Abby Gayle Smith was recently selected as Miss Merry Christmas, and will help the Chamber of Commerce at several holiday events.

She will also be a guest of honor at the city’s Christmas parade.

“As a little girl, I’ve always gone to the parade every year,” Smith said. “I saw Miss Merry Christmas, and I always wanted to be her.”

Below is a look back at a few more good news headlines.

• Brookhaven’s cross-country teams showed out in the recent Region 3-5A meet. Both Ole Brook teams won their races with perfect team scores as they prepare for the MHSAA 5A Championship on Monday at Choctaw Trails. Sophomore Sam Arnold finished first overall with a time of 16 minutes and 38 seconds on the 5,000-meter course. Senior Jacob Britt (16:49) was second, sophomore Grayson Childress (16:53) was third, sophomore Jake Thompson (17:01) finished fourth, freshman X’Zavion Stewart (17:53) was fifth and sophomore Trey Knott (17:58) finished sixth as the Panthers put in a dominant performance. The Lady Panthers were just as dominant as they took seven of the top eight spots in their race. Senior Bailey Pounds won first place with a time of 21:12. Pounds was followed by sophomore teammate Ellie Slay (22:17) in second place and BHS senior Emmaline Wolfe (22:23) in third. Senior Carley Craig (22:41) was the fifth-place finisher, freshman Lilly Gray (22:43) finished in sixth, freshman Ramie Stovall (22:46) came in seventh place and freshman Quinn Boerner (22:47) was the eighth-place finisher.

• The unemployment rate for Lincoln County in the month of September was down slightly. The county’s civilian work force was 14,780 in September, down by just 40 from August, according to the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, with 820 persons reporting they were looking for work but were unable to find employment. That’s 60 fewer people looking for work. Accounting for the reduction in work force, the total is 20 additional persons looking for work unsuccessfully.

The change in numbers drops the county’s unemployment rate from 5.8 percent in July and 6 percent in August to 5.5 percent for September.

• Loyd Star sophomore Aubrey Britt made the next step towards her third straight 2A cross-country title with a victory in the Region 7-2A meet last week at Choctaw Trails in Clinton. Britt finished in a time of 20 minutes and eight seconds over the 5K course. In the boys’ race it was West Lincoln junior Tiler Castillo who took first overall with a time of 18:13 to take the top spot.