Dirt started turning this week at the site of two new Natchez hotels providing, for the first time, visible signs of the future. But the construction of the new Hampton Inn on the south end of Canal Street and the start of work on the new convention center hotel weren’t the only signs of good news in the Miss-Lou.

Let’s review some of the other highlights of the week:

4Members of the Natchez Business and Civic League gathered to give each other a well-deserved pat on the back for another year of community work. The group honored Thelma White, Leon Crawford and Geraldine Williams with its biggest awards, and Rep. Angela Cockerham gave the group a charge to keep up the good work in the year to come.

This group of business leaders and community members aimed at supporting minority businesses often goes beyond their mission statement by supporting local charities like the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities.

4Adams County Sheriff’s deputies took time away from fighting the bad guys to help protect the future early in the week. The deputies visited several local schools to educate children and parents on the safest way to ride in a vehicle. It is these kind of lessons that will save lives in the years to come.

4Another group with the future in mind is the Adams County Coalition for Children and Youth. The group recently received a grant to train mentors who will work with the children of incarcerated parents. These children shouldn’t be punished for the crimes of their parents, and it is good to see a local group step up to the plate to help.

With signs of development — physical and emotional — all around us, the coming week is bound to be as good as the last.