Preventing drug use

Thumbs up to all of the local school students who celebrated Red Ribbon Week during the last week of October. Their activities included door decorating contests, dress-up days, posters, a book character parade, a WalkTober event and tying red ribbons on trees. Red Ribbon Week, the nation’s largest and longest-running drug-use prevention campaign, is led by National Family Partnership, formerly the National Federation of Parents for Drug Free Youth. It was established as a grassroots nonprofit organization in 1980 by a handful of concerned and determined parents who were convinced they should begin to play a leadership role in drug prevention, according to redribbon.org.

Remembering our heroes

Thumbs up to the veterans, veteran organizations, local schools and others for organizing Veterans Day events throughout the county. Veterans Day, which is Nov. 11 each year, is a good time to thank a veteran for their service and sacrifice. That’s something that could be done any day of the year, in fact, and even taken a step further by asking a veteran about their service.

Courteous

Thumbs up to the Brownstown Central Middle Schoool students who recently received Courtesy Awards for the second trimester. They are sixth-graders Kinsley Schroeder, Haley Moffatt, Roman Cherry and Jacob Johnson; seventh-graders Katelyn Drake, Brenton Penrose, Isaac Hampton and Ava Lee; and eighth-graders Daisey Goins, Trevor Branaman, Jameson Baldwin and Kaitlyn Williams.

Feeding a need

Thumbs up to Tammi Hackman of Vallonia for seeking and receiving a $2,500 grant from the Bayer Fund that the Brownstown Central High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter used for its Shed for You community building. The building located in the town parking lot in the 100 block of West Walnut Street contains donations from the public of nonperishable food, toiletries or other items that can then be taken by those in need. The grant came through the Bayer Fund’s America’s Farmers Grow Communities program.