Come on, Como.
You can do better than that.
You have too much going for you to let your charming, quirky, hill country vibes be drowned by a shouting match among your elected city officials.
I wasn’t at the Como City Board meeting on February 9, but John Howell was there to report on the proceedings. You read about it in our February 12 edition.
“You’re making us look bad as a town,” one alderman said to another during the acrimonious session.
Get a hold of yourselves, people.
What you’ve got in Como is the envy of many small towns in Mississippi. You’ve got vibrant business in the form of several successful restaurants that draw diners from across Northwest Mississippi and even Memphis on weekends.
You’ve got a nationally recognized librarian who could probably further her career by relocating, but Alice Pierotti chooses to stay  at the Como Public Library, developing innovative programs that particularly inspire your young people.
You’ve got three (count ‘em, three) markers on the Mississippi Blues Trail. Fred McDowell, Napolian Strickland and Otha Turner are all honored with signs in Downtown Como.
You’ve got Sharde Thomas, granddaughter of Otha Turner, who performs regularly in Como, carrying on the rare fife and drum traditions that could easily be lost to history if the young generation lost interest in the Rising Star Band.
You’ve got the Como Mamas, now internationally known for their soulful gospel music.
Daptone Records is preparing to release its third installment in a series of albums of gospel music coming out of Como. This one is called Panola County Spirit and comes from the Walker Family, a gospel quintet.
Como, you’ve got a valuable collection of hill country blues archives housed at the aforementioned Como Public Library.
For crying out loud, you’ve got an art gallery. An art gallery in a town of 1,400.
You’ve got a new park.
You’ve got the EDUCATE Learning Center which provides opportunities for young people.
 Volunteers from the Como Community Club, Como Volunteer Fire Dept., the Main Street Alliance, Como Volunteer Homemakers, Rotary, and others are actively involved in a wide range of projects to better your community.
Como, for two years now, a group of nine North Panola area churches has blended together across racial and denominational lines to feed the neediest among us.
Cistern Hill Church in Como hosts an every-other-month free food distribution. The nine churches raise the funds to buy food through the Mid-South Food Bank in Memphis.
Volunteers from the churches meet on the distribution day to sort, bag and hand out the food as the recipients drive through the Cistern Hill parking lot.
Como, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those town leaders who were yelling at each other aren’t also actively involved in some of these progressive projects that benefit the community.
 Demand that your elected leaders stop, take a deep breath, and look beyond themselves to conduct the town’s business reasonably and responsibly, and in a way that reflects all the good things happening in Como.