A rose to the Columbus Arts Council, with its partners The Columbus Exchange Club, Junior Auxiliary and private donors, for providing $10,000 in art supplies, enough to provide crayons, colored pencils, scissors, glue and more to every elementary student at in the Columbus Municipal School District as well as the students at West Lowndes Elementary in Lowndes County School District. At a time when COVID-19 has us uncertain about sharing supplies at school, access to art supplies was a concern. The CAC and its partners stepped up for the children in a big, big way. For CAC Director Jan Miller, the campaign represents a way to continue its work and mission. “Our goal has always been to provide art and music to our community,” Miller said. “Now we’re just doing it in a different way.”
A rose to candidates Lynn Wright, David Chism, Bart Williams and Joyce Meek Yates, all of whom have advanced to runoff elections for seats in the Mississippi Legislature after Tuesday’s special elections. Wright, who narrowly missed out on winning the House District 37 outright, now meets second-place finisher Chism in the runoff. In the District 15 Senate election, Williams leads the way with Yates finishing second. Both runoffs will be held Oct. 13. We also congratulate the other candidates who did not advance – Vicky Rose in District 37 and Bricklee Miller and Levon Murphy Jr. in District 15 – for their efforts. We encourage voters in these districts to go to the polls on Oct. 13 to choose who will represent them in Jackson.
A rose to high school students Amy Zhang (MSMS), Christian Dunne and April Guo-Yue (Starkville High School) and Zion Johnson (Columbus High School) who have been chosen to represent students’ views by the State Board of Education. Zhang and her alternate, Dunne, are on the board as non-voting members while Guo-Yue and Johnson will be a part of the board’s student advisory committee. We congratulate these students for the service they will perform on behalf of their fellow students.
A rose to a student-led campaign at Columbus High School to register all students of voting age to vote before the Oct. 5 deadline. The student group, with the support of the Lowndes County NAACP, held a three-week voter registration drive at the school in a bid to register the 125 students who will be 18 by the Nov. 3 election. We encourage all high schools to make a similar effort. Not only is voting a right, it is a civic responsibility. The earlier our young people engage in our government through the election process, the more likely it is they will continue to play their roles – as voters, and perhaps someday, candidates as well.
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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