I came aboard in '91, the board and I discussed ways to improve our present facility," he relates. "We hired a consultant to come in and help us determine how to best upgrade and modernize and to develop a master plan. Ultimately, we came to the conclusion that the best thing for the hospital to do for the staff, our patients, and the community, would be to build a brand new facility. It was also very much the most cost-effective option to take."
The new $25 million, 117,000 square-foot project is set to open within the next three months and is located off of Interstate 55. "Compare this to the 55,000 square-feet we have currently," Manning notes, "and you can determine what a fine facility Tri-Lakes is going to be." Concerning the new name, Manning tells us that "it came from the idea that where we live is referred to as the tri-lakes area. Moreover, the new name gets us away from the stigma that the old name 'South Panola' has, which divided the county. Tri-Lakes sounds more accessible to the whole county, as well as to the surrounding areas we draw from."
According to Manning, all of the current services being offered at South Panola Community Hospital will be expanded in the Tri-Lakes facility. Additionally, he says, "We will be adding a new ICU unit, either full-blown or intermediate; we've yet to determine which. We'll also have several new out-patient services that we presently do not have. For the most part, though, we will be seeing an expansion of our current capabilities."
Dunlap & Kyle, a major player in Batesville's economic success, was established by Jack Dunlap and Hudson Kyle in 1929. Today, the still family-owned and locally-operated company employs over 600 people in seven states and has approximately $220 million in annual sales making it the largest independent tire dealer in the South and one of the ten largest Mississippi-based businesses.
Dunlap & Kyle is also the parent company to Gateway Tire & Service Center which has 48 company stores that operate as Gateway and Hasselbein Tire Centers. The stores are located in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Ohio. All of the Gateway/Hasselbein Centers are full-line tire stores that also sell and install brakes, batteries, shocks, filters, and front-end parts. The Centers pride themselves in service, according to Chief Executive Officer, Robert Dunlap. "We believe that if you take care of your customers, they will always come back," Dunlap says, and his company's numbers back him up.
Not only is the company dedicated to complete customer satisfaction and an emphasis on service, Dunlap & Kyle/Gateway also puts its money where its mouth is when it comes to community service. Over the last three years, the company has made well over a whopping $1 million in charitable contributions. Dunlap & Kyle puts an emphasis on helping the Shriners hospital for crippled children, the Boy and Girl Scouts of America, the Wildlife and Nature Conservancy, as well as the J.C. Dunlap Memorial Complex in Batesville.
Dr. C.L. Stevenson, superintendent of the South Panola School District in Batesville, oversees one of the more progressive systems in the state (see Dr. Stevenson's column on page 35). "We have, as our focus, a commitment to academic success for all of our students," Stevenson says. "Of course, we must build stronger academic programs, which we have, as well as producer safer, healthier school environments." Stevenson credits dynamic and active parent groups in Batesville as major assets in the success of the school district, which well as an adherence by the business and civic community to "Work in Partnership", as the district claims as its philosophy.
As an example of such partnership, over two years ago voters passed an $8.5 million school bond issue that allowed the South Panola School District to expand, creating, according to Stevenson, a more effective and less crowded, learning atmosphere for its students. These voter-approved funds, along with the $8.1 million the district received from the state through the Mississippi Adequate Education Act, will help finance the $16.6 million plan to improve the school district. The end result of this funding was the new South Panola High School, a 185,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that houses 1,500 students.
Batesville also has its share of more unorthodox individuals who, nevertheless, are major contributors to the business and cultural aspect of its community life. Take Casey Lipe, also known as "KC." This business owner/musician/saxophone wiz has become very well-known for being one of the top musicians in the state. He and his stage band, the Southside Rockers, have played some of the most prestigious gigs a Mississippi musician can play. KC and his band recently played the Central Park Mississippi Day picnic, Governor Ronnie Musgrove's inauguration ball, and have also played numerous business conventions, weddings, cocktail parties, and social events.
A trained musician who has received music degrees from Ole Miss and the University of North Texas, Lipe spent his formidable years touring the club circuit with various bands in New Orleans, Biloxi, and all up and down the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coasts. After locating to Batesville, Lipe formed his signature band, the Southside Rockers, which consists of a guitarist, a percussionist, and two female vocalists, The Rockettes. Lipe says his group's music is perfect for any formal or business setting.
 "We do anything from Marvin Gaye to Duke Ellington, to Hall and Oates and the Beatles," Lipe says. "We know exactly how to entertain a professional group at a event. We can take requests, and our sound is not so intrusive that you can't hear yourself talk."
With such strong industries and broad education support, Batesville appears ready to become a major economic contender in Mississippi in the new century. A new hospital, a brand new school, an industrial park that rivals that of any other in the state, as well as such beautiful recreational getaways such as Enid Lake and Sardis Lake add up to make Batesville an attractive destination for visitors; and for new industry.

(Be sure to watch WABG-TV 6 reporter Jamie Ferguson's special "Delta's Edge" series on Batesville beginning the second week of October on the 6 and 10 pm newscasts.)