Thumbs Up/Down - November 9, 2012

Talk about it

VOTERS GET INVOLVED

Thumbs Up: Hats off to the 91 percent of Douglas County’s registered voters that voted Tuesday. No matter how voters feel about the outcome of the election, everyone should take pride in knowing that they have a voice in selecting leaders at the local, state and national level. Now that the election is over, let’s put away the political labels that can blind us to new ideas and approaches. Let’s stop hoping that the other party will fail. Let’s keep getting involved in the process by attending government meetings and letting our elected officials know how we feel about key issues. Let’s work together to make our community, state and nation better for the next election cycle.

NEWCOMERS SUCCESS

Thumbs Up: Glenna Gibbons of Alexandria sends a thumbs up to the committee that planned the 60th anniversary of the Newcomers Club. “The reminiscing of the changes through the decades and the very enjoyable music provided by the ‘Doo-Wops’ made for a most enjoyable evening,” she said. “Throughout the years, many businesses in Alexandria have given gifts to use as prizes for drawings at each monthly meeting. The same format was used at the reunion. Several ladies went home with gifts. We all enjoyed visiting and reconnecting with each other. All of us agreed that we’re happy to see the strong continuation of this organization…Thank you, ladies.”

PICTURE PERFECT FINDER

Thumbs Up: A girl came across a camera memory card at Inspiration Peak. She took the time to look at the pictures and saw the Ellingson Plumbing and Heating logo on some clothing of someone in the pictures, so she brought it to the Alexandria store to be returned. “It belonged to our daughter, Rachel and her husband, Ryan Buse,” noted a grateful Renae Hills. “Thanks to her and reminding me there are good people out there.”

BICYCLE VANDAL

Thumbs Down: Last spring, Active Living Douglas County purchased four bright green bicycles that were stationed at Big Ole/Central Park. They could be used by the community at any time, free of charge. Thus far, organizers deemed the BikeShare program a success, with users logging a lot of miles. A few weeks ago, however, one of the four bicycles was vandalized. The entire bicycle frame was spray painted silver. “This single incident won’t deter Active Living Douglas County from continuing the program, but perhaps making people aware of it will make someone think twice about damaging other people’s property in the future,” noted Jessia Pederson with Active Living.

HELPING CLASSROOMS IN AFRICA

Thumbs Up: The Operation Bootstrap Africa planning committee gives a thumbs up to the community and the 79 people who participated in the 14th annual walk to raise funds for classrooms in Africa. This year, $7,300 was collected to build a second classroom for primary students at the crowded Olchoki School near Arusha, Tanzania. “We thank Diane Jacoby, the director of OBA, for being present, the Jefferson High School girls soccer team and coaches for walking, the Sheriff’s Posse for providing us safe passage, Elden’s Fresh Foods for buns, and Burger King for the donated orange drink.,” said local coordinator Catherine Scholer Kliewer.

LINGERING LIBRARY CONCERNS

Thumbs Down: A resident expressed concerns about some of the services at the Douglas County Library, which he said have gone uncorrected. He said the printers don’t print dark enough to read, yet cost 15-cents per page. He also listed some suggestions for improving the public use of computers at the library: If all computers aren’t filled, your session shouldn’t end. He said it’s a policy that works well at other libraries. Also, the speaker wire inside each computer should be disconnected so the only way sounds could be heard is through headphones. That way, staff wouldn’t have to turn the sound on each time someone wants to hear something or turn it off to prevent disturbances.

A TRIBUTE TO TRUDY

Thumbs Up: Cathy Saiko Zulkosky was at the cross country track meet at Arrowwood Resort when her wedding ring fell off her finger. She looked all over the grounds, but couldn’t find it. She left a message and her phone number and was soon contacted with very good news. “Trudy from Brandon was helping clean the grounds and she stepped on something – ta da! My ring,” said Saiko Zulkosky. “Trudy and Arrowwood are a miracle. It’s kind of a nice ring. Kudos forever to all.”

Tags: opinion, editorials