A rose to Dennis Dupree, who will run unopposed in the special election for a seat on the Columbus Municipal School District Board of Trustees  Dupree was the only person to submit qualifying paperwork for the election, which means he will officially join the board in January, following the Nov. 4 special election. Dupree is uniquely qualified for the position, having served  as the district’s interim superintendent from September 2022 to March 2023.  He will replace appointed board member Josie Shumake. Dupree started his education career at CMSD as a classroom teacher in 1992. Over the next 15 years, he served stints as an assistant principal, principal of Hunt Intermediate School and as assistant superintendent for student support services. In 2007, he was named superintendent of Clarksdale Municipal School District, from which he retired in 2019. Dupree returned to CMSD for his six-month stint as interim superintendent after former Superintendent Cherie Labat abruptly resigned. We congratulate Dupree for stepping forward to serve the city’s school in this important position. His presence on the board should inspire confidence in the community.

A rose to the Golden Triangle Development LINK, which celebrated the opening of its 7,000-square-foot building at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport. When first organized in 2003 it served only Lowndes County  and established its offices at 1102 Main St. in Columbus. But as the LINK expanded to serve Oktibbeha and Clay counties, LINK officials began to look for a more centralized location. The decision to locate near GTRA was close to a decade and a half in the making – built on a vision of tying the Oktibbeha, Lowndes and Clay communities together for economic development at a more centralized location. Established offices in close proximity to the airport and the booming Lowndes County Industrial Park underscores The LINK’s success for almost a quarter century. The LINK also used the event to dedicate the office complex’s Bobby Harper Training Room, in acknowledgment of one of its most important supporters. Harper helped set the LINK’s Trust and is a long-time board member and was instrumental in rallying community support in the early days of the organization. We congratulate the LINK as it begins operations in its new offices.

A rose to Mississippi State as it kicks off a major development project on a 15-acre site between the city of Starkville’s Cotton District and the MSU campus. The multi-phase plan will begin with the construction of Hotel Madelon, an upscale, 122-room hotel. Future phases will include relocating the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library from its current site at Mitchell Library on the MSU campus, a move that will give it much higher visibility. Other phases include a land bridge that will stretch from the side of Hotel Madelon across Highway 12 onto campus, a multi-use plaza for restaurants, shops and office space, a 700-space parking garage and  faculty townhouses. The ambitious plans will be a great asset for the university and the city alike, transforming what had been an undeveloped area into a showcase for both. We are excited to see this project as it gets underway.

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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