A rose to Hank Vaiden, owner of Hank’s Barbecue in Columbus, who joined a team of barbecue pros to provide hot meals to survivors of Hurricane Harvey in Texas.
Vaiden is a part of the group called “Operation BBB Relief (OBR) which travels to disaster areas to provide hot meals to people as they try to recover. Vaiden spent three days of cooking non-stop and during an eight-day period barbecue experts from all over the country prepared more than 300,000 meals. With Hurricane Irma bearing down on Florida, OBR is making plans to answer the call there. Anyone who has lived through a natural disaster recognizes that often a hot meal nurtures both body and spirit. We applaud Vaiden and his fellow BBQ experts for their generosity.
A rose to a group of about 50 Columbus Fire & Rescue firefighters who are helping finish the new Fire State 4 on Airline Road.
Firefighters from all stations are helping frame and finish the station’s interior, which will help save money for the project, estimated to cost $1 million.
About $375,000-worth of work has gone into the station so far, Chief Martin Andrews said. Andrews said the total project will be completed by the end of the year or early 2018. The work being performed by the city will mean fewer tax-payer dollars will have to be committed to the project. It is yet another example of the service our firefighters provide our community.
A rose to organizer, volunteers and patrons of the 16th annual Tennessee Williams Annual Tribute, which concludes today. A special service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 8:30, carriage rides and birthplace tours from 1-4 p.m. are among today’s events. This year’s four-day tribute was again packed with unique and varied events, including Thursday’s Moon Lake Gala, which kicked off the celebration, a performance of Orpheus Descending and other events such as the Stella Shouting Contest, acting workshops and lectures. As always, this tribute honors our city’s proud literary tradition. Take a bow, everyone.
A rose to the Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority upon the long-awaited completion of the new softball field at the Plum Grove Community Center.
The $65,000 project was eight years in the making and will provide additional recreation opportunities for a community that has been under-served in the past.
Officials marked the occasion with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday. Supervisor Leroy Brooks said the field is evidence that folks in small communities in the county will not go neglected. “Plum Grove deserves the same thing that people on Northside, Southside and everywhere else,” he said. “I’m glad to be here and glad to see this happen.” The county will take over maintenance and operations of the field when it begins operate its own parks department in October.
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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