A rose to the organizers of the Oktibbeha County Hospital Regional Medical Center bidder forums, which were held Wednesday and Thursday at the Greensboro Center.
The two hospital groups that submitted bids for a potential purchase of OCH — subject to a Nov. 7 referendum to determine whether the hospital can be put up for sale — met with citizens to provide information about their operations and their plans for OCH, should their bid be successful.
Representatives from Tupelo-based North Mississippi Medical Group made its presentation on Wednesday, followed by Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp. of Memphis on Thursday.
Given that so little information was initially released when supervisors first opened the bids last month, the information provided last week was helpful for those voters who remain undecided as the Nov. 7 vote approaches. While there are many whose minds have already been made up and cannot be changed, there are likely many voters who remain undecided. For those voters, the forums were an opportunity to examine the issue without the emotional tension that has characterized much of the discussion regarding the potential sale.
A rose to developer Kenny Frye, who has altered his plans for the development of a Southside lot after neighbors complained his plans would negatively affect the character of the neighborhood.
Frye had originally planned to build town homes on the lot at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Seventh Street South in Columbus and had acquired all the necessary permits to pursue the project.
After hearing from area residents who were opposed to the multi-family project, Frye changed his plan and will now build two single-family homes on the lot instead.
The new plan has the neighborhood’s blessing. You can’t put a dollar figure on that, of course, but we hope the new plan complements the character of this historic neighborhood and proves successful for Frye.
A rose to West Point florist Scott Reed, whose persistence has paid off.
Reed, owner of Petal Pushers Florist, has been selected to help decorate The White House for Christmas after he was passed over by the two previous administrations when applying for the honor.
Reed was notified by the White House last week of his selection. He will leave for Washington soon after Thanksgiving to begin his work. He first applied to help decorate the White House during George W. Bush’s second term and again during each of Barack Obama’s two terms. So for Reed, the fourth time was the charm. We congratulate Reed. It’s pretty cool honor.
A rose to the three new members of the Columbus Lowndes Chamber of Commerce board of directors, who were elected last week for a three-year term.
The new board members are Matt Bogue of Dutch Oil Group; Jill Savely, principal of Golden Triangle Early College High School and Greg Stewart of Aurora Flight Sciences.
The three new members bring impressive diversity of experience, skill and background to the board.
Melinda Lowe of Mississippi University for Women will take over as board president for 2017-18. We applaud all four for their public service and also pause to thank the outgoing board members — Germain McConnell of Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science; Bill Walker of Brickerton Properties; and Jeff Farnham of JTS Mortgage.
While the work of the Chamber is often of the “behind the scenes” variety, the work it does in promoting business in our communities should not be taken for granted. We all have a vested interest in the Chamber’s success.
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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