Archives July 2025

by “Stretch” DeTrooth

Water polo is not a sport you see played in The Valley and in Mississippi. It is predominantly played on the West Coast. But, that is about to change. Valley Prep is always on the cutting edge, and they’re always looking to differentiate themselves from other private schools in the state. They were the first school in The Valley to add flag football, and now they’re the first school to add water polo.

Valley Prep Athletics Director Boo Holtz said, “We had no plans to add another sport this year; this all came about by chance. I was attending an athletics conference in the Bay Area earlier this year, and I started talking to my Uber driver. It came up in conversation that he was a volunteer assistant coach for the City College of San Francisco’s men’s water polo team, and he said he’d played water polo for Pepperdine. I joked that Valley Prep should start a water polo team, and he should be the coach. I got his number, and I never thought I’d call him. I mentioned it to our headmaster, and he wanted me to look into it more. I started a dialogue with the Uber driver, and here we are now.”

That Uber driver was from Serbia, and his name is Marko Scrachanic (pronounced scratch-an-itch). I was able to catch up with Scrachanic, and he’s very excited about his water polo team. He said, “I’m just so happy to be in The Valley and Mississippi. The cost of living is so much cheaper, and I don’t have to work 3 jobs now to make it. No more silly protests. However, I will be swapping earthquakes for tornadoes, but I think I can deal with that. I’m so happy to introduce water polo to Valley Prep. I’ve started organizing a team, and the guys are excited to get going. You will have to come see us play in the fall.”

Scrachanic will have an uphill battle forming a competitive team. Valley Prep isn’t known for its athletics, and none of his players will have played water polo before. But, Scrachanic is up for the challenge. He said, “I know the first couple years are going to be tough, but I’m looking forward to working with the kids and instilling mental and physical toughness into them.”

One of his player’s dads said, “We’re glad to have Coach Scrachanic here at Valley Prep, but I’m not sure he knows what he’s getting into. These boys are so soft. I hate to say it, but I bet my son can’t tread water for 30 seconds. Most of these kids have never watched a second of water polo, and they think it’s gonna be swimming with a ball. They’re gonna be in for a rude awakening, but I wish Coach Scrachanic the best.”

Valleyans and Valley Prep fans are looking forward to watching some water polo. The SRVO wishes Coach Scrachanic and his team the best of luck, and we’ll keep you updated on the team’s season.

by I. B. Lyon

Remember the Big Mouth Billy Bass from the 1990s? The singing and dancing bass that took the nation by storm. Thousands mounted the singing fish on the wall, and they’d press the red button over and over and laugh. I can hear the catchy jingle in my head even now. “Take me to the river. Drop me in the water.” A Valley company has created a singing and dancing catfish similar to Big Mouth Billy Bass, and it is flying off the shelf.

Valleyan Joe Blucatt was cleaning out his attic recently, and he came across his old Big Mouth Billy Bass. Blucatt said, “My wife had been after me for a while to clean out the attic, so I finally got around to it one Saturday. I was taking some boxes down, and I came across the Big Mouth Billy Bass. I chuckled, because you can’t help but laugh at that thing. I immediately thought about creating a catfish similar to it. It’s been so long since the Big Mouth Billy Bass hit the market that there’s a whole generation that doesn’t know anything about it. Maybe a singing catfish could catch on and get really popular too.”

Blucatt has always been a tinkerer, and he is always in his shop working on something. He didn’t really know where to start with the singing catfish though. He turned to his son, Joe Jr., who had recently graduated from engineering school at MS State. He and Joe Jr. got to work in the evenings on a prototype. Blucatt said, “Man, we didn’t really know where to start, but we eventually started on the speaker. We got that right, and then we started on fish itself. That was tough; we worked on that for months. We finally got it how we wanted it after many long evenings in the shop.”

After their prototype was complete, they manufactured about 15 catfish, and they gave them to friends and family members. The catfish sings a bluesy jingle while dancing when the blue button is pressed. Everyone loved them. “Blucatt said, “Everybody loved our singing and dancing catfish, so we thought that we might have something. My brother, Jay Blucatt, really encouraged us to start mass producing these and selling them. He said they could be even bigger than the Big Mouth Billy Bass. Joe Jr. and I talked it over, and we decided to give it a go. So, here we are now.”

Blucatt initially started selling their Cool Crooning Catfish on Facebook, and sales took off. So, they started a website and created CCC, LLC and began selling the catfish online. They’re not in any retailers as of now. Blucatt said, “I had no idea how to do a website, so Joe, Jr. built a website for us. Sales went through the roof, and we couldn’t keep up with the demand. So, we hired 7 people to help us out. I also had to expand my shop to have more manufacturing capacity. We realize our catfish won’t be popular forever, but we’re gonna ride the wave while we can.”

The Blucatts are producing about 200 units per day, but that is still not keeping up with demand. They could outsource production to China, but Blucatt said that is not an option. The Cool Crooning Catfish will always be made in the USA. It’s great to see a local Valley business doing great and getting a ton of notoriety. Will the Cool Crooning Catfish get as big as the Big Mouth Billy Bass once was? We’ll see.

by Heeza de Seaver

During the summer, you often see enterprising kids selling lemonade. You occasionally see kids selling produce and other items on the roadside as well. Everyone loves to see kids out working and trying to make money especially this day and time. Some Strong River Bend (SRB) kids have been garnering a lot of attention for what they’re selling this summer- omelettes. It’s not just the fact they’re selling omelettes, but it’s how they’re being prepared.

July in Mississippi and The Valley is hot, and most people try to avoid the heat. But, 3 smart, hard-working kids in SRB are using the heat to make money. They’re calling themselves the Crackin Crew, and people are loving their omelettes. They’re preparing omelettes using the sun’s heat and a few metal griddles. You can see them setup close to the 31 and 81 intersection in SRB, and you’ll normally see customers’ cars lined up waiting on their omelettes.

They get started each day around 11:00 am, and they finish up around 3:00 pm on most days. It does take about 15 minutes for the omelettes to cook, because of their unique cooking process. One customer said, “The Crackin Crew has got it going on! This is my 3rd time buying an omelette from them, and they are fantastic. They are well worth the wait. Waffle House or Huddle House ain’t got nothing on them.”

They keep the ingredient list short and simple- eggs, ham, onions and peppers, and cheese. Each omelette costs $7 each no matter the ingredients you choose, and they are selling around 50 omelettes per day. So, you can do the math, and it’s not bad for a few adolescents.

One of the Crackin Crew’s moms said, “These kids were at my house when they came up with the idea of cooking omelettes using the sun and griddles, and I told them that they were crazy. I bought some eggs for them, and I let them use my griddle to begin with. I thought they were wasting their time, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised.”

One member of the Crackin Crew said, “We had an idea and thought it would be fun, but we never dreamed things would go as well as they have. We are bringing in that guap. I think I’ll be able to buy a new PS5, and get some sweet new drip and new Jordans. I’m gonna be looking dope when I go back to school.”

This is a fun story, and hopefully the Crackin Crew will be back at it next summer. Who knows? Maybe they can stay close friends and open a restaurant one day. Make sure you stop by to get an omelette before school starts back.

by “Stretch” DeTrooth

Baseball is a sport full of tradition and unwritten rules. Many older baseball fans don’t like the celebrations and antics in the game right now. It’s common for hitters do a big bat flip and long pause after hitting a home run. Some pitchers stare down and trash talk hitters that they’ve struck out. A lot of teams do choreographed celebrations at home plate or in the dugout after home runs. It’s just too much for a lot of baseball fans. If you watched college baseball this year, this really got out of control. So, the NCAA College Baseball Rules Committee is considering a controversial rule change for next season.

I have a source that is tied to a member of the rules committee, and the committee is considering some interesting rule changes. One possible rule change is sure to be very controversial. Evidently, there are some old school committee members from the North. The committee is considering a rule to allow “hockey style” fighting between two players on opposing teams. My source tells me that most of the committee are tired of the antics, taunting, and over-the-top celebrations that have become part of the college game. They’re hoping the new rule will help with the antics and cool things down.

The details of the “fight rule” are being finalized. The rule will allow two “hockey style” fights per game. The fight will have to be requested by a head coach, and it will have to be approved by the home plate umpire. One fighter from each team will be chosen to fight, and the players have to be in the lineup at that time. The head coaches will be allowed to pick their players that they want to fight. There will be a boxing ring size square painted on the field between home plate and the pitcher’s mound. It will be a very short boxing match of 20 seconds. Only punches will be allowed, and the fighters will have to wear MMA gloves. A player will only be able to be involved in one fight per game. And, the home plate umpire will referee the 20 second fights to make sure things don’t get out of control. The pitch clock will time the fights. The home plate umpire will pick a winner, but no advantage will be gained by the winner’s team.

I was able to talk with a few college baseball coaches about the potential new rule, and I got mixed feelings about it. One coach said, “I think this is lunacy. What is wrong with the committee? If you think things need to cool down, how is this going to help? This will be like pouring gas on a fire. I think this will only make the taunting and yapping get worse. Plus, I don’t want my best players being involved in fights and possibly getting injured. I really hope this rule doesn’t go into effect.”

Another coach I spoke with had a different view on the “fight rule.” He said, “I like the idea of this rule. I think it will add a lot of excitement to the game, and I think it will attract more fans. Fans would love to see a good fight. I’m not a fan of the antics in the game now, and I think this new rule could help get some of it out of the game. If you get your butt beat, you’ll probably shut your mouth. Plus, wouldn’t it be so cool to see a player’s fight record along with his hitting or pitching stats? I think that would be awesome! I know this rule will be controversial, but I’m for it.”

Some details of the “fight rule” have to be worked out, but it looks like it has enough votes on the committee right now. But, that could change as more people find out about the possible rule change. Many people think this will be bad for youth baseball and possibly encourage fighting. That is a valid concern. It will be interesting to see if the rule actually into goes into effect. The SRVO will keep you updated on any new developments on the “fight rule.”

by Ben BeEssen

The Valley City July 4th Celebration is always a big event, and this year was no different. Many attendees said this year’s crowd was larger than any of the previous years’ crowds. It doesn’t get much better than a July 4th celebration in small town America. There were many events including a catfish filet eating contest, sweet tea chugging contest, and more. The night was capped off by a fireworks show.

A lot of people were looking forward to the cousin reveal station again this year, but the event organizers didn’t bring them back. They felt it was too controversial and too “redneckish” for the event. They added a watermelon seed spitting contest though (a much less redneckish event), and it was a popular event. They had 9 contestants, and it came down to two ladies- Sue Spitphire and Hazel Hottaire. Spitphire ran out gas in the end, and Hottaire ending up narrowly winning the contest. Hottaire was awarded 3 watermelons for winning the event (a $60 value).

The catfish filet eating contest was a big draw. 12 contestants competed in the contest, and they had 10 minutes to eat as many filets as they could. Bro. Jake “The Snake” Flair prayed beforehand that there would be no bones in the filets. Johnny Blue, the winner last year, was upset by Billy Flathead. Flathead slowly and calmly ate 40 filets. He put hot sauce on his filet, and his slow pace and patience paid off in the end.

The sweet tea chugging contest had some controversy. Contestants had one minute to chug as many 12 ounce cups of sweet tea as they could. Initially, Sonny Lipton was crowned the winner. But, last year’s winner, Milo “Red” Diamond and his wife complained to the judges that Lipton didn’t actually drink all his tea. After a video review, Diamond was crowned the winner. Lipton only drank about 80% of each glass of tea; a lot of tea ran down his chin and neck and onto his shirt. Lipton and Diamond’s wives had words, and the two ladies had to be separated.

The Dirtdobbers started their patriotic themed show around 8:00. They performed many patriotic songs including “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless the USA.” This is always a moving show. You had hundreds of people singing along and waiving American flags.

To cap the night off, there was a fireworks show at 9:00. Many people complained about the drone show last year, so the event organizers decided to bring back the fireworks show this year.

This year’s event was fantastic. It’s always nice to see the community come together to celebrate our great country. The good ole USA isn’t perfect, but she is pretty awesome. We have so much to be thankful for, and we hope that God will continue to bless our great country.