Editorial: Thumbs

To Autism Awareness Month.

Autism spectrum disorder was front and center at Northbridge Mall on Saturday during the Autism Awareness Event, which kicks off Autism Awareness Month for the Albert Lea area. A panel of parents and professionals spoke and people watched the fascinating movie “Temple Grandin.” Kudos to anyone who stopped to participate in the activities.

To outdoor baseball.

Poet Alfred Lord Tennyson once said, “In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” Of course, that has been altered and shortened in popular lingo to, “In the spring, a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of baseball.” The Minnesota Twins played their first game Friday and will play at Target Field this coming Friday. The Albert Lea Tigers are slated to play at Hayek Field on Tuesday. You know it is spring when the Ward 2 neighborhood in Albert Lea is filled with sounds of bats hitting balls — whether the sound comes from Hayek Field or TV sets in living rooms.

To the six Teacher of the Year finalists.

Congratulations to Peggy Bennett, Kiki Christensen, Ann Hareid, Linda Johnson, Kathie Lein and Jacque Sorensen. Albert Lea cares about its teachers and the education of its children. Your efforts reflect the community values. Thank you for all you do.

To whoever wrote the threat at Alden-Conger School.

What a really dumb thing to do. Think of the sheer number of people inconvenienced when the vandal wrote a threat on the boys’ bathroom wall. The vandal shook up the lives not just of classmates, but also of parents, relatives, teachers, administrators, staff, police officers, first responders, dispatchers, journalists, American Red Cross volunteers — pretty much everybody. If you, the vandal, happen to be reading this, realize there are better ways to express your feelings than scaring the community. Talk to your school counselor or an adult in your life that you can trust about your problems and ask about ways to address them.

To Alden-Conger Superintendent Joe Guanella.

It must be a superintendent’s worst nightmare to find a message at his school that threatens the safety of his students.

That nightmare came true for Guanella on March 16 after a student discovered a threat found written on a wall of a boys bathroom at the school.

In the middle of his own emotions and anxieties, Guanella stepped up to the plate to respond to the issue in a professional, yet sensitive manner.

After the school went on lockdown March 18 so law enforcement officers could search the school, Guanella — with the help of police — took the time to host a special meeting to answer questions by parents and students and to calm fears.

Through that meeting and the days that have followed, Guanella has shown his commitment to his students. He said this week the school is continuing to take necessary precautions to protect its students.

The Alden-Conger School community and the rest of Freeborn County thank him for this commitment.