A rose to the “fresh faces” on the ballot on Nov. 4. In addition to the incumbents and veteran challengers that dominated the ballot, a couple of newcomers emerged in the race to fill the unexpired term of the late Terry Brown for District 17 state senate. In addition to former state senator Bill “Doc” Canon and Columbus city councilman Bill Gavin, first-time candidates Chuck Younger and Bobby Patrick joined the race. The voters apparently liked the fresh faces, too, since Younger and Patrick emerged as the top vote-getters and will face off on Nov. 25 in a run-off election. We hope the new candidates bring with them new ideas and approaches that will benefit our community and our state.
A rose to Bob Raymond, who took the initiative to help make sure Waverley Mansion gets a much-needed paint job. Raymond, who first saw the Clay County landmark as a student at Mississippi State in 1972, has been an admirer of the mansion ever since and has become a close friend to the home’s owners, Robert Snow and his family. To fund the paint jobs, estimated to cost $16,000, Raymond set up an account called “Friends of Waverley Mansion” on the crowd-sourcing fund-raiser site indiegogo.com to help attract contributions. With a little more than two weeks to go on the campaign, set to end on Robert Snow’s birthday on Nov. 25, donors have contributed almost $3,000. We encourage all those who love the old mansion to chip in.
A rose to the Columbus Police Department, which kicked off its annual toy drive earlier this week. Officer Rhonda Sanders says the goal this year is to provide toys for children ages 3 to 12 in more than 400 Columbus homes. “”Close your eyes and imagine being 6 years old. Imagine not getting anything Christmas morning,” Sanders said. ” Now remember when you got your first bike from your parents. We want to be able to give that to a child.” We encourage readers to be generous in support of the CPD’s toy drive.
A rose to everyone who participated in Saturday’s Veterans Day Parade and ceremonies in downtown Columbus. The parade included not only a parade with 60 vehicles and more than 300 marchers, but also included a display of military vehicles and marching bands from Caledonia and Columbus high schools. A wreath-laying ceremony followed the parade, with retired Marine Corps Major Gen. Thomas “Tango” Moore serving as the event’s guest speaker. We salute our veterans today just as we will during Tuesday’s “official” Veterans Day holiday.
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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