The Enterprise-Tocsin from Indianola, Mississippi • 15

Tocsin 'Em Section Page 1 Thursday, March 11," 1999 nd after UP PI Longtime farm of 5,500 acres which has been highly visible along Highway 82 will be rented out; equipment will be sold tomorrow. "We went from hand labor to chemicals and from small tractors to big tractors. We went from full tillage to minimum tillage and even did some no tillage." A i Pi jc in do in pi Pi -nd jl4j It i inlf lliiil iTiiiS iiiiii lii'pi lliiil" vA I I U1L doJ "-v- jmv. 'CrV. A FAMILIAR sight and sign several hundred yards south of Highway 82, seen by motorists for decades a deteriorating landmark.

"Fevers, Floods and Faith," the property once known as Heathman Plantation was sold in December 1945 to the Billups brothers of Greenwood R.A. Billups (founder of Billups Petroleum), G.C. Billups and W.L. Billups. The old plantation house and grounds were for years used for an annual old-fashioned barbecue and Brunswick Stew feast for hundreds of guests during a dove hunt the Billups hosted.

Back in 1957, they entertained over 250 executives from the food "Billups Plantation is probably among the last few plantations run by a general manager and owned by absentee ownership left in the country," he said. "They were on the cutting edge of farming technology in cotton and soybeans and when they were in the cattle business, they were doing the same thing. "They were always looking for new technology and techniques to improve farming," he said. According to Marie Hemphill's history of Sunflower County, Waldrup, who came to the. plantation at Heathman just east of Indianola in 1952 as its store manager.

He worked in various positions until 1965 when then-manager S.L. Calhoun died. "When I came here we still had some mules," mused Waldrup, who said his career has encompassed about every modern agricultural change. The biggest change, he said, was the advent of new machinery, which replaced much expensive labor but helped spell the end to small farming operations. By DAVID RUSHING On Friday, one of the remnants of an old Delta plantation will come to an end.

Actually, the end already has arrived for Billups Plantation, one of the last absentee farming operations left, when its owners decided to quit farming this year and rent out the land instead. Friday's the day the. farm's equipment will be sold out with the last official day of farm operations set for Monday. "Billups Farms will close out on March 15 as an active farm operation," said its long-time manager J.W. Waldrup.

"That's the day I become an ex-farmer." Waldrup, 71, said that Billups Plantation will continue to exist as a business entity through which the plantation's 5,500 acres will be rented. The plantation's lands are west of Indianola and are on both sides of Highway 82. The railroad also runs through it. The decision to close out farming was more of a personal one by the owners of the highly successful plantation that often was on the cutting edge of agricultural developments. The decision was precipitated by the death of Miss Irene Billups, the last survivor of the founders of the plantation.

"The owners just elected not to run a farm anymore," said Appeal Ronald Earl Alexander makes preliminary moves. By David Rushing An Indianola man recently convicted on multiple sex charges involving a six-year-old girl will appeal the conviction. Circuit Court records state that Circuit Court Judge Ashley Hines has approved a request that the county pay the initial costs of filing an appeal on behalf of Ronald Earl Alexander, 27, of Adair Apartments, Indianola. Alexander was convicted in February on two counts of sexual i by six-year-old's molester is in the "We generally evolved as conditions evolved, but we went from hand labor to chemicals and from small tractors to big tractors," he said. "We went from full tillage to minimum tillage and even did some no tillage whatever the conditions called for we tried to meet them." "It's been a privilege working for the Billups family all these years," said Waldrup.

Sunflower County Extension Agent Tommy Baird said the closing of Billups marks the end of an era in Sunflower County. received a six-year jail term after pleading guilty to the Sept. 23, 1997 robbery of a rural man during which the owner was stabbed. Circuit Judge Margaret Carey-McCray also ordered Willie Johnson, 33, of 406 Walker, to spend two years following his from prison on supervised probation. Walker originally was indicted on charges of burglary, aggravated assault and armed robbery in connection with the incident at Julius Warren's Shepard Road residence.

However, the first two were dropped in exchange for his plea to simple robbery Circuit judges also have signed orders to prosecute several defen i tarn dants facing felony indictments on a variety of grounds. These include: Anderson White, 32, of 310 Church will not be prosecuted on a charge of armed robbery because of a faulty identification of the suspect, according to court records. White was indicted for allegedly robbing Betty Stubbs at Discount Grocery with a hatchet. Rashawn Thornton, 21, of Sunflower, will not be prosecuted on a charge of grand larceny because the victim cannot be located. Thornton was indicted in connection with the March 14 1998 theft of a ring.

