A rose to Golden Triangle Regional Airport Director Mike Hainsey, who acted quickly on a suggestion to improve the signage at the airport. The suggestion – signs showing the direction to Columbus, Starkville and West Point — may seem to be of little value to residents, but more and more visitors are coming into the airport from other destinations. In fact, May traffic was the heaviest month in traffic in a decade at the airport. Anything that can be done to help these first-time visitors only enhances the impressions they will take back home when their visits are finished. We applaud Hainsey for quickly making these improvements.
A rose for remembrance and appreciation to Esther Harrison, the Columbus educator, community activist and legislator, who died Wednesday on her 69th birthday. Harrison, a life-long Southside resident, had served as state representative from District 41 since 2000. During that 15 years, she built a reputation among her colleagues as a calm, reasoned voice. Not inclined toward self-promotion, Harrison may have been low-key, but she was consistent voice for her constituency back home. She will be greatly missed, not only for her service in the Legislature, but for her life-long devotion to her community.
A thorn to the 10 candidates in Oktibbeha County who failed to meet the required deadline for filing campaign finance reports this week. State laws requires candidates to file regular reports on how much campaign money they have collected and the sources of those contributions. Yet, candidates routinely fail to file these reports in a timely fashion, and the state seems unwilling to enforce these rules.
We feel this information is important for voters and suggest any candidate who is unable to meet these requirements — it is not a complicated or time-consuming procedure — is open to criticism. Is this an example of how they intend to conduct business if they are elected? It’s a fair question.
A rose to the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library for reaching out in new ways to bring area kids into the library. Dozens of children turned out at the library Tuesday for a chance to see, up close, a variety of exotic animals.
The library secured a visit from Animal Tales, a Kentucky-based business which brings exotic animals to events around the South. Kids were thrilled to see such wondrous creatures as a boa constrictor, porcupine and a chinchilla, but the real show-stopper was Eva, 6-month-old kangaroo.
We dare say this may be the first kangaroo sighting in Columbus history, and the children were delighted by her appearance. We applaud the library for finding new ways to connect children and books. They may have come to see the animals, but it is the exposure to reading that will ultimately prove most beneficial to the kids.
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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