Thumbs up, thumbs down

e-mail this story discuss this issue in our forums

Thumbs Up to Frank S. Holleman III, Minor Mickel Shaw and Rhonda Corley for receiving some well-deserved national recognition for their commitment to improving the lives of children. They were honored for their work by the United Way's Success By 6 program, which is the largest early childhood coalition network in the United States. At the national conference held recently in Charlotte, honorable mention awards went to Holleman (Committed Communicator Award), Shaw (Community Catalyst Award) and Corley (School Superstar Award).

Making summer arts possible

Thumbs Up to First Citizens Bancorporation of South Carolina for funding this summer's Festival of the Arts, a two-day event that showcases the fine work of students attending the Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities summer honors program. With this gift, First Citizens expresses the importance of the arts and arts education. Festival events, to be held July 24 and 25 on the Governor's School campus, are free and open to the public.

Don't endanger your pet

Thumbs Down to combative state Sen. Jake Knotts of Lexington, who left his little dog Boom Boom in a car Tuesday while he went into a Cayce restaurant. Instead of using this episode to teach others of the dangers of leaving a pet in a car when the mercury starts to soar in the South, Knotts challenged the police report. Knotts said the dog was unattended for about 25 minutes and the windows were rolled down, while the police report said three of the windows were merely cracked, one was open about three inches and Knotts was gone for about an hour. It was 91 degrees. The lesson in this should be: Don't leave pets unattended in cars dur ing hot summer months. They can suffer terribly before dying during what their owners think will be just a short trip.