A rose to Kirk Rosenhan, who announced he will retire from his position as Oktibbeha County Fire Services Coordinator, a role he has held since the position was created almost 32 years ago, as soon as his successor can be found. Rosenhan has been a tireless advocate for the county’s fire service, helping the fire departments increase their ratings, procuring needed equipment and encouraging generations of volunteer firefighters. He has also been actively involved in supporting firefighters throughout the state through important contributions to firefighter organizations in the state. His “24/7” approach to his role – wherever there was a fire or emergency involving the fire department, Rosenhan was there – helped keep the public informed. For the media, his cooperation in disseminating such news was invaluable. At some point, Rosenhan will turn over the reins to a new coordinator, and we don’t envy that person’s task of trying to fill Rosenhan’s shoes. If a county fire department or facility doesn’t soon bear the name of Kirk Rosenhan, the county will have missed an opportunity to honor one of its great public servants.
A rose to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle for providing its dialysis patients a treatment that had not previously been available at the hospital. The treatment is called “therapeutic plasma exchange,” a procedure that removes a life-threatening substance from the patient’s body. It is essentially a filter system that returns the patient’s healthy plasma, which is often a far better option than a transfusion. Previously, those who sought the treatment would have had to be transported to another hospital, yet another costly and time-consuming measure. Now, those patients who qualify for the treatment can have it done right here at their hometown hospital. That’s great news for Baptist patients and we commend Baptist for continuing to invest in this community’s health case services.
A rose to the Junior Auxiliary of Columbus, which just wrapped up its third year of an anti-bullying campaign for fourth-grade students throughout Lowndes County. JA put together the program in response to educators, who said that while they enjoyed JA’s program for teens, there was a need to address the topic among younger students. The program, called “Choose Kindness” educates fourth-graders on what is – or isn’t bullying – and what they can do to stop/prevent these acts. JA made its last presentation of the year at Caledonia Elementary School last week and expects to continue the program next year. We applaud JA In its efforts to equip our children to confront this issue.
A rose to Mississippi University for Women’s Masters of Fine Arts program for creative writing, which was recently awarded the nation’s No. 1 ranking and named the Intelligent Pick. The MFA ranked the highest in the “The Top 20 Online Master’s in Creative Writing Degrees.” Programs were evaluated based on reputation, flexibility, cost, reputation, faculty and outcomes. The data was then converted to an Intelligent Score for each program on a scale of 0 to 100. The W’s MFA scored a 99.22. The top picks for the best online master’s in creative writing are highly regarded, cost-effective and flexible. Given its ties to literary excellence, first established by MUW student Eudora Welty, this honor only reinforces the W’s proud legacy.
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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