Vernell Rule, ag and address unavailable, will not be prosecuted on a charge of receiving stolen property because the victim no longer wishes to pursue the charges. Rule's indictment involved alleged receipt of a stolen speak on April 5, 1998. An aggravated assault charge against Lewis J. Hodges, 19, of 100 Torino Drive, will not be prosecuted at the request of the victim. Hodges was charged with the Jan.

7, 1998 pistol shooting of Edgar Mosley. Parchman inmate Gregory Woods will not go to trial on a charge of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer due to the accidental destruction of key evidence. Woods was indicted in connection with the Dec. 30. 1996 stabbing of a Parchman guard with a industry from across the nation who came to Indianola for the grand opening of Lewis Grocer Company's new warehouse here.

The event included a tour of the plantation. The Billups Plantation has much of its roots in the old Heathman Plantation, one of the oldest in the county, predating the Civil War. Heathman Plantation whose origins date back to 1854 had grown to about 8,000 acres by 1871. Heathman was a regular stop on the Georgia Pacific Railroad, with a depot and agent. In 1888, a post office was established there.

Postal service continued in the plantation store until 1956. In 1919, the Crawford family which then owned 6,775 acres of the plantation, sold it to Herman Paepcke and F.N. Robertshaw for $1.1 million. Paepcke was a member of the wealthy Chicago family which developed the Aspen, Colorado resort area. The plantation changed hands in 1945 when it was bought by the Billups brothers.

The land remains in the family, but now someone else will farm it. homemade knife, known as a shank .1 Gwendolyn Gilmore, 29, of Greenwood, will not face a jury on her charge of credit card fraud after the victim's told prosecutors she had made full restitution and they wished not to prosecute. She was indicted for obtaining $1,000 for her own benefit from a credit card entrusted to her by Movie Gallery. Willie Johnson, 33, of 406 Walker, will not be prosecuted on charges of armed robbery in exchange for a guilty plea to another crime. Unprosecuted will be a charge stemming from hold ups in Sept.

1997 at Double Quick No. 5 using a plastic gun and Charlie's Exxon using a wrench, flipped several times after going out of control in a curve just inside Sunflower County. Sunflower officials were notified of the wreck around 3 a.m. Sheriffs officials said the wreck occurred while fleeing from Washington County and Leland officers who were chasing him after receiving a report that the vehicle had been involved in a shoplifting at Dodge Store on Highway 82 between Leland and Greenville. One or more cases of beer stacked outside the store were taken in the incident The juvenile was pronounced dead at South Sunflower County Hospital.

Buckner was transferred to University Medical Center by helicopter, where he is reported to be in stable condition. Officers suspected alcohol may have been involved in the wreck that night and obtained permission from Circuit Court Judge Gray Evans to use blood samples drawn from the suspect in the emergency room as evidence. "When they get ready to dismiss him, we'll go down there (to University Medical Center) and pick him up," Holder said. 1 Rural wreck nets homicide charge battery, one charge of attempted sexual battery and one count of attempted capital rape stemming from an attack on a six-year-old girl on Sept. 13, 1996.

He was subsequently sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison by Hines. On Friday Hines approved payment of the $100 initial appeal fee after rejecting defense requests that the verdict be set aside, a routine request in the appeal process. Alexander's bond has been set at $80,000. His was just one of several actions taken during the past week in Sunflower County Criminal Court. An Indianola man has to a work of art -1 xji v-Jii Wreck during March 1 high-speed chase killed teen.

By DAVID RUSHING An Indianola man has been charged with vehicular homicide stemming from a March 1 wreck that occurred during a police chase near Holly Ridge in which a 16-year-old passenger in his car was killed. Sunflower County Sheriff Ned Holder said that Antonio Buckner, 23, of 635 Chandler was charged with the crime Friday after he received blood test results indicating that Buckner may have been intoxicated when the wreck occurred around 2 a.m. on March 1 on Long Switch Road just west of Holly Ridge. The sheriffs department said that Buckner apparently was headed east on the rural road fleeing Leland Police and Washington County deputies trying to stop him for shoplifting. He and Shivere Finchis, 16, a Milwaukee resident visiting relatives in Indianola, were thrown from the vehicle as it From old rags CARVER FIRST GRADERS under Sally Martin made this quilt from old rags as a class project Admiring their work are (from left) Curtis Brewer, Ashanta Hollins, Almeta Garrod, T.L Briggs, Mylandria Bogan, Shaquita Johnson and Crista James.

The students said they enjoyed making the four-foot by four-foot quilt which they hung on a hall wall for display..