Thumbs down to the circumstances that led Metrocast, the cable television provider for Sanford, some rural York County communities and some New Hampshire towns, to no longer offer CKSH-TV, the French language television channel out of Sherbrooke, Quebec. Metrocast’s provider, Yankee Microwave apparently discontinued the service because of the expense.

We urge Metrocast to investigate another way to provide a French language channel for their customers, not only for Sanford but for all their service area. Both York County, Maine and much of New Hampshire has a large population of Franco-Americans, who enjoyed hearing programming in French. With today’s technology, there must be a way.

Thumbs up to John and Merilee Mapes Perkins, who donated a historic Seamloc rug, made in the Sanford mills that had been in the Goodall family for generations. The volunteer work of Sanford Flooring and Perfectly Clean in restoring the rug for use should also be applauded. Now it will be preserved by the Sanford-Springvale Historical Society for future generations to understand the impact that the mills had on the area.

Thumbs up to Claire Auger, Lorraine Masure and Doris Assarian for offering a French-Canadian heritage evening at the Goodall Library last week ”“ and to all those who participated. Keeping our native cultures alive in a melting pot such as ours takes effort and dedication and that’s what the Francos of Sanford have embraced.

Thumbs up to all of those who worked at WestPoint (Pepperell) through the years, helping to give Biddeford a reputation for quality craftsmanship. The mill’s closure hangs heavy in the hearts of all traditionalists in town, as it was the last bastion of Biddeford’s extensive mill history, but it is now time to look to the future. The city and local developers must come together to move the mill district into a new era.

Thumbs up to Peter Danton, who was instrumental in having his brother’s full cultural name posted in the Biddeford District Courthouse. The Hon. Nicholas W. Daoutakos Danton was the former chief judge of the Maine District Court in Biddeford, from 1977 until his death in 1980. The courthouse is dedicated in his name, and now the new name plaque includes his true family name, Daoutakos, from before it was Americanized after his family immigrated to Maine.

Thumbs up to the Wells selectmen and Planning Board for upholding residents’ wishes for residential uses only in the area around the inactive Wells Beach fire station. While Wells Beach Hose Company members would like to see the station included in a new zone that would allow business uses, residents showed up in droves to tell selectmen that they didn’t want to see that kind of zoning near the beach. We understand the hose company’s interest in selling this unused property. We hope they will find a buyer who sees the virtues of this site ”“ with an outlook directly on the ocean ”“ for a residential property.

Thumbs up to the Kennebunk selectmen for their decision to send a curtailed downtown revitalization plan to voters this November. Using TIF district funds to beautify and repair the area has been under discussion for some time and the board has finally made a decision to put some of this set-aside funding to good use ”“ if voters give it the OK.

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