THUMBS UP: To area postal customers who contributed a record amount of food May 10 to America’s Second Harvest food bank. Local mail carriers collected more than 80,000 pounds of food from residents — a 300 percent increase from last year’s food drive by the National Association of Letter Carriers. Kudos to the carriers for adding this to their load and helping needy families.



THUMBS UP: To the Exchange Club of Valdosta for providing copies of more than 30 historic documents for display in a Freedom Shrine at Hahira Middle School. They include the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. The shrine will serve as a solemn daily reminder to students that they are citizens of a nation governed by a framework of ideals and rights.



THUMBS DOWN: To two CBS television affiliates in Texas for refusing to show the two-part movie, “Hitler: The Rise of Evil.” Worried that it made Adolf Hitler too human, the stations in Corpus Christi and Laredo showed the movies “Superman II” and “Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear” instead. Young people leaning in the direction of skinheads and others can find plenty of inspiration on the Internet and in other ways. The movie showed how a demagogue can rise to power without the solid support of his country. Hitler didn’t just rely on fear-mongering but on political dealings, suppression of liberties and violence. This important lesson of history should not have been censored.



THUMBS UP: To the organizations providing flags and putting them on veterans’ graves this weekend in recognition of Memorial Day. Members of the Air Force Junior ROTC at Lowndes High, the American Legion and its auxiliary will place U.S. flags at Sunset Hill Cemetery while Carson McLane Funeral Home will put them on graves at Riverview Memorial Gardens.



THUMBS UP: To the Azalea City Woman’s Club for capturing honors as second best club in the Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs. With only 15 active members, the club managed to achieve this success. Despite its size, the club participated in 386 projects this year. Congratulations to everyone for showing what a committed membership can accomplish.