Thumbs up to all the people who helped make a surprise homecoming extra special last weekend. During the student production “Murder at the Pie Auction” at the Old Orchard Beach High School, Richard Mariello, who returned home after serving a year in Afghanistan in the Army, popped up in a guest role to surprise his children. His children, Joshua, Josie and Jeremiah Mariello and Bobbie Elwell, thought he was in Germany and would not be home until February. A friend of Richard’s along with school staff and Richard’s wife, Lynn, worked together to pull off the surprise. We wish the family a happy reunion and thank Richard for his service.

Thumbs up to Biddeford Middle School Principal Charles Lomonte and the school’s staff and students for starting a new program based on “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens” by Sean Covey. The seven “habits” may help students learn and become well-rounded citizens, and some even said in interviews last week that they have seen results already. Despite a few skeptics, the school should pursue this program even if it helps only a few children to become better learners and communicators.

Thumbs down to York County Commissioners for voting against funding York County Shelter Programs’ food pantry. Commissioners removed about $32,000 in food pantry funding from the $18.2 million proposed 2012 county budget last week, despite dozens of supporters showing up to speak in favor of the funding. Some people did speak in opposition, and while the funding may need to be looked at more carefully, cutting the funds altogether seems like a bad idea ”“ and an idea lacking in public support. Commissioners put $15,000 back into the budget for a mapping program, and sent the spending plan back to the county budget committee. We hope commissioners will form a committee, as suggested by budget committee member David James, to examine social service funding issues and come up with a plan for the future that will not leave York County Shelter Programs and other agencies in the lurch.

Thumbs up to the Old Orchard Beach Town Council for not subjecting officers of advisory committees, boards and commissions to term limits. The town council voted last week to approve an ordinance change to ensure that officers of advisory committees will be elected annually at the first meeting of the year. This change should allow for leadership changes without imposing limits that may tie the hands of these boards.

Thumbs up to the Arundel Historical Society for making sure two historic buildings will be preserved. The Burnham house and the Lunt house, two of Arundel’s oldest standing structures, will be converted into headquarters for the historical society, once they can be moved. The houses are currently sitting idle on Route 111, and will be moved once the ground has hardened enough to do so. These buildings and the planned construction of a replica of the North Chapel Church will allow space for community events while preserving these historic buildings for future generations. We hope the cold weather holds so the buildings can be moved and work can continue.

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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 email at jtcommunity@journaltribune.com or by dropping your letter off at our Biddeford or Sanford offices.