A rose of condolences to our Columbus Air Force Base family and to the families of the CAFB instructor and student pilot who lost their lives during a training flight in Montgomery, Alabama, Friday evening. Flight training at the base will be suspended for the next few days. It’s a matter of Air Force protocol, but the time away will also allow base personnel a chance to grieve the loss. The skill and attention to detail exhibited by CAFB’s trainers and pilots makes accidents a rare occurrence, so rare that we in the Columbus community almost take it for granted. But this tragedy is a reminder that every time the wheels go up on these trainers, they are accompanied by an element of danger. We join CAFB in their grief and offer our prayers for these young pilots.
A rose to Zachary’s Restaurant for its role in helping out a local woman who had fallen on hard times. On Valentine’s Day, Zachary’s owner Doug Pellum and his staff volunteered to host a “Hope for Miss Mildred” take-out catfish dinner, selling more than 400 plates to aid the Community Benefit Committee’s efforts to provide permanent housing and medical care for 58-year-old Mildred Sue Jones. Pellum said a lot of credit belongs to the 20 volunteers from Sunday Local Church, which worships at the Princess Theater, but Pellum and his staff, who have endured a particularly rough year because of COVID-19’s impact on their business, are to be commended for continuing their tradition of service to the community under such difficult circumstances. The Zachary’s fundraiser added $5,000 to the “Hope for Miss Mildred” account, which now has reached approximately $14,000.
A rose to Mississippi State’s seventh-ranked baseball team, which kicked off the 2021 season with an impressive 8-3 win over ninth-ranked Texas Saturday in the opener of the State Farm College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas. Normally, a single win in a long season is little cause for celebration. But after disappointing showings by MSU football and men’s and women’s basketball to date, a win by the Bulldogs’ most successful sports team was certain to give MSU faithful a spring in their steps. One win does not a season make, it’s true, especially in baseball. Still, it’s awfully nice for Bulldogs fans to have something to be happy about, even if it is just the beginning of the season.
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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