Editorial: Thumbs

To changes in the Freeborn County curbside recycling program.

Anything to get more people to recycle is a good thing. Waste Management signed a new seven-year contract with the Freeborn County government, and as part the new plan, Waste Management will supply bins for recyclable items. The big plus is that people won’t have to sort their recyclables anymore. Other places with this model have seen increases in the amount of recycling. The easier it is to recycle, the more likely people are to do it.

 

To the “Lakeview mystique.”

It is a good problem to have, that people hold Lakeview Elementary School in high regard. However, that high regard has resulted in higher class sizes there than at other elementary schools. What matters most in elementary education, besides parental involvement and quality teachers, is smaller class sizes. Sibley, Hawthorne and Halverson are good elementary schools that offer good teachers, good parental support and smaller class sizes. We like Lakeview, but perhaps it is high time to redraw the boundaries for elementary enrollment, particularly for rural areas. Any new map should affect only next year’s kindergartners or new-to-the-district students, not ones already in the system. It would be a bad idea to shuffle students out of the elementaries they already are attending.

 

To the Albert Lea Farmers Market.

Wasn’t it just winter the last time we blinked? It’s refreshing to see the vendors from the farmers market gathering downtown on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It makes spring actually seem like spring. And that fresh, locally grown food is good for health and supports the very local economy. Drawing people downtown is good for the vibrancy of a community.