A rose to Mona Vance-Ali for her 15-year effort to preserve historic Lowndes County documents and photos by converting the materials to digital format. Vance-Ali, the archivist for the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, completed archiving materials related to World War II found in the Billups-Garth Archives. It is part of a continuing effort to digitally record delicate material that is subject to damage when retrieved. Since 2011, the library has submitted 3,301 items for publication on the Mississippi Digital Library, a website that partners with institutions across the state to provide free online access to Mississippi’s historic records. Vance-Ali hopes to eventually send more, including thousands of court cases and documents from the 1830s to the 1920s. We thank her for the important work of preserving these historical items.

A rose to Oliver Latham, whose courageous rescue during a fire saved the lives of a mother and child. On the evening of April 17, Latham and two friends heard shouting outside of his apartment in the Chanticleer Apartments in Columbus. Upon discovering that a fire had broken out, the three started banging on doors to alert residents. Realizing that a mom and her child were asleep in their apartment, Latham burst through the door, grabbed the child and led the mom through the blinding, choking smoke to safety only moments before the roof fell in. Columbus firefighters responded quickly, but it’s clear they would not have been able to save the mom and child had Latham not intervened. Rushing into a fully involved fire defies all human instinct. Even trained firefighters wearing protective gear find the act a terrifying part of the job. We commend Latham for his extraordinary courage in a life-and-death situation.

A rose to Mississippi State University chemist Colleen Scott, who has been selected for the Bayh-Dole Coalition’s 2026 American Innovator Award, one of the nation’s most prestigious honors given annually to researchers whose federally funded work leads to real-world impact. Past honorees include developers of mRNA vaccine technology, once-a-day HIV treatments and vision-restoring glasses. Scott, an associate professor in MSU’s Department of Chemistry, was recognized for her patented research developing a shortwave infrared, or SWIR, dye for the visualization of cancer cells. Her award-winning technology enables safe, high-resolution deep tissue visualization by operating at lower energy levels than traditional imaging methods. Her technology is geared to selectively target cancer cells, allowing clinicians to more clearly identify tumor boundaries. We congratulate Scott for the honor and the important work it represents.

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