We’d like to thank the Selma City Council for the long lines at our favorite fast food restaurant this weekend.

We’d like to thank them for the trouble we had driving through the Bloch Park parking lot over the past few days.

We’d like to thank them for making us reschedule visits from family since we couldn’t find a hotel room.

For all of this, we’d like to thank the Selma City Council for approving the recruitment and expense of bringing the Dixie Major state tournament to Selma.

On short notice, the city of Selma was approached by tournament officials asking if the city was interested and could accommodate eight teams from across the state.

After some discussion, maneuvering of budget dollars and some reassuring, the plan was approved.

Now, as the tournament is in its final days, the approval has proven to be a fantastic investment for the city and city businesses.

The money spent by the city will come back many times over in the way of concession and ticket receipts, sales taxes and lodging taxes.

The teams from Guntersville, Opp, Auburn, Montgomery, Thomasville, Morgan County, Sheffield and Oxford — and Selma’s team — have been fortunate and blessed to play at a recently renovated Bloch Park, and their families have been able to enjoy the games in and around summer showers.

In return, they have purchased gasoline from our stores, meals from our restaurants and items from our retailers.

Hosting this tournament has proven to be a win-win for Selma and a proven example of how facilities such as Bloch Park and Memorial Stadium are continuing to be invaluable assets to the city.

Again, thanks for the traffic. We like it.