Rebuilding lives

Thumbs up to the folks in East Franklin, Hackleburg and Phil Campbell who continue to rebuild their lives and property six months after a powerful tornado ripped through northwest Alabama. The communities held the Hackleburg/Phil Campbell Day of Remembrance/Grand opening Celebration on Thursday at the Housing Resource Center in Hackleburg. Despite the progress, officials say 194 families still have unmet needs.

Providing good jobs

Thumbs up to Navistar International Corp. for making it official. The company confirmed Oct. 24 it has finalized papers in an expansion that will bring up to 2,200 jobs to the National Alabama railcar plant at Barton. The truck and bus manufacturer announced in September it plans to place an operation at the plant. The company is expected to announce the hiring process before the end of the year. We welcome Navistar and the much-needed jobs it will bring to the region.

Drill, baby, drill

Thumbs down to the league of Republican presidential candidates who are continuing the “drill, baby, drill” campaign without learning a lesson from the devastating Gulf oil spill of 2010. The millions of gallons of oil that spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and flowed from pipelines into the Yellowstone River and Kalamazoo River have not tempered the call for aggressive oil exploration. Yes, the country needs to safely tap into its oil supply, but it also needs to find ways to conserve fuel, and protect the environment along with the fishing, shrimping and tourism industries.

Help in a jar

Thumbs up to Inga Harden and those who contributed to her effort to provide a great surprise to an 80-year-old fast-food worker in Florence. Harden said she started talking to server Flo Raper one morning and felt compelled to help her. So Harden, owner of Inga’s Lashes and More, in Florence, set out a donation jar at her salon. She raised $300 and surprised Raper with it recently at Jack’s restaurant, where Raper works.

Big dollar signs

Thumbs down to Alabama for continuing to host some of the most expensive judicial races in the nation despite being one of the poorest states. A law school study shows Alabama judicial candidates in 2009 and 2010 were second only to candidates in Pennsylvania for raising the most money. Candidates in Alabama raised $3.164 million. If judges are impartial, it makes one wonder what their major campaign contributors expect to get for the money.