Santa made three public appearances in parades in the Miss-Lou this weekend, offering us all an extra reminder to be on our best behavior.

But a few of Santa’s favorites have been hard at work making good news in our community.

Let’s review a few highlights from last week.

4 Several local women pitched in recently to help a homeless man reach family out-of-town. Now, Lyn Latimer is caring for the man’s dog and trying to raise money to send the dog home for Christmas. It’s great to know that local residents care enough to make a difference.

The Miss-Lou Regionalism Health Care Subcommittee has been an active group, hosting two big events already. Seeing the local medical community come together for the good of the area is refreshing.

Vidalia resident Pattie Morris has led a project that will bring a smile to the faces of hundreds of American soldiers in Iraq this year. Reed shipped off more than 200 boxes of Southern goodies last week after collecting them from the community.

Students at the Middleton School of Dance put in many hours of hard work before Thursday night’s Christmas performance. Congratulations to these dancers on a job well done.

Cedric Robinson, 10, is Ridgecrest Elementary School’s fifth-grade Student of the Year. Cedric excels at his schoolwork but is also just a cool kid. We know his future is bright.

Alcorn State University has a new full-time president, M. Christopher Brown. We are ready to have Brown join our community, and we can’t wait to see what he can do at the school.

For those of you still hoping to impress Santa, the clock is ticking. Take time this week to make a difference in your community.