A rose to all those who have made donations to support the Mississippi Spelling Bee, helping secure the future of the event. In late 2021, this year’s state spelling bee was in danger of being canceled because it had lost its long-time sponsor. The Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce, under then-director Wilson Beck, quickly built a coalition of people and organizations to “save the bee.” Columbus responded with monetary donations, as well as with donations of time and resources. The Dispatch provided the funding to send one student from Mississippi to the national Bee, and local educator Lois Kappler served as the coordinator. The Dispatch and Kappler were recognized as the Scripps sponsor and coordinator of the year in 2022 for their efforts. This year, the community has again come together to host the state bee in Columbus, but this time two students will represent the state at the Scripps Spelling Bee in 2023. In order to make that happen, we needed fundraising help from the community, and the community responded, raising more than $16,500. Local spelling bees have already started, with 239 schools enrolled, up from 211 last year. We thank all who have contributed and wish our young spellers success as the competitions proceed.

A rose to Helping Hands of Columbus, Columbus-Lowndes Public Library (CLPL) and Bryan Public Library in West Point for their efforts to keep folks warm as the cold winter weather approaches. Helping Hands has started its annual blanket drive. Donations can be dropped off or picked up at the Helping Hands office, 223 22nd St. N. Only new blankets are accepted for donation. Helping Hands also accepts monetary donations with which it will purchase blankets. The CLPC has established a winter closet at its Columbus branch on Seventh Street North where residents can select warm clothing. The library is seeking donations of jackets, hoodies, pullovers, scarves, gloves, hats, tennis shoes, boots and other warm clothing. The library intends to keep the closet open year-round to offer clothing to those in need. Finally, The Bryan Public Library is holding a coat drive, having already collected 100 coats. The library is looking for new or gently used coats for all ages. The library also dispersed some of the donated coats to local organizations to help more people in need have access to them.

A rose to the Mississippi State Extension Service, whose annual economic profile report is a valuable tool for those seeking to recruit business and industry to the area while providing residents with a better understanding of our economic picture. This year’s report showed good news indeed, including a phenomenal growth in per capita personal income over the past nine years (a whopping $10,000 increase) while noting the state of major industry in the area. The report shows $3.07 billion in gross production among the top 10 sectors in Lowndes County in 2020, compared to $2.76 billion in 2016. Manufacturing was the top sector with $655 million of gross product made in the county in 2020, compared to $543 million in 2016.

We appreciate the extension service for providing this valuable information, which is available to the public at its website, extension.msstate.edu.

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