A rose to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers for its “show-don’t-tell” approach to sharing the story of the Waterway’s role as an economic powerhouse for our communities and state.
On Friday, the groups arranged a two-plus hour tour of the Waterway between The Lowndes County Port and West Point for a group of local/state elected officials, state agency representatives and media.
Organizers emphasized that while the Waterway is a wonderful source for recreation, it’s greatest contribution in economic.
Watching row after row of barges filled with scrap being unloaded for transport to Steel Dynamics drove home the point that the Waterway is a critical component of industrial development for communities that lie along the 234-mile stream.
A rose to Columbus Air Force Base for acknowledging the service of the military working dogs.
On Wednesday, the CAFB pulled out all the stops for a retirement ceremony for Military Working Rex/R746, but in honoring Rex, officials also used the occasion to make note of the work service dogs perform – everything from providing security to narcotics detection to bomb/explosive detection.
Military working dogs are often in harm’s way, never take vacation, never complain about working hours or conditions. They provide an invaluable service to both the military and the general public.
Attaboy, Rex. And thanks to all the military working dogs still on the job.
A rose the nonprofit Innovate Mississippi and the Mississippi Development Authority for their collaboration is a new program that turns code-writing training into good jobs.
This fall, students in Columbus and Jackson can attending the program’s “coding academies,” which will focus on teaching coding and interpersonal skills necessary for working to 2017 high school graduates who are not going to college. The program is based on the Base Camp Coding Academy, which recently finished its first year in Water Valley, where 11 high-school graduates took a one-year course in coding and executive skills that lead to 100-percent job placements in jobs ranging from $50,000 to $70,000 in salaries.
These are the kinds of opportunities that should inspire students. Good jobs are out there, provided our young people have the skills and training needed.
We are excited about the prospects this new project represents. It is a path to a promising future to for the students who seize this opportunity.
A rose to Mississippi State University and the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, which broke ground Wednesday on its Partnership School.
The school will serve every sixth and seventh grade student in the district and also will be a demonstration site for student teachers and faculty members in MSU’s College of Education.
It will provide educational lessons for SOCSD and MSU students as the two entities work jointly to identify collaborative efforts on curriculum, instruction, assessment and evaluation.
We believe the school will be a great benefit not only to students, who will receive more individual attention from the presence of student-teachers, but for staff and teachers, who will be able to develop and enhance approaches on everything from curriculum to instruction to assessment to evaluation.
This joint effort is an exciting new development to increasing student achievement and development the teachers of tomorrow through real-life classroom experience. The school is set to open on 2019.
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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