Editorial: Thumbs

To the Albert Lea school board.

The school board on Monday will interview the six candidates who seek an appointment to a vacant seat on the board. The board didn’t have to make the process totally open to the public, but it is going to. There won’t be speaking in codes, such as Candidate A and Candidate B. There won’t be any kicking the public out of the room for five minutes. The board will just have it all — the interviews and the discussion of who to appoint and the vote itself — open for all to see.

It’s the right thing to do. After all, we’re not electing a Homecoming queen here. This appointee will become a public official representing the people of the district. Thus, the people highly deserve to see the process in the full light of sunshine.

Kudos to the board for displaying a strong trust of the public.

In turn, we urge the public to attend the meeting. It is at 5 p.m. at the Brookside Education Center on Richway Drive.

To counterfeiters.

Some people think this sort of crime pays. Among them might be the seven people from up and down Interstate 35 here in southern Minnesota who have been charged in a case alleging a counterfeiting ring. With all the new means by which U.S. paper currency can be checked to see if it is real or not, it seems ludicrous to try. Many businesses regularly check bills for authenticity. It’s hard to spend the funny money without getting caught.

To being safe with fire.

Freeborn County and its surrounding counties remain under burning bans due to critical fire conditions. Some first responders in neighboring counties have had to deal with crop fires this past week. In Freeborn County, there was a small fire in an already harvested field but otherwise nothing major (when this was written, anyway). That’s due to people being careful about fire. No one needs to waste precious resources on a preventable blaze. Smokers, don’t pitch your butts out the window. Campers, go without the campfire. Rural residents, don’t light the burn barrel. Let’s stay safe.