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Thumbs up to recognizing excellence. Congratulations are in order for Austin Utilities after they were recognized this summer with the American Public Gas Association’s System Operational Achievement Recognition. This recognition is based on demonstrated excellence in the four areas of system integrity, system improvement, employee safety and workforce development and proves the kind of quality organization AU is.

Thumbs up for community involvement. The city and county are in the midst of working jointly on determining both of their comprehensive plans, taking advantage of the fact that in many ways, their objectives crossover with each other. A major part of this is, and indeed has to be, input from the community so we hope you’ll take advantage of yet another opportunity of being a part of making our county and city better.

Thumbs up for helping others. Last Saturday we featured a story on the Dundas family and their efforts to raise money, through the Adelia Dundas Foundation, for other families who are going through some of the challenges they went through when they lost their daughter Adelia to a horrible illness. We hope that people will come out for the Team Adelia 0.01K Fun Run on Saturday, Oct. 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Eagles Club.

Thumbs down for yet another school shooting. It’s becoming all too familiar. Another school year, another school shooting, which claimed four lives and injured nine others. The shooter was a 14-year-old boy and we just found that it was the dad that purchased the AR-15 -style rifle for his son. There are so many questions, but few answers seem to be coming forward as the camps again devolve into familiar stances on gun control.