A rose to the retired Columbus Police Department Lt. Keith Worshaim and a bunch of good-natured law enforcement officers who made Thursday a special day for Columbus resident Phillip Goodwin.
Goodwin, who has autism, was allowed to be a “Cop for the Day,” and officers from the CPD, Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and Mississippi Highway patrol joined in making sure Goodwin’s experience had a real-life feel to it.
Goodwin, 30, met Worshaim through the Act Center, a vocational training center for individuals with special needs and where Worshaim volunteers as judo instructor. Thursday’s outing was Worshaim’s idea, and he solicited the support of area law enforcement to pull it off.
Worshaim even played the role of the law-breaker as Goodman gleefully pulled Worshaim over for a variety of traffic violations. Goodwin had a blast. We applaud all who participated. Our law enforcement are here to protect – and serve. Thursday was a great example of the latter.
A rose to Meagan O’Nan of Starkville, for her efforts in starting a grass-roots movement to remind us all that, for all the disagreements, disputes and rancor that seem to dominate our discourse, “people are good.”
O’Nan has created a movement she calls “Huvinity,” a blend of the words “human” and “divinity,” which stresses that we all have a bit of the divinity in our nature. When people buy one of O’Nan’s T-shirts or bracelets bearing the message “people are good,” she gives them another one, with the instructions to pass it along to a stranger they meet along life’s journey. It’s hard to say how popular the movement will become. What we can say with assurance is that it’s a message the entire world needs to hear. So pass it on!
A rose to East Mississippi Community College, which won its sixth state championship Saturday a week ago. It was also the most difficult of the six. EMCC had to come from behind three times in the final quarter and overtime to outlast Northwest Community College, 67-66, in double-overtime, most likely the most amazing game in the state’s JuCo history. That win, which avenged an embarrassing, 61-38 loss to Northwest in the regular season, has propelled the Lions into the national championship game.
Top-ranked EMCC will face No. 2 Arizona Western on Dec. 3 in the Mississippi Bowl in Perkinston. It will be the Lions’ fifth appearance in a national title game. One thing we know: Whatever the outcome, it will not match the drama of the Lions’ epic state title victory over Northwest.
A rose to the Columbus Choral Society for its fall concert, which featured Tony Award-winning songs from 1945-2017.
The group sang to rave reviews Friday evening at its performance at Poindexter Hall on the Mississippi University for Women campus. If you missed that show, you have another chance today at 2 p.m. at the Louise Campbell Center for the Performing Arts in West Point. Although there is no official cost of admission, concert-goers are asked for a $10 donation. That’s a bargain, folks.
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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