Roses to the Lowndes County supervisors, Columbus City Council and Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority for taking a big step forward on a sports complex and renovating the Trotter.
City and county officials Thursday agreed to build a soccer complex at Burns Bottom.
The supervisors have agreed to purchase property, and city is donating its 14.9 acres of he parcel, as well as providing water, sewage and in-kind services.
The also agreed to commit $3.25 million to the development of the complex, if the city pays to renovate the Trotter Convention Center.
The collective group even agreed to discuss a plan to address needed improvements in the area”s neighborhood parks, an effort supervisors Jeff Smith and Leroy Brooks have been adamant about.
Much can be accomplished when leaders choose to work together. We”re proud of the decisions they”ve agreed upon and await more productive and collective efforts to come.
A rose to the Columbus-Lowndes Development Link for pushing an effort that will put the area on the map on a global scale.
The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors pledged support of marketing a new industrial park west of the Golden Triangle Regional Airport, the Golden Triangle Global Aerospace Industrial Park.
Governing bodies in Lowndes County, Noxubee County, Oktibbeha County, Monroe County, Clay County, Pickens County, Ala., Lamar County, Ala., Starkville, Columbus, West Point, Mississippi State University, East Mississippi Community College, Mississippi University for Women, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Mississippi Development Authority, the Airport Authority and the Industrial Development Authority pledged support for the project, which would build on the aerospace presence already near the airport.
Link officials are working to secure financing for water and sewer improvements on a 2,500- to 3,000-acre parcel of land, west of the airport, to draw aerospace employers, which they say will offer high-paying, specialized jobs.
A rose to Penny Bowen, who was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Women”s Center for Entrepreneurship at Mississippi University for Women.
Bowen owns Bella Interior Designs and Penny Bowen Designs Inc., a full-service drafting/consulting business.
Roses also go to three Columbus students who took home Youth Entrepreneur of Distinction awards from WCE — Emma Rose Davis, Douglas Glenn and Hagan Walker.
Davis, a sixth-grader at Heritage, and Glenn, a fifth-grader at Heritage, both offer their wares at the Hitching Lot Farmers” Market. Davis sells home-grown herbs; Glenn makes pound cakes and truffles.
Walker, a Columbus High junior, was recognized for his innovative computer business, Hagan Computer Services.
Bowen”s accomplishment — moving an at-home drafting business into a successful full-blown consulting firm with a staff of designers — is an inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs.
And the youth entrepreneurs are proof you can make a big difference and start making business-savvy decisions at a young age. Congrats, and keep up the good work.
Other awards went to Jackie McGrath, a seventh-grader at Heritage Academy, named Youth Social Entrepreneur of the Year for raising money for cancer research through “Alex”s Lemonade Stand and Dee Larson, Ph.D., an associate professor of management and marketing at MUW, named Entrepreneurial Educator of the Year.
Roses to Heritage Academy students who helped compile “Passionately Pink,” a collection of recipes, put together to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation in memory of Kim Keys Dickey, a 1979 graduate of the school. Members of Heritage”s SCA who worked on the project include Ashleigh Rhett, Stephanie Cruse, McKenzie Jones, Caitlyn McDade, Savannah Bryant, Montgomery Atkins, Taylor Cabiness, Bailey Rader, Anna Gaines Gaskin, Leslie Ferguson, Christibeth Nelson, Claire Wiygul, Alayne Curtis, Marla Miller and Katie Beck.
Cookbooks ($20) may be ordered from any SCA member, or contact the school office at 662-327-5272.
Roses to Starkville High School, Heritage Academy and home school students who were among those recently named as 2010 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.
Jeffrey L. Jinkerson and Barunie Kim, of Starkville High both received the honor, as did Heritage Academy student Peggy E. Buckley, and a Starkville home-schooled student, Matthew S. Berk.
The students are well positioned to earn scholarships to various universities. The competitive designation is based on the students” performances on the PSAT. Finalists will be announced later in the school year.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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