It was a bright week in Natchez — literally and figuratively.

The lighting of the Mississippi River bridge capped off a great week and leaves our community with a visual reminder that we are forever linked to our neighbors across the river.

But the bridge lighting was only one thing this week worth a closer look. Let’s review a few other great headlines from last week.

4 Walmart, Dr. Vikram Dulam and a few other community donors have made it possible to quickly add a second K-9 unit to the Natchez Police Department. Dogs do good work, we know, and we are happy these donors recognize the importance of the work law enforcement does.

4 Natchez teachers participated in a hands-on learning opportunity aimed at helping them develop students who may later excel in transportation-related jobs such as civil engineering. The training was sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

4 Plans are ongoing for the local sesquicentennial commemoration of the Civil War. A committee of locals is working hard to develop a game plan that is sure to be both entertaining and educational.

4 Natchez resident Emory Smith certainly has a bright future ahead of her. Smith, the salutatorian at Trinity Episcopal, is headed to Ole Miss in the fall where she will study in the honors college. Smith, who moved to Natchez only a few years ago, is one of many who have fallen in love with our community, and though we’ll miss her while she’s gone, we wish her best of luck in the future.

4 Ernest “Little Tony” Fields and family spent the week in Disney World thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Fields is a cancer survivor and his family has been active in the community for years. We hope you had fun Tony!

As we begin a new, maybe even hotter, month, let’s look back on June as a bright spot for us all.