Thumbs up to Biddeford City Councilor Pat Boston, who was inadvertently omitted from our thumbs up last Monday acknowledging Councilors Rick Laverriere and George “Pete” Lamontagne, as well as the Public Works staff, for hosting a very well-organized hazardous materials collection day on May 1.

Boston was also among those who helped out with the event, which could not have come off without planning and the cooperation of staff. It was nice to see our councilors there, sharing a smile with residents as they passed out tags for the vehicles and recycling bumper stickers.

Thumbs up to the Waterborough Historical Society, which has taken over the Waterboro Grange Hall on West Road and plans to renovate it for community use. The hall has a place in the hearts of residents and the history of the town as a venue for wedding receptions, dance lessons and turkey suppers. Hopefully residents will support the society, which has been active in saving historical buildings in town, in their efforts to bring the hall back to life.

Thumbs up to the proposal in Waterboro to issue 52 tags annually for trash disposal and have residents pay per bag after the tags are used up. This idea is a great compromise to the “all or nothing” plans that would require either paying for every bag or disposing unlimited amounts of trash at will. A limited number of tags will encourage residents to recycle, thus saving the town tipping fees on waste, and will not punish those who already do recycle by tacking on an automatic added fee.

Thumbs down to Saco’s consideration of plans for a turning lane onto North Street to allow for easier access to the Franklin Street community center as a central polling place. The reason that the city initially decided to consolidate polling places was to save money and it’s hard to believe that keeping multiple places open for voting would cost more than $41,000, even over several years. Though the C.K. Burns School cannot be used because it is not handicapped accessible for adults, surely the town could consolidate the voters in that part of town with another location rather than send everyone to Franklin Street, where pricey traffic accommodations are necessitated.

Thumbs up to Emile Roy, who is still working as a barber in Sanford even at age 90. Roy’s spunk and perseverance are inspirational to anyone who thinks life is over by 65 (or 75 or 85”¦). He’s a community fixture who gives Sanford some of its personality and class.

Thumbs up to the City of Biddeford for its decision to seek proposals for the Emery School. The building needs a lot of work to bring it up to code for future uses, and in the meantime, the taxpayers are funding its maintenance. Those who operate social service agencies in town have already been given their chance to make the building work for their purposes and have found it too expensive. Hopefully, a developer will come forward to restore the building, put it back on the tax rolls and put it to good use.

Thumbs up to Old Orchard Beach High School’s “texting while driving” demonstration day last week, when students and staff were given the opportunity to drive golf carts while attempting to send a text message on their cell phones. Nothing brings home the danger of distracted driving like finding out firsthand and this event gave participants a safe opportunity to have that experience. This should be a required activity for all drivers and incorporate other dangerous in-car habits such as putting on make-up, reading and fussing with the radio.

Thumbs up to Goodall Hospital in Sanford for making good on the promise to restore salaries and most benefits to its employees ”“ just as they said they would last year when the cuts first were implemented. The hospital was hit hard by the recession and made cuts all around. Now that it is bouncing back, it’s nice to see this respect for the employees.

— Thumbnails is a Monday feature of the Journal Tribune’s opinion pages. If you would like to respond, please write the Reader’s Forum via e-mail at jtcommunity@journaltribune.com or by dropping your letter off at our Biddeford or Sanford offices.