Roses and thorns
A rose to Mississippi State baseball coach John Cohen for taking the time to serve as keynote speaker for Thursday’s Boys and Girls Club of the Golden Triangle fund-raising banquet at East Mississippi Community College in Mayhew. “Coach Cohen was great and the turnout was great,” said club director Nadia Dale. The banquet is one of the club’s primary fund-raising events. This year, the goal was $25,000, but Dale says the event raised close to $30,000. “We’re just thrilled,” she said.
A rose to state senator Terry Brown, for using his considerable influence as Speaker Pro Tempore of the Senate to remove some legislative road blocks that threatened to delay progress on The Mill project in Starkville. Mill developer Mark Castleberry lauded Brown for quickly responding to his pleas for help. Brown “made it happen” with surprising speed, Castleberry said. The needed legislation moved quickly through the Senate and now awaits House approval. Considering the history of the Mill project, the last thing it needed was yet another delay. Brown’s prompt attention took care of that and it should serve as a reminder that our legislators are their to serve our interests rather than promote some political party agenda or its ideology.
A rose to a couple of Columbus business owners who have plans to hang the “Gone Fishin'” sign on their doors after a combined 93 years of operation. Tommy Coggins, whose Coggins Shoe Shop opened in the late 1970s, announced he will cease operations as soon as he can sell his remaining inventory. It’s the same story for Jack Langford Jr. and his brother, Larry, will also close shop as soon as the inventory at Langford Furniture can be liquidated. The business opened in 1956, with the Langford’s father as a co-owner. When long-time owners of local businesses say goodbye, the community loses a little something. Even so, it’s hard to resent Coggins and the Langfords. They’ve earned the rest.
A rose to East Mississippi Community College’s culinary team, which claimed its fourth consecutive victory in the Mississippi Culinary DECA competition this week. Both EMCC’s A and B teams earned first and second place. The first-place team consisted of Joey Hansford and Quintin Hall, both of whom competed on the winning team in 2013, and Ali Browne, all of Starkville. The second-place team consisted of Brenda Lobato Ford of Starkville, Kimberly Mixon of West Point and Reggie Ward of Starkville. Bon appetit, Lions!
A rose to an anonymous family of “angels.” Writes Ruby Bell of Steens: “I ate at Appleby’s Saturday night and really enjoyed my meal…My waitress came back and asked if I knew the couple and two little boys that had been sitting across the aisle from me and I told her, ‘no.’ She then told me they had paid for my meal. They may not read this, but if they do I just want to say, ‘thank you. You made my night!’ To everyone else, don’t ever forget that there are still ‘angels’ all around.”
Do you have a submission for Roses and Thorns? Send your submission of 75 words of fewer to managing editor SlimSmith at [email protected] by noon Friday.
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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