To lifeguards.

Kudos to the lifeguards at the Albert Lea city pool for doing the unsung job of keeping children safe and sound all summer. And they do a fine job teaching swimming lessons, cleaning the facility and having a sunny attitude. We urge parents to take their children to the pool often before Labor Day arrives and the facility closes for the season. And be sure to thank the lifeguards. That said, thank the lifeguards at all the other municipal pools in the region: Northwood, Lake Mills, Bricelyn and Wells.

 

To Smoke-Free Kids Day.

Add the Tribune to the chorus of people who liked having a day at the Freeborn County Fair without the stench and annoyance of cigarette smoke. What parent hasn’t walked with their kid down the Midway only to enter the cloud of someone’s smoke? Most have. It’s worse when the crowd is packed because it can be difficult to shift away from the smoke. Thanks to Freeborn County Partners in Prevention for suggesting it, and thanks to the fair board for approving it. We hope the fair eventually becomes smoke-free, except in designated places.

 

To domestic assault.

Whether it is husband and wife or brother against brother, any form of domestic assault is ugly. If only people could remember the adage, “Let cooler heads prevail,” perhaps so many of the darker incidents in what ordinarily were happy homes could have been prevented. It’s best just to cool off and let things be for a time until parties involved have a chance to think about the right approaches to the problems at hand. Besides, who really wants the police to come over or to get their names in the newspaper or to go before a judge. Think before acting.