Thumbs up: To the people who have donated to Freezin’ for Food. More than 2,000 pounds of food were donated in the first 5½ hours of the four-day drive that started Wednesday. This year’s goal is to collect more than 17,000 pounds of nonperishable food for the DeKalb area food pantry at The Salvation Army of DeKalb County. There’s still time to donate – the drive runs through noon today. Donations can be dropped off in the Starbucks/Aldi parking lot on Sycamore Road in DeKalb.
Thumbs up: To all the World War II veterans who take the time to share their stories and the family and friends who record them. Daily Chronicle staff writer David Thomas had the pleasure of talking with two World War II veterans for an article on Friday’s anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but their numbers are dwindling. Nationally, an estimated 600 World War II veterans die daily, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, but they are a living reminder of national service, self-sacrifice and the lingering effects of war. We thank them for their service and hope our local veterans remain the focal point of events year-round.
Thumbs up: To the city of Genoa and Genoa-Kingston School District 424 – sort of. We’re glad the two entities have worked out their differences regarding an unfinished storm-water detention project. But we would have preferred it if they could have come to an agreement without taking the issue to court, costing taxpayers “tens of thousands of dollars,” according to Superintendent Joe Burgess’ estimate. When two taxing bodies can’t get along, the taxpayers lose. But thumbs up to ending the drama without further legal fees and to finally getting the flooding problem resolved.
Thumbs down: To the inability to tell the difference between “donating” and “throwing away.” We’ve seen a lot of news releases for food drives already this season, and many of the groups sending them felt they had to specify, “no expired food, please.” People who use the food pantry don’t want to get sick from their food any more than people who don’t. If it’s not fit to eat, it’s not fit to donate. That should be a given that doesn’t need to be pointed out. Likewise for the clothing closets that have to plead for donations free from stains, rips or tears. If you wouldn’t pay for it at a thrift store in that condition, don’t donate it. You’re not helping anyone when you put items in a donation bin that really belong in the trash bin.
Thumbs down: To President Obama and Congress. The inability of our federal legislators and chief executive to negotiate in good faith on economic issues and come to an agreement in the best long-term interest of the country is discouraging and disgraceful. Over the past four years, the Republicans have been labeled the party of “no,” and much of that criticism is fair. But in the current situation, it appears the president and Democrats are trying to overplay their hand by touting the president’s re-election as a mandate, which is far from accurate. The country is divided over key financial issues, and we need a reasonable compromise for our economy to gain traction. It’s time to show the American people that our leaders at the federal level can actually get something done together.
