A rose to Mississippi State athletes Brandon McBride and Marta Freitas for their efforts last week in the Summer Olympics of Rio de Janeiro. After winning his qualifying heat in the men’s 800-meter run Friday, McBride — running for Canada — was set to compete in the semifinals Saturday night. Freitas, competing for Portugal, failed to qualify during Friday’s preliminaries of the women’s 1,500-meters. Regardless of outcome, it should be noted that qualifying for the Olympics is no small achievement in and of itself.
McBride and Freitas are world-class athletes and their presence in Rio is a tribute not just to the athletes, but to Mississippi State’s track program.
A rose to the city of Columbus for changing the way it conducts its budget process this year. In previous years, department heads submitted their requests to the city council. This usually resulted in many requests being denied without the input of the department heads. This year, however, the council gave each department head a budget of its on, which they used to determine priorities. We much prefer this approach because it puts the decision squarely in the hands of those who are best prepared to make good decisions about how our tax dollars are spent. The approach also streamlines the process. It’s a long overdue change.
A rose to all of the downtown merchants, developers and support organizations for their continued efforts to transform downtown into a vibrant, diverse and aesthetically-pleasing showplace of our community. From the east end of Main Street — where Gayle Guynup’s renovation of the old train deport will soon be attracting tenants — to the east end where the bookend eyesore Gilmer Motel is soon to vanish completely from the landscape, to all points in between — where tenants new and old continue to reinvent and reinvigorate Main Street. The seemingly infinite adaptability of these historic buildings is a testament to the lasting value of good design and quality construction.
A rose to Christopher Tarantino and other organizers of the inaugural Golden Triangle Comic and Toy Expo, held Saturday at the Trotter Center.
The expo is the brainchild of Tarantino, emergency manager at Columbus Air Force Base. He has lived in Mississippi for 4 1/2 years.
When not working with FEMA or on disaster preparedness, the New Jersey native might be found organizing events like the Tupelo Comic Con, and now this expo in Columbus.
Saturday’s event was planned to test the interest level of the event and, based on the response, we are optimistic that the event will return on an even bigger scale in the years to come.
While we are blessed to have a rich variety of events in our community, we always welcome new opportunities to tap into the varied interests of our residents. It keeps things fresh and interesting.
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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