A rose to all the veterans as we approach Veterans Day on Wednesday, which marks the 101st Veterans Day in our nation’s history. First celebrated as Armistice Day, coinciding with the treaty that ended World War I on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1919, this day has been set aside to honor all of our citizens who have served the nation through military services. There are an estimated 17.4 million veterans nation-wide. Mississippi, whose citizens have a proud record of military service, is home to 191,000 veterans. If all of our veterans lived in one city, it would easily be the largest city in our state. We always urge readers to take a monument to thank a veteran on Veteran’s Day. They aren’t difficult to find – in your neighborhood, your workplace and perhaps in your own household. To further celebrate the day, we honor area veterans in our annual Salute to Veterans special section, found in today’s paper. We salute you all!
A rose to Golden Triangle Regional Airport Executive Director Mike Hainsey for using airport resources to help students who have no reliable access to broadband internet service. GTRA created what is now called the SkyFi learning laboratory on the second floor of its terminal building to provide free internet access to K-12 students in the Golden Triangle from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday. Monday was the laboratory’s first day in operation, and it is expected to run through the spring. GTRA had additional space after it expanded with a second terminal in February, but after enduring months of the COVID-19 pandemic, traffic at the airport is now down 65 percent, Hainsey said. With students across the Golden Triangle utilizing virtual learning options during the pandemic, Hainsey wanted to put the extra space to effective use. We applaud him for looking beyond his own challenges as airport director to find a way to serve the broader community.
A rose to the voters of the Golden Triangle, who fulfilled one of a citizen’s most important obligations by going to the polls to vote in Tuesday’s election. Absentee voting for those who feared to vote in person because COVID-19 was roughly double what it was in 2016 in Lowndes, Oktibbeha and Clay counties. In-person voting was historically high, too, with turnout ranging from 65 percent in Lowndes County to 68 percent in Oktibbeha County to 72 percent in Clay County. Thousands of new voters registered to vote in the weeks leading up to the election. Much has been written and said about the outcome of Tuesday’s election, but in another sense there was one aspect of the election that produced no losers, only winners: all of you who cared enough about our community, state and nation to go to the polls. Give yourself a hand. You’ve earned it.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.