A rose to the Starkville Yellow Jackets (Class 6A), the West Point Green Wave (Class 5A) and the Noxubee Tigers (Class 3A) for advancing to the state championship games in Hattiesburg this weekend. All three teams went on the road Friday night to claim a spot in the title games with Starkville upsetting previously unbeaten and top-ranked Tupelo, 41-32; West Point shutting out Vicksburg, 14-0; and Noxubee winning a wild one at Amory, 52-51. No region of the state can claim as much success as the greater Golden Triangle, which has indeed been “Golden” during the playoffs. This Friday, Noxubee, 10-4, takes on Raleigh (13-1) for the 3A title while West Point (11-2) meets Picayune (14-0) in the 5A title game. Starkville (11-3) meets Brandon (11-1) for the 6A title on Saturday. Congratulations to our teams and good luck this weekend!

A rose to Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary and the Columbus Arts Council for staging an unique art show and sale which begins Thursday at the Rosenzweig Arts Center. The show will feature 75 “paintings” created by Cedarhill’s lions — females Nombi and Jala and male Tafari. The paintings serve two purposes. It’s considered therapy for the big cats who, like our domestic cats, are curious and playful. Just as important, the artwork that is produced, will be sold to raise funds for Cedarhill, which is home to almost 200 animals, including a variety of big cats. Most of the animals at the sanctuary came from bad circumstances, suffering neglect or abuse. Cedarhill provides a safe haven and care for the animals, which is incredibly costly for the nonprofit sanctuary. Given all that, we encourage art lovers and animal lovers to attend the art show and buy a painting, perhaps for a Christmas gift.

A rose of encouragement to our fellow citizens at a time when Christmas preparations are in full swing. The stores and streets will be crowded. People will be stressed, frazzled, and a bit cranky. So much to do, so little time. In the mad rush that precedes the holiday, we urge citizens to exercise patience, kindness, generosity, empathy. We are all going to be tempted to be something less than our best selves at some point, but the grace will extend in these situations will come back to us. We are often reminded to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas at this time of year, but let’s also remember the true spirit of Christmas, one of peace, love and understanding. We also encourage everyone to shop local. The dollars spent at locally-owned businesses stay in our community to the benefit of our community.

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