A rose to dads everywhere. OK, a rose isn’t the typical Father’s Day gift (unless it’s a print on a tie), but in keeping with the spirit of the day, Dad is deserving of a bouquet.
A thorn to those people responsible for the burglary of the Columbus-Lowndes Humane Society. Thieves made off with about $500 in dog food. It’s a real blow to the folks at the Humane Society, for whom the need almost always seems to exceed its means, and to all pet lovers out there. We fervently hope that the culprits are caught and the dog food is recovered. In the meantime, the Humane Society is asking for donations of Pedigree or Purina dog food to replace the stolen dog food.
A rose to J.J. Sylvia IV and the other instructors at the Mississippi Governor’s School, held each year on the campus of Mississippi University for Women. For the past four years, Sylvia–who lives in Picayune–has used his vacation time to teach at the school, which is designed to challenge academically-advanced high school juniors and seniors in such areas as creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving.
A thorn to Caledonia Water Superintendent Benny Coleman for his handling of a matter involving the re-certification of a water technician. It’s been over a year since Trey Robertson passed the re-certification test, yet Coleman has delayed signing off on the documents that would add $1 per hour to Robertson’s pay. Why? Coleman won’t say exactly, but many believe that it is no coincidence that Robertson’s parents are locked in a dispute with the water department over damage to their property. If that’s true, Coleman’s action is petty, mean-spirited and unethical. Robertson has met the qualifications. Period. End of story. Pay the man. Pay him retroactively to the date that he met the qualification, in fact.
A rose to Lowndes County and the city of Columbus for working together to provide some much-needed resurfacing on parking lots in many of city’s most-used public venues–including the Hitching Lot, Catfish Alley, Riverwalk and Trotter Convention Center. The city will pay for the asphalt and the county will provide the labor and equipment. It’s refreshing to see the city and county work together for the benefits of all its citizens.
A rose to Bill Smith of the Columbus Police Department, whose idea of collecting spent shell casings at the city’s firing range and selling them for scrap yielded the city $4,085. The money was used for some renovations and repairs at the range. In this era of austerity, when budgets scarcely cover the essentials, ideas such as this become a tremendous asset. Perhaps Smith’s story will inspire others to look for ways to save money and improve efficiency at their places of work, too.
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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