Our View: Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs up to the Yuba County clerk's office and McKenney Intermediate School eighth-grade history and leadership teacher Gary Rogers. At Rogers' request, the office sent volunteers to the school on Wednesday to train his leadership students on how to be poll workers in preparation for the school's upcoming mock presidential election on Oct. 30. This was a good example and lesson for the students in how volunteerism can help young people learn to be productive citizens in our democratic society. Kudos to our county workers for their willingness to participate, and to Rogers for his initiative in organizing the event.

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Thumbs up to Randy Riney, the Robbins resident and Air Force veteran, who is riding his Harley-Davidson across the country on a mission to help veterans. As detailed in an Appeal-Democrat story last week, Riney was planning a motorcycle dream trip to Talladega, Ala., and NASCAR races when it struck him that he needed to do more during his six-week sabbatical from work. The Air Force veteran decided to help fellow veterans across the nation. He's visiting veterans' retirement homes in 13 states, visiting with residents and picking up "wish lists" of items desired at the sites. Riney, 40, plans to post the "wish lists" on his Web site, www.Rememberavet.net, as soon as he receives them and work on filling the requests. "We should all consider the sacrifices these people made, that we have these kinds of freedoms (such as) riding coast to coast without stopping at a checkpoint," Riney said. "They helped us when they could. It's incumbent for us to help them when we can, especially when we consider all they've done for us."

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Thumbs down to the address on the nation's financial crisis delivered by President Bush, the lamest of lame ducks. The prime-time televised speech offered very few concrete details explaining why the government's proposed $700 billion bailout will make the difference or why this plan may be superior to others considered. We wanted insight that might instill some measure of confidence in what is being proposed, but that was too much to expect.

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Thumbs up to the more than 100 volunteers who did their part on a recent Saturday morning to make a corner of Yuba County along the Yuba River a little cleaner as part of the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day. The near decade-long local tradition was part of a global environmental effort that sees volunteers remove garbage from coastal and inland waterways. This year's effort targeted the Shad Pad, a sandy area underneath the E Street bridge, to Simpson Lane.

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Thumbs down to the vandals and thieves targeting the historical St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery in Marysville. The latest incident occurred earlier this month with the theft of the late-19th century iron church bell that adorned the veterans' burial area. The cemetery's caretakers are holding out some hope the bell will turn up in one piece, but it could very likely end up as scrap iron — a sad fate for such an important symbol.

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Prayer and parties won't end the gang violence fouling our community, but recent efforts to connect residents and raise awareness deserve a thumbs up. Earlier this month, in the wake of a rash of gang-related shootings in Yuba City, residents of the Teal Hollow section of the city got together for a "neighborhood stand down against crime" event. A Yuba City police officer, firefighters and Mayor Rory Ramirez stopped by the block event which attracted about 80 people. Last weekend saw dozens of people gather at Southside Park to hear sermons delivered in English and Spanish. Pastors from Templo de Alabanza, Casa de Oracion and Iglesia de Dios churches implored neighbors to come out and stand up for their community in the midst of a string of violence.

Got a thumbs up or thumbs down? E-mail to llabarth@appealdemocrat.com