A rose of remembrance and gratitude to Roger Short, who passed away Thursday at age 72. Short was the heart of sports and recreation in Lowndes County for years, serving as director of the Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority for 12 years and, at the time of his passing, as the director of the Lowndes County Recreation Department, which he shaped and organized after the CLRA disbanded. He was also a long-time high school football official. Apart from those various roles, Short will be remembered for his optimism, energy and affable personality. His passing comes as a shock and a loss for our community. We extend our condolences to Roger’s family and multitude of friends.

A rose to Falcon Construction as it begins a major paving project in Columbus and for the decision to do most of the work during the overnight hours. Paving began Monday on paving eight miles of Highway 45, one of the city’s major thoroughfares located in the heart of the city’s retail district. A project this size will present a lot of inconveniences over the next few months, so the decision to do the work during overnight hours decreases the inconvenience not only for motorists but for businesses located along the route. We also urge motorists to exercise patience, caution and courtesy as the work continues. Any unavoidable inconveniences will be more than made up for when the project is completed. Until then, be safe out there.

A rose to organizers of Tuesday’s College Fair at EMCC’s Communiversity, which drew more than 1,000 high school students from the Golden Triangle, allowing them to meet with  representatives of programs from several surrounding two- and four-year schools, including EMCC, the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University and Mississippi University for Women. The emphasis of the College Fair was to bring attention to programs offered in non-traditional fields of study, some requiring two or four-year programs, others requiring training for various certifications. All too often students are not aware of the full scale of opportunities provided by our area schools. Tuesday’s College Fair introduced students to a broad spectrum of these careers. We applaud everyone who helped with this effort.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.