Thumbs up to the dialogue in Sanford concerning the use of “Redskins” as the high school mascot. A forum held Wednesday evening gave residents an opportunity to hear directly from those of native descent, including members of the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission, about why they are requesting the discontinuation of the use of the mascot name. While only one person at the meeting spoke out in favor of retaining the name, some others have voiced their support for it in conversations on the “You know you’re from Sanford” Facebook page and via letters to the editor. The school board will ultimately have to decide if they want to continue use of the name due to its original intent of showing strength, or if they want to discontinue it because the term is offensive due to the genocide that occurred when white settlers came to this area. We hope the process helps people to become informed about the facts and brings the community together.

Thumbs up to the decision by the Biddeford School Committee to extend open campus privileges to seniors next year for the entire school year. The students should be commended for doing their research and presenting the board with the facts about this program for older high school students. The more responsibility and respect students are given, the more they feel like ”“ and become ”“ upstanding, contributing citizens. Conversely, the longer these students are treated like children, the longer they will feel inclined to behave as such. Those who abuse the privilege will lose it, and those who can handle the freedom will be giving a boost to the local lunchtime spots. It’s a win all around.

Thumbs down to Arundel Selectman Dana Peck’s suggestion that elimination of the Arundel Fire Department should be considered as part of budget deliberations. Peck said, at the meeting last Monday, that every major expenditure in the budget should be looked at carefully as one of many possible fiscal scenarios. But anyone with any property or loved ones in the town would probably disagree in this case. Having fire protection within the town, allowing for response times of just a few minutes, is a must for most residents who don’t want to wait for nearby towns to respond when their life or home is in danger. It was just a few years ago that the town voted to have the department go to 24/7 coverage ”“ so it’s clear that they don’t want less, they wanted more. While certain line items within the fire department budget are, of course, up for discussion, elimination of it altogether is clearly not what the voters want selectmen to consider.

Thumbs up to the arrest, finally, of George Zimmerman, the man who fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin during his neighborhood watch shift in Sanford, Fla. Whether or not Zimmerman is found guilty of Martin’s murder or goes free on a claim self-defense, the arrest was long overdue and has caused outrage throughout the nation. Now, at least, Zimmerman will have a fair trial, and the facts of the case will come to light in the courtroom. The delay of the arrest has led to a trial by media and public opinion, which is unfair to all parties involved. The best outcome would be for Martin’s death to be the push that is needed for Florida to reconsider its “stand your ground” law, which gives too much leeway to claims of self-defense.