Roses to East Mississippi Community College for hosting Industry Appreciation Day at its Mayhew campus, Wednesday. The salute to area industry is an annual event celebrating the partnership between the school, local industry and the area each supports.
Roses to Mississippi University for Women for honoring four young women who lost their lives in an accidental fire in January. And roses of condolence to the girls” families, several of whom attended the dedication ceremony. The W Thursday hosted the dedication in honor of Jaslynn McGee, Jamelia Brown, Catherine Ann Muse and Alondan Turner, The four best friends — Catherine and Alondan are cousins — died in a Hoover, Ala. hotel fire believed to have been started by a maintenance man burning incense as part of a religious ritual.
The four trees were planted in front of Kincannon Hall, where the girls roomed. They were freshmen at MUW.
Roses to mentors who reach out to young men and women, encouraging them and challenging them to be better people. Columbus High School has boasted success with its mentor program, partnering 20 male community leaders with 20 male students at the school.
But there”s no need for a special program to become a mentor. There are boys and girls all over the area, and good, strong role models are always in demand.
Roses to the band Graball Freerun for hosting a concert Friday night at Dave”s Darkhorse Tavern in Starkville to benefit relief efforts in Yazoo City. Yazoo City is hometown to Graball Freerun members Nick Crews and Todd Hart, who now live in Starkville. None of their family members were injured in the recent storm.
Kathy Cadden and Operation Ukraine also deserve a rose for helping in the effort.
Operation Ukraine, on Wednesday, truckload to Yazoo City with roofing plastic, roofing tacking nails, bottled water, sheets and blankets, new baby clothes, formula, diapers, wipes and first aid supplies.
A thorn to the Mississippi State University student who reported a fake burglary.
The unnamed student is being charged with filing a false police report for telling investigators two black males accosted him on East Lee Boulevard near Cobb Institute of Archaeology Friday night.
While it”s good police treat all reports with the same care, phony reports waste time and money and divert police attention and energy from real police work.
The false reporter faces up to a $1,000 fine.
A rose to the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau board of commissioners for agreeing to pay one-third of a $400,000 grant match to renovate the old river bridge over the Tombigbee in Columbus.
The project sort of fell in their laps when the city and county each passed resolutions for the CVB to foot the match for the $2 million Mississippi Department of Transportation grant. The CVB was generous in their offering, especially since board members were not informed of the request in advance of the resolutions and April CVB board meeting. It”s a fair compromise.
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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