A rose to Dennis Dupree Sr., who has come out of retirement to serve as interim Superintendent of Schools for the Columbus Municipal School District. The CMSD board announced Dupree’s hiring on Thursday, two days after the board accepted the abrupt resignation of Cherie Labat, who had been superintendent since 2018. No doubt, Dupree steps into a challenging role in leading the district as a search for a new superintendent begins. His familiarity with the district — where he worked in a variety of positions from 1992 to 2007 — will help him in this role. Dupree spent 12 years as superintendent at the Clarksdale School District before retiring in 2019, experience that should benefit him greatly in this important time for the district. We commend Dupree for his willingness to accept the challenge and wish him success.
A thorn to the Columbus mayor’s office and city council for yet another hiring process moving at glacial speed. On July 12, a day after police chief Fred Shelton was forced into retirement, mayor Keith Gaskin said a committee would be formed to aid in finding a new chief. Now, a month later, the committee has yet to be formed. As the saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” and a month-long delay in forming the committee that will conduct the search is a step not yet taken. The delay in forming the committee is reminiscent of the sluggish efforts to hire a new COO (8 months after David Armstrong retired) and CFO (six months after Delia Vaughn resigned). The city should proceed in this search for a new police chief carefully and thoroughly. Some parts of the process will require time and patience. But getting started should not be a month-long-plus task. It’s time for the city to get on the ball, especially for a position as important as police chief.
A rose to members of the Starkville community who have rallied to help one of their own. For 23 years, Shirley Powell has been a fixture at Starkville Cafe, where her sunny disposition made her a favorite of restaurant patrons. So, when Powell’s home in Maben suffered extensive damage from a fire on Aug. 1, community organizations, restaurant patrons and other citizens immediately rallied around her, providing clothing and other household items lost in the fire and starting a GoFundMe account for Powell, her husband and the couple’s four grandchildren who live in the residence. Others have made direct cash donations. The mark of a good community is that it takes care of its own, something we see throughout the Golden Triangle when these kinds of tragic events take place. We commend all those who come to Powell’s aid and hope the family will soon be back on their feet.
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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