Happy Mardi Gras!

Today is Fat Tuesday, the end of the Mardi Gras season.

We hope you got it out of your system as the Lenten season begins Ash Wednesday.

Mardi Gras parades in Natchez and Vidalia were certainly among the good news items reported last week.

Here we take a look at some of the other good news items from the past week.

*West Stiers Lane resident Arlene Warner said she would never own another dog after her beloved Rottweiler, Bear, passed away in 2008.

Warner kept that promise for eight years until her husband brought home a new puppy in 2016 that eventually won over Warner’s heart. Now the two are inseparable. Congratulations for finding puppy love again, Arlene Warner, and for sharing your heartwarming tale with us.

*Adams County Christian School seventh-grader John Alexander “Jack” Peterman wrote an essay that placed first among Natchez schools in the Natchez Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest and then went on to place third in the state contest.

Peterman is the son of Nick Peterman and Emily Guedon. Congratulations, Jack!

*The slate of candidates for county elected positions is finalized with 55 candidates qualifying for all the open positions and for the first time in many years nearly every incumbent will face a challenger in this year’s elections.

Civic engagement and competition are good for the community.

We hope residents will pay attention and study up on the candidates this year in order to make good decisions at the polls.

Party primaries will be Aug. 6 and any necessary runoffs will be Aug. 27.

The general election will be Nov. 5 and any necessary runoffs will be Nov. 26.

May the best candidates win.