A rose to all those who have helped organize events to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day during this holiday weekend. United Way is partnering with the city of Columbus to coordinate a service project aimed at restoring and restocking the mini free food pantries located across the county. Columbus will also host a freedom walk Monday.  Following breakfast, there will be live music, a poetry reading and a reading of King’s stirring “Letter from the Birmingham Jail.” In Starkville, the Oktibbeha County NAACP will host its annual Unity March on Monday. Prior to the march, there will be a worship service beginning at 10 a.m. at Mt. Peiler Missionary Baptist Church. Rev. LeRoy Davenport will deliver a message. In West Point, there will be a food and coat drive from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the Mary Holmes Gym. Volunteers are invited to bring canned goods and other non-perishable items to donate. There will also be a march down Martin Luther King Drive beginning at 9 a.m. on East Half Mile Street and ending at Mary Holmes College. There will be a program beginning at 9:45 a.m. We urge residents to participate in as many of these events as possible.

A rose to the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors, who reached an important stage in their plans to find a buyer for the county-owned Oktibbeha County Hospital Regional Medical Center. After months at the drawing board, the board of supervisors approved an RFP during its Monday meeting that outlines what the county is looking for in prospective buyers. The RFP opens the door to prospective buyers, including North Mississippi Medical Center and Baptist Hospital System. The cost and complexities of operating a hospital have led many counties to sell their hospitals to established hospitals that can provide the type of services that are important to the community. In 2017, a similar effort to sell OCH was forced to a vote, where 58 percent of voters chose to retain the hospital. There appears to be  little opposition to the plan now, however. We believe selling the hospital is the right move for the county and its residents and congratulate the county on its progress toward that goal.

A rose to Columbus and Starkville, whose commitment to building, sustaining and improving their downtown areas has and will continue to reap dividends, not only in the revenue it creates but for how it enhances the city’s reputation. Both cities have committed large amounts of resources to these improvements, including a major redevelopment plan in Starkville that will invest millions of dollars in local,  state and federal funds with more funding hopefully to come. Columbus meanwhile is also using grants and federal funds to continue to improve its downtown. The commitment has already made downtown Columbus a success story. Main Street Columbus Director Barbara Bigelow says downtown has a 96% occupancy rate. To put that in perspective, Chicago’s Miracle Mile, long recognized as one of the top retail areas in the nation, has an occupancy rate of 76%. What’s happening in Columbus and Starkville continues to defy a 50-year-plus decline in downtown retail around the nation. That doesn’t happen by accident. We applaud the vision and hard work of everyone who has made downtown Starkville and Columbus such  vibrant and important parts of our community.

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