A rose to teacher Linda Marlbrough for going the extra mile to bring a sampling of “moon rocks” to the Greater Columbus Learning Center this week. Marlbrough had to jump through a fair amount of hoops to land the exhibit — rocks collected from the moon’s surface during NASA’s Apollo program. At GCLC, most of the students are people who have delayed or interrupted their education before earning a high-school diploma. While some might view these students with skepticism, Marlbrough’s commitment to them is remarkable. She goes the extra mile to reach her students when it would be all too easy to simply go through the motion.
A thorn to the parents of the New Hope two-year-old who managed to shoot himself in the hand after being left unattended in a room that contained a loaded handgun. The child’s injuries were not serious, according the the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Department, which quickly concluded that the incident was an accident and said it would not pursue charges against the parents of the child. The parents should consider themselves twice lucky — lucky that there aren’t any funeral arrangements to plan and lucky that the LCSD has a “oh, well, it happens” policy.
A rose to organizers and participants of the Crappie Masters National Championship, which concluded Saturday. While the catches weren’t stellar, more than 150 top teams competed in the event. They also came early, stayed late and patronized our restaurants and hotels. As they say in the fishing business, this event turned out to be a “keeper.”
A rose to the trio of “pink-powered” sophomores from Starkville High School, whose joined together to finish second in the school’s catapult competition. The girls — Shelby Adair, Walker Mattox and Abigail Arinder — weren’t the least intimidated by their older male competitors. Despite the demands of school work and practice — all three play sports — the girls managed to design, build, launch and trouble-shoot their way to an outstanding finish.
A rose to everyone associated with the Seventh Avenue Heritage Festival, held this weekend. Ward 5 councilman Kabir Karriem again put together a stellar event. Cooler weather and the threat of rain failed to diminish the enthusiasm of the crowds who gathered for the two-day event. There are lots of festivals in our area. The Seventh Avenue festival stands apart as the “coolest.”
A rose to the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, who had a busy weekend. In addition to the above-mentioned fishing tournament, the CVB staff coordinated the Fall Tour of Homes and helped play host to two local weddings. Fishermen were overheard complimenting the organization that went into the various events this weekend, and the double-decker bus was seen scooting around town with various groups aboard.
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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