A thorn to Columbus city councilman Joseph Mickens for an apparent act of unethical campaigning which came to light last week. Hours after Joshua Clemons, one of three candidates for a municipal court judge position, was interviewed by a committee selected to recommend the appointment, a woman connected with Mickens’ campaign for circuit clerk called Clemons soliciting a campaign donation. Clemons declined to make a contribution. Hours later, he was informed that he would not be recommended for the position. While we do not suggest that Clemons’ refusal to donate had anything to do with the committee’s decision not to recommend him for the position, we do believe it unethical for Mickens’ campaign to approach a candidate for a position that Mickens would help determine. Political candidates are responsible for the conduct of their campaigns, so while Mickens didn’t make the campaign call, he remains culpable. Mickens has refused to comment, which is also unfortunate.
A rose to the Columbus Arts Council for its annual “Possum Town Tales Storytelling Festival.” The fourth edition of the event will be held Sept. 24-27 and will feature an impressive array of nationally-acclaimed storytellers, in addition to a workshop to help local folks craft their own stories and a “Homegrown Storytellers” event where area folks can share their stories. We hear much these days about “preserving our culture,” and much of that talk is focused on controversial issues. It is not so with storytelling. Mississippians have a long tradition of storytelling. In many ways, those stories have shaped our culture as a people. Sustaining that tradition is important for us and festivals such as this affirm and strengthen our story-telling tradition.
A thorn to Starkville Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn, whose conduct turned a Starkville-Oktibbeha school board appointment into a circus Tuesday. In a quick span, Wynn said she’d support one candidate because of the applicant’s race and then accused Ward 3 Alderman David Little of having no vested interest in the process since his children do not attend the public school system. As it turns out, Little’s middle son is a track star at Starkville High School. Of greater concern was Wynn’s insertion of race into process of selecting a board member, a destructive tactic that damages the reputation of all candidates and casts an ugly shadow over city government.
A rose to Annunciation Catholic School whose students, during their summer reading program, logged 295,868 hours of reading over the break, making them the top school in the state for summer reading. This is the third year in a row the school has led the state. In fact, the number of hours spent reading puts ACS in the top 2 percent of schools nationwide this year. Administrators and teachers are to be commended for encouraging participation in the annual contest, but parents and students are the ones responsible for logging those hours over the summer. We commend them all for this achievement.
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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