Thumbs up to all the performers and organizers of the G.I. Dames’ “USO Style Show and 911 Tribute” that will be performed on Sept. 11, the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The show, to which all veterans and their guests are invited, will feature singing and dancing as well as a buffet meal and raffles, all in honor of the veterans of today and yesterday. It is no small feat to put on a production of this magnitude, and it’s all done through donations of local business people, national retailers and everyday folks who just want to do what they can to say “thank you” to those who have served in the U.S. armed forces. The show itself is a tribute to veterans ”“ and this year, to those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks ”“ but the fact that it’s being offered is certainly a tribute to the Sanford area and a grand display of its residents’ patriotism.
Thumbs down to the flawed calculation process for the Maine High School Assessment, which left Biddeford High School with appallingly low results. Nearly half the 11th grade class, 107 students, were incorrectly entered into a database, resulting in an artificially low score for the school and temporarily blacking BHS’s eye. Luckily, the error was discovered before the school made significant changes or had to deal with any negative impacts from the low scores. We are confident that the administration is correct to believe that its corrected score will be much more in line with expectations.
Thumbs up and congratulations to Kennebunk Town Manager Barry Tibbetts, who was awarded the Linc Stackpole Manager of the Year Award in late August at the annual Maine Town and City Management Association conference. Tibbetts was recognized for his “dedication, willingness to better the profession and help his peers,” and Sanford Town Manager Mark Green noted that Tibbetts helped reconstruct Kennebunk’s Main Street and renegotiated the town’s waste disposal contract with Maine Energy Recovery Company. Leadership is important in every town, and Kennebunk residents should be proud of Tibbetts and his commitment to doing what’s best for the town.
Thumbs up to the fire commission made up of Lyman and Dayton residents, for sticking with the tedious process of converting the Goodwin’s Mills Fire Rescue corporation into a municipal entity. It’s been more than a year now since voters approved the takeover of the corporation by the two towns, to become a municipal department. Developing an interlocal agreement for the department was a trying process, but it was finally signed in December 2010. Now a new personnel policy and a purchase and sales agreement are still in the works, which means hiring of a chief for the department has been put off longer than commission members would have liked. Even so, the two towns have remained largely cordial with each other throughout and are now digging through the minutiae of the personnel policy, bringing them one step closer to completing the plan voters approved. It’s been quite an effort, and we applaud them for their perseverance.
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Thumbnails is a Monday feature of the Journal Tribune’s opinion pages, published today this week due to the Labor Day holiday. If you want to respond, feel free to write to the Readers’ Forum via e-mail at jtcommunity@journaltribune.com or by dropping your letter off at our Biddeford or Sanford offices.
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