This week was yet another rollercoaster of events in Pearl River County. Coming off the weekend State Championship win from the Blue Devils’ baseball team, we’ve written and read stories about the impending hurricane season, Picayune School District budget cuts, county burglaries and recycling. 

It’s hard to differentiate one week from another most of the time, but if there’s one word that always creeps back into my mind it’s “progress.” Whether we’re experiencing it or we need it, the dream of progress is always there.

Last week it seemed like the Picayune Police Department was making progress on removing dangerous narcotics from the street—not just narcotics but offenders who were selling the substances.

But earlier this week a local man concocted a story that sent police on a search for a fictional woman.

Yet the search was progress nevertheless; it provided training for officers who could be sent in the field at a moment’s notice.

As the Picayune School District contemplates cutting slots for children in the Early Head Start program, the ultimate aim is to be able to provide better services for our youth.

Budgets are tight all over the county and each department, agency and most every  household is finding ways to cut back.

But yesterday’s news brought us some more progress found in our students.

Picayune’s third grade students are excelling on their literacy tests at a higher rate than many other schools in south Mississippi. Clearly something is starting to work there.

But as school comes to a close this week, the summer reading programs at the library are set to begin. In an effort to continue that progress, we hope these children take advantage of their local libraries and keep reading this summer, even if it’s just for 15 minutes a day.

Progress is difficult, but we take it one step—or one brick at Crosby Commons—at a time.