”¢ Thumbs up to Kristen Bradley, who came up with the idea to donate stuffed animals to the survivors of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, and to all those who have joined in her effort. Locally, Heather McRee of Biddeford and Leslie Penna of Old Orchard Beach are helping to collect stuffed animals, which were to be delivered to the town this past Saturday. These ladies should be commended for undertaking this effort to show these youths their support and give them some small measure of comfort. In the wake of such a horrific tragedy, it’s easy to forget the survivors, who lived through a terrible incident at a fragile, young age, but this teddy bear drive will send the message that many people care about their healing, too.

”¢ Thumbs down to the lack of communication between the Old Orchard Beach Town Council and Town Manager Mark Pearson, which led to a disagreement over whether Pearson was within his right to begin administering merit pay increases for town employees. A vote of the council is not always required for every decision, and if Pearson felt he was directed to implement the raises by Jan. 1, he was simply trying to do his job. Town employees should not be caught in the middle of a push-and-pull between the council and manager, and we’re glad to hear that those raises already given will be honored. As well, the fact that the money is already budgeted and other councilors agree that the council’s intent was to approve the merit increases shows that Pearson was not intending to act outside the scope of his authority. The council needs to seriously review the way it interacts with its town manager and improve communication going forward. The relationship should not be adversarial, but cooperative.

”¢ Thumbs up to North Berwick Town Manager Dwayne Morin, Kennebunk Town Manager Barry Tibbetts and the representatives of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. for coming to an agreement on a new waste disposal contract for the 13 towns that now send their trash to Maine Energy. The new contract will result in significant savings for the towns, reducing the tipping fee by nearly $18 per ton, and removing other costly provisions. We’re glad to see that this new contract helps the towns save money, even as Casella moves into a new phase without the Maine Energy plant in Biddeford.

”¢ Thumbs up (and fingers crossed) to the re-awarding of a 21st Century Community Learning Center Program grant to the Biddeford School District. This federal grant, which allows the district to provide extra help, via after-school and summer school programs, to students who need it. The school district had previously been awarded the grant, but the Department of Education rescinded it due to “flawed” proposals, leaving the district without funding for these programs. We’re glad to see it restored, since helping students get over little humps in their learning before they turn into big obstacles can have significant returns for their futures.

”¢ Thumbs up to the Old Orchard Beach American Legion Post 57 for its donation of $9,000 that allowed the OOB Fire Department to reach its goal of purchasing a life-like training mannequin. All those who donated to this purchase, which has a $20,000 price tag, made an important contribution. The Smart STAT Manikin gives emergency medical technicians a very realistic “patient” on which to learn and practice life-saving skills. It’s an investment that will undoubtedly help save lives, and we applaud the legion post for making such a generous donation to make the final purchase possible.

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