To St. Theodore Catholic School students and Cars-N-Credit.

Congratulations to students at St. Theodore Catholic School and Cars-N-Credit for collecting more than 1,000 nonperishable food items in a food drive. The donations go toward the MarketPlace Foods Stuff-A-Truck drive and will ultimately benefit people who utilize the Albert Lea Salvation Army.

The food drive teaches the children about the importance of giving to others and that they can make a difference in their own community.

It’s nice to see others in the giving spirit.

To expected snowfall.

By the time this newspaper is published, snow is expected to be falling in the Albert Lea area. According to the National Weather Service, snow was expected to begin mainly after noon Saturday with new snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible. Additional snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches was possible Saturday night, and another 1 to 2 inches could come Sunday. It may be the first big snow of the season.

While our area is lucky we haven’t had any major snow already this season, we hope everyone will take extra precaution on the first big storm to drive safely.

To the dedication of area firefighters and first responders.

Area firefighters and first responders already have a lot of weight on their shoulders as they respond to sometimes life-and-death situations. Add on top of that chilling temperatures. We appreciate their dedication and all the hard work they give on behalf of all residents. It has been a cold week, and we are grateful the cold doesn’t stop them.

To the after-school program at Hawthorne Elementary School.

We commend Hawthorne Elementary School teachers and officials who organized an after-school program for second- through fifth-graders at the school on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The program has offered activities such as Reader’s Theater, Game Club and Lego play, and then after 4:10 p.m. the students are brought home on a bus. About 35 students have taken part in the program.

We think this is a good way to not only get the children to interact more with their peers in a safe environment, but to learn more, too.