Thumbs up: To Oaken Acres Wildlife Center leaders for planning ahead for “baby season.” The Sycamore area center fosters injured and wayward squirrels, raccoons and birds, among other critters, and leaders say their busiest time of the year is the spring. They are hosting their first Babies Gone Wild fundraiser from 6 to 9 p.m. March 2 at Blumen Gardens, 403 Edward St., Sycamore. Call 815-762-3532 for more information. We applaud the center for the painstaking work its members do, and wish them the best with their new litters of little ones.

Thumbs up: To Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe for his plan to reduce first class mail delivery to five days, eliminating Saturday delivery. The Postal Service lost $15.9 billion in the past budget year. Action is needed to get costs under control. If the Postal Service were a private business, the hard choices and changes would have been made years ago. Unfortunately, the Postal Service has to submit to control by a dysfunctional Congress interested in serving special interest groups instead of acting in the best interests of citizens. There will be adjustments that need to be made, and for some the change will be inconvenient. The volume of mail delivery has dropped considerably as email, texting and other electronic communication sources have gained traction. It’s time to face reality and fix the Postal Service’s financial problems.

Thumbs down: To DeKalb residents who continue to criticize the DeKalb Park Board over the vegetation along the Nature Trail. It undoubtedly is disappointing that ComEd contractors cleared the trees and brush from around the power lines late last year, but park board members and ComEd representatives, among others, have created a panel to discuss replanting those areas. One park commissioner said he had been called a liar and a ComEd lackey over the matter, and one person engaged Park Board President Joan Berkes Hanson for about 15 minutes during Thursday’s park board meeting. Public input on public issues is important, but the rhetoric on this issue is a little off-base. It’s time to support those working toward a solution.