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12:10 PM Friday, November 13, 2009

Here are this week’s “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” selections:

Thumbs down to Hamilton City Council for refusing to listen to comments on Nov. 11 from more than a dozen residents who wanted to complain about the June sewage backups in their homes. Council declared the issue “closed” — in apparent anticipation of a lawsuit from angry residents who say their insurance companies won’t take responsibility either for thousands of dollars worth of damage to homes. City officials have contended the event was a “500-year storm” that city sewers were never designed to handle. We can understand that city officials have nothing else to offer the aggrieved residents, but we believe council members have an obligation to listen to the concerns of constituents and taxpayers.

Thumbs down to Garfield Middle School for giving an in-school suspension to eighth-grader Dustin Reader, because his new haircut includes shaved stripes and a “B” — in honor of his favorite football team, the Cincinnati Bengals. He was suspended Monday for violating the school’s code of conduct that includes “extreme” haircuts as violations. As readers were able to see in our Nov. 12 photograph of Dustin, the haircut would hardly be noticed on the street in this day and age. In this instance, we think the school’s reaction was the only “extreme” issue here. Let Dustin back in class.

Thumbs up to the Fairfield Community Foundation, which marked its 10th anniversary of service with a special dinner Nov. 10, hosted by Nick Clooney. The foundation started in 1999 when former City Council member Howard Dirksen organized the first meeting. The foundation has now awarded more than $700,000 in grants and scholarships in that decade. Our neighborhoods are significantly better places to live because of fine organizations like the Fairfield Community Foundation. Here’s to many more anniversaries.

Thumbs up to Dr. Thad Rauch of Hamilton, whose Rauch Chiropractic office recently donated about 500 pounds of food and $500 to the Lighthouse Food Pantry, gifts that will help feed dozens of local families. The funds and food were collected from patients in exchange for a free doctor’s visit, Rauch said. Bravo.

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