Roses and thorns: 4/25/21
A rose to community leaders in Columbus and Starkville for efforts to engage citizens as they consider options in the wake of recent shootings that have put both cities on edge. Shootings in both Columbus and Starkville in recent weeks have led to open and far-ranging discussions. In Columbus Thursday, the Crime Prevention Task Force met at the Trotter Center to share information from the group’s four committees youth and recreation, community revitalization, community promotion and law enforcement enhancement. The same day, city officials in Starkville held a town hall at McKee Park, site of a drive-by shooting Tuesday that led to the arrests of five people. Crime especially violent crime creates a sense of understandable urgency, but we believe there is a danger of knee-jerk responses fueled primarily by emotions made before first making a real effort to understand the nature and scope of the problem. Now is the time for clear-eyed assessments