Thumbs up to baseball
Thumbs up to Major League Baseball for postponing the World Series. Weather turned into the ridiculous Monday (and Tuesday) in Philadelphia and threatened to turn a memorable series sour, but commissioner Bud Selig and the powers that be stepped in and thankfully postponed action until the weather gets better. Baseball is not a sport to be played in 30 degree weather with heavy rain, nonetheless a World Series game.

Thumbs down to pennies
Thumbs down to any store clerk who thinks $.99 in change is acceptable. Grab a penny out of the penny jar and give the customer $1. This also goes for $.04, $.09, $.14, $.19 and so on, up to the dreaded $.99.
And if your place of employment doesn’t have a penny jar, then "cross your fingers" and deal with a drawer that's off a couple pennies after your shift. We don't condone any actions that trump store policies, but then again, if you have a boss who will fire you over a couple pennies, then maybe it's time to look for a new place of employment.

Thumbs up to county board
Thumbs up to Koochiching County commissioners who continue to be concerned about the costs of court-ordered services in the county’s Community Services Department. Services such as out-of-home placements are one of the largest costs to the county, but the county has no control over the services.

Thumbs down to court
Thumbs down to the U.S. Supreme Court for refusing to hear an appeal on a case that involved a Nebraska judge banning anyone from saying the word “rape” in a sexual assault trial. In addition, the victim was banned from using the words “rape kit” and “victim” during her testimony while the word “intercourse” was allowed. The judge said he banned the language because he was concerned about the defendant's right to a fair trial. This case begs the question of how a victim can testify if he or she is not allowed to use the words to describe their side of the story.

Thumbs up to concert
Thumbs up to the Border Concert Association for bringing the Graffe String Quartet and pianist Michiko Otaki to Backus Auditorium Monday evening. The award winning Czech chamber ensemble delighted the American and Canadian audience with Haydn and Beethoven. The second half of the Schumann performance was even more delightful with the addition of Otaki on piano. And thumbs up to the man near the front who started the standing ovation that prompted an encore Dvorak performance.

Thumbs up to improvements
Thumbs up to the Falls Memorial Hospital and the Duluth Clinic-International Falls for taking the next step toward integrating services in 2009. The move will establish better health services in the present while working toward the ultimate goal of building a new hospital.

Thumbs up to Skogstad-Ditsch
Thumbs up to Roxanne Skogstad-Ditsch, a special needs teacher for the Falls school district who voluntarily picks up the costs for a youth support group she has created.

Thumbs up to Mens Garden Club
Thumbs up to the Koochiching Mens Garden Club which will meet Tuesday in an effort to gaiin new members