Pike County is already enjoying its affiliation with Sen. Jimmy Holley.

Colley, the Coffee County lawmaker, will replace Sen. Bryan Taylor, R-Prattville, as the state senate representative for much of Pike County when redistricting takes effect.

And while Holley has been a close neighbor and longtime legislative friend, he is starting to become more active in his new district.

This week, he brought $12,000 to Pike County, giving $3,000 to the Miracle League Playground project and a $9,000 Community Services Grant to the Pike County Board of Education. The grant will be used to assist with the construction of a new softball facility at Goshen High School.

Both projects are important for our community and it’s good to see Sen. Holley reaching out and bringing these state dollars to local projects.

The late state Sen. Wendell Mitchell, D-Luverne, was well-known throughout Pike County for supporting local projects, from helping fund the original Miracle Field to supporting plays and schools to helping put lights in stadiums.

While the use of state discretionary funds has long been argued as a hot-button topic by some, the bottom line is Pike County and dozens of projects and programs have benefitted from those funds. And any time we can see our tax dollars put to good use right here at home, we benefit.

So thanks, Sen. Holley, for supporting the Miracle Field Playground and the new Goshen softball complex.