A rose to West Lowndes gifted-student teacher Victoria DeOrnellis for her excellent work with her elementary and middle school students in the Stock Market Game, a semester-long program that introduces kids to the world of finance. Ten of her students won cash awards at either the regional or state level. Under the program, the teacher of award-winners was given cash, too, but DeOrnellis split the $125 she was to receive among her students, a sure testament to her love and devotion to her students. It serves to illustrate that, for teachers, the real reward is the success of their students. Well-done.
A thorn to Starkville aldermen Ben Carver, the lone dissenting vote by the board, which on Friday approved a settlement in a lawsuit filed against the city by the Starkville Pride group. The suit came after the city voted not to grant the group a LGBT parade permit in February. After the Starkville Pride filed suit against the city for violating it’s First Amendment rights, the board voted on the issue again, this time granting a permit by a 4-3 vote (alderman David Little abstained as Mayor Lynn Spruill cast the decisive vote). Carver voted against granting the parade permit both times it was presented to the board. Friday, the board agreed to a small settlement ($12,750) to end the legal action. Reached later, Carver said he voted against the settlement for the sake of consistency, which is silly. There’s nothing admirable about being consistently wrong. That’s called obstinance.
A rose to the New Hope baseball team, whose bid for its first state title in four years, came up just short. The Trojans, who ended their season with a 29-7 record, lost a pair of close games – 3-0 and 1-0 – to Vancleave High School, which captured its first championship. Although the Trojans came up just short of the big prize, a state runner-up finish is still quite an accomplishment. New Hope was the lone Golden Triangle team to make it to the finals in any classification. We congratulate the Trojans players, coaches, parents and fans on another great season.
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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