A rose to all those who came to the aid of a neighbor in need, which in this case happened to be a Starkville church. A few months ago, Antioch Third Baptist Church was under the gun to fix its deteriorating roof or have the building condemned by the city of Starkville. Thanks to the efforts of members of the larger church community — including First Baptist in Starkville and Pinelake churches in Starkville and Brandon — the church not only has a new roof, but has had an interior makeover. This week, more than 30 people gathered at the church to fix the ceiling, sheet rock and make other improvements to the more than 100-year-old church. “Our intent involved just fixing the roof,” said Danny Cheatham, a First Baptist member. “The inside of that little church was just so messed up that it broke the heart of some of us. We had a little money left over from donations, and as a result, we decided to take those resources and build them to the point where we could buy the material for the inside.” Well done!
A rose of congratulations to Columbus Airbus, which was awarded a $273-million contract from the U.S. Army to assemble 35 UH-72A Lakota helicopters. The announcement came at a most opportune time — the Columbus facility has just finished assembling its last contract helicopter in February. The new contract means job security for almost 200 at Airbus and is a testament to the quality work the company has provided for our military. We are grateful for the role Airbus plays in our community and happy to note that that work will continue.
A rose to Chloe Barr and Julia Schloemer, who tied for third in this week’s state spelling bee in Jackson. Barr, an seventh-grader at Heritage Academy, won the Lowndes County spelling bee to earn her spot in the state competition while Schloemer, a fifth-grader at Overstreet Elementary School in Starkville earned her spot in the state spelling bee by claiming the title in the Oktibbeha County spelling bee. Although they came up just short of the state championship, both girls should be proud to have emerged from a competition of more than 40 expert spellers to finish near the top. No matter how you spell it, that’s quite an accomplishment.
A rose to all the citizens who turned out to give our National Guard units the send-off they deserve. On Monday, citizens lined up at the route as area troops were given a Columbus Police Department escort. The guard units are among more 4,000 Mississippi National Guard soldiers who left on a one-year deployment to the Middle East. That kind of commitment and the sacrifices it represents are worthy of our respect. That so many citizens turned out to show their support is proof that our soldiers may be temporarily gone but not forgotten.
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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