A rose to the Noxubee County Tigers who beat St. Stanislaus 48-27 Saturday in the MHSAA Class 4-A Championship. While the Golden Triangle had several teams that advanced deep into the playoffs, only the Tigers and Starkville Academy (which finished as runner-up in the Academy AAA playoffs) advanced to the championship game. The Tigers won the 4A championship in 2012.
A rose to all those who contributed to The Dispatch winter coat drive. More than 150 new and gently-used coats were donated to the drive, which ended Friday. The coats are now being distributed in area schools and at the United Way. As successful as the drive was, the need for coats exceeds supply, so if you missed the coat drive you can still help keep someone warm this winter by donating a new or gently-used coat to the United Way, which will make sure each coat finds a person in need. To participate call The United Way of Lowndes County at 328-0943 or drop off your donation at the United Way office at 501 Seventh St. N., #5 in Columbus.
A rose to some of our oldest soldiers. Today, Dec. 7, 2014, marks the 73rd anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor – “A day that will live in infamy,” as President Roosevelt noted in his appeal to declare war on Japan the following day. Over the course of the next four years, roughly 16 million Americans served in the military during the war. Of that group, the U.S. Department of Military Affairs estimates slight more than 1 million of those WWII veterans are still alive today, some of them living here in the Golden Triangle. Normally, we express our gratitude to these soldiers primarily on Veterans Day and Memorial Day. But we believe that spirit of gratitude should not be constrained to something as arbitrary as a date on the calendar. So if you know any of our wonderful WWII vets, reach out to them to thank them for a job well done today. They will be thrilled.
A rose to the Lowndes County School District, which has been ranked above average and received accreditation for the next five years by a national organization.
The AdvancED Accreditation Commission spent several days within the district, speaking with students, faculty and members of the community. The commission, which has accredited over 32,000 school districts nationwide, also conducted a review of the impact of teaching and learning, the capacity of leadership, the use of resources, student performance results and instructional quality. Much of the news we hear about Mississippi is discouraging, so the performance of our county schools is something from which we can draw encouragement.
A rose to East Mississippi Community College’s football team, which will be playing for its third national championship in four years (and second in a row) when the top-ranked Lions (11-0) meet No. 2 Iowa Western (also 11-0) today at 2 p.m. in Biloxi. While Mississippi State and Ole Miss got a taste of what it’s like to be in the national title hunt this year, EMCC seems intent on making it part of its regular diet. Today’s game is a classic match-up of powerhouse programs. EMCC has won 23 straight games and 43 of its last 45 games. Iowa Western has won 34 of its last 35 games. The Lions won the 2011 and 2013 NJCAA championships, while the Reivers won the 2012 title. Go Lions!
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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