Last week was one with diverse points of interest, all of which came together in proving our community&8217;s continued effort to better itself.

Demopolis Public Library

Summer Reading Program

Organizers of the Demopolis Public Library summer reading programs for children, teens and adults rolled out their plans for this year&8217;s events, all with the theme &8220;Catch the reading bug.&8221; With a variety of hands on and specially targeted programs, the summer is sure to be full of fun and education for all age groups.

Emergency preparedness

As part of a statewide tour, the health department brought one of seven mobile medical stations to Demopolis to train local employees. The unit is designed for deployment in the event of a major disaster to help aid healthcare facilities. Providing this preventative training with ensure local authorities can answer to the call of duty in the future.

Graduation rates on the rise

In our study of the graduation rates of the local school systems, all three &8212; Demopolis City, Linden City and Marengo County &8212; reported advances in the area of graduation rates. This improvement is due in no small part to the hard work of students, faculty and staff, not to mention early intervention programs in problem areas for students. This take-charge approach is sure to reap benefits for future generations.

Hospital appreciation week

By taking the time out to show hospital employees how much they are appreciated, Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Hospital gave its employees a renewed sense of their importance and also showed the community how their hard work has paid off.

With all of these positive things going on in the community, only the sky is the limit to what we can achieve together.