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A rose to the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District, which with the support of Mississippi States psychology department and local first-responders will implement the states first Handle With Care program for children whove been exposed to traumatic situations. Under the program, first-responders who respond to a traumatic event where school-aged children are present, would notify the school, which would be able to provide the extra care and attention the child needs when he or she returns to school after the event. Teachers will receive training from MSUs Handle With Care program coordinators to help that effort. Only the school counselor and the childs teacher will be notified and no record will be kept to protect the childs privacy. Its not uncommon for children who witness traumatic events in their homes to continue going to school. Many struggle with the continuing trauma without reaching out to teachers or counselors. This program which operates in 30 states, gives the school officials the opportunity to assist these children in a safe and supportive environment. We encourage all of our schools to look into this program.

A rose of congratulations to Stanley Ellis, who on Friday was selected as superintendent by the Columbus Municipal School Districts board of trustees. Ellis, formerly an assistant superintendent for Tunica County School District, will begin his new role on June 19. Ellis has served Tunica County School District as the assistant superintendent of operations and personnel, in which he has served since July 2016. He previously served TCSD as the federal programs director for roughly three years. We wish Ellis success in building on the successes of recent years.

A rose to local schools for their success in Mississippi History Day Competition at Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson on April 22. The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science picked up seven first-place awards (individual documentary, individual website, group website, group paper, Mississippi history project, womens history project and military history project) a second place and a third place. Armstrong Middle School in Starkville earned first place (Junior group website Theo Ahn, Ian Jung and Brendan Seo) and second place while Starkville High School earned first place (group performance Tessa Luke, Lindy Peterson, Jean Holder, Yaerim Choi and Chyla Hanna). MSMS students Nathan Little, Heaven Alvarado and Iris Xue won first place awards in two categories. We congratulate all our local students for their success in this challenging competition.

A rose to Starkvilles Leah Frances Eaton, whose design for Mississippis new license plate was chosen from among 400 entries. The substitute teacher and dance studio owner had no graphics design training, but her updated take on the magnolia blossom that had been a featured image in many previous state car tags, was chosen as the winning entry by the License Tag Commission, which included the Gov. Tate Reeves, Commissioner of Revenue Chris Graham, State Treasurer David McRae and Attorney General Lynn Fitch. The tags bearing Eatons design, will begin being issued in January. Coincidentally, the design for the new Mississippi flag, also featuring a magnolia blossom, was co-designed by another person with Starkville ties. Ackermans Rocky Vaughn, a graphic designer at DogPound printing in Starkville, presented the winning entry from an initial group of more than 3,000 submissions. The new flag was adopted by the state legislature in 2020.

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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Roses and thorns: 5-6-23 - The Commercial Dispatch