Thumbs up to Saco Fire Department Lt. Steve Kerner, who braved a new look as a way to help raise awareness and money for breast cancer research. Kerner dyed his hair pink, which helped him get enough attention to raise more than $500 to donate to the Maine Breast Cancer Coalition.

If more folks were willing to make a small personal sacrifice to help spread the word about an important issue, or even go as far as to raise funds to combat a problem, just think of the impact it would have on our community and world. Kudos, Lt. Kerner!

Thumbs up to all of those passersby who helped to rescue Lorraine Cantalupo from the vehicle in which she was a passenger after it collided with a Jeep last Thursday. The driver of the vehicle, Lillian Kreitman, died at the scene of the crash, in which her vehicle caught fire. Had it not been for the quick response of those who were nearby, Cantalupo may have lost her life as well. It’s that kind of neighborly action that keeps our communities close-knit and makes us all feel safer, even when the worst happens.

Thumbs up to the decision, handed down in York County Superior Court last week, to keep Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport open for public use. The precedent of public use has certainly been set over the past century, and we feel the town has done a very prudent job of addressing the interests of both property owners and beach-goers with the beach ordinance adopted in late August. Though the court has ruled in the town’s favor, the ordinance still stands, allowing beachfront property owners to maintain a 25-foot swath of beach in front of their home for private use only. This compromise should keep both sides happy, and we hope the efforts to appeal are dropped in favor of seeing the bigger picture.

Thumbs up to the public safety response to the standoff and house fire situation in Dayton last Tuesday, which was well-orchestrated and handled as well as possible. With an incident such as this ”“ an armed person allegedly making threats against family members, setting two houses afire, and firing shots when police arrived on scene ”“ it’s amazing that no one was injured ”“ and that’s mostly due to the training, preparedness and professionalism of our local first responders. We’re glad to see that those who were threatened were evacuated safely and State Police tactical crews were also able to convince the man to give himself up without complications. Too often, domestic violence leads to death, and while property was destroyed in this incident, the most important part was that everyone came out of it alive and uninjured.

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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 office.