Thumbs up to the Experimental Aircraft Association for holding the Young Eagles Flight Rally at Sanford Regional Airport and all of the pilots who volunteered to give young people the opportunity to ride in a plane. Two young ladies from Wells enjoyed the experience and said they had fun. Steve Richard, a private pilot and Young Eagles coordinator, said the program has provided 1.6 million children with a free plane ride and the experience provides an important introduction to aviation for young people who may become pilots if their interest is piqued.

Thumbs up to the town of Kennebunk for installing a new park in town along the Mousam River. Mousam River Park, located in a forested wetland south of Intervale Road, will feature a new walkway that will lead down to the river from the surrounding residential neighborhood to steps that will be used as a boat launch for kayaks and canoes. A gravel parking lot will be paved to allow for six parking spaces, and dead trees along the edges of the river will be cleared. The town is utilizing materials it has for the project to help preserve some open space for the benefit of residents.

Thumbs up to the students at Kennebunk High School who are a part of the Invisible Children club. Club members including Sarah MacDonald,  Haley-Jianna Askew, Mariah Eaton and Emily Junker organized a public viewing of the film “Tony,” which captures the life of a Ugandan boy growing up in the midst of Africa’s longest-running war that was held last Friday. The girls said they want to raise awareness of the issues in Uganda and even had an Ugandan man at the event to speak. These kinds of acts by young people in the community are inspiring to all and hopefully serve as catalysts for change.

Thumbs up to Efficiency Maine and Biddeford officials for continuing to spread the word on an energy savings loan program available to homeowners throughout the state. Last Thursday, officials held an informational session on the Property Assessed Clean Energy program, known as PACE, which allows residential property owners to apply for low-interest loans to update their heating systems, weatherize their homes and make other energy saving improvements. Loans have a fixed interest rate of 4.99 percent for up to 15 years, making the pay back affordable and something homeowners can work into their monthly budgets. Another forum will be held on Oct. 6 in Kennebunk. For more information, call 1-866-376-2463 or visit www.efficiencymaine.com/pace.

Thumbs up to all the organizers and participants of the Biddeford-Saco Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Business and Employment Expo. This is the first year the expo has doubled as a job fair ”“ allowing local businesses to connect with the workforce and area residents to see what kind of jobs are available. The event had a steady flow of job seekers last Wednesday, and Chamber Director Craig Pendleton said organizers were handing out surveys to participants to get feedback from the event and track attendance.

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Thumbnails is a Monday feature of the Journal Tribune’s opinion pages. 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